Two Versions of Startup Success

Success looks different for everyone. This weekend showed me why. Two events: an all-hands event at Sonic Lamb, and the Curiosity 2026 startup showcase by South Park Commons. Over the last year, Narayan R (who chooses not to be on LinkedIn) and I have been interacting, advising, investing in and learning from early-stage hardware and deep-tech start-ups. It started with us trying to use our experience working in hardware companies like Ather to help newer folks in the ecosystem. A lot of problems repeat. When do I start focusing on reducing cost? Do I start building multiple product variants immediately? How do I handle production and quality issues? We start seeing patterns as we interact with more startups, but answers to all of these depend on where you are in your journey. For Sonic Lamb, who make headphones that give you sub-woofer like experience, success is setting up the organization for the next stage of growth. They got rave reviews from customers and the Sharks at Shark…