M_farhan_h

I have spent my career building physical things. Apple Vision Pro. A robotic basketball trainer at Hoopfit. Analog tools at Noble Crafters. A short and meaningful stop at Amazon.

Along the way I kept applying to YC. This is the story of my twelfth try.

I have been a consumer HW founder for years, and I applied to YC eleven times, and just got in this time with Blue.

I think for consumer, if you can really simplify the product and solve the absolute basic version, the costs should be low enough to validate the idea. YC will value your skills to create this simple version, and that you are able to actually execute and create something that could be real.

The missing link was really showing I could take a prototype and mass produce it (even at a small scale). That was what this whole exercise was about.

One additional note that comes to mind, building really great partnerships is essential for hardware to work.

Thank you for such kind words! We needed to prove to ourselves, customers and to investors that Hardware is possible, and not to fear it. I've built it for years, and never understood why people fear it.

We live in a physical world, and some of us should build things for it.

Really appreciate the kind words, and I mean it sincerely, it's only possible because of my incredible Taiwan partners, my Industrial Designer Tomas(who I am lucky to call my friend), the other founders, and being razor focused on our goal.

Joyce flew from Taiwan to make sure I had them in my hands, folded boxes with me in the office, and just as she got over her jet lag and went back to Taiwan.

Yeah you got it, this is our way of playing within the rules, but allowing an experience we wish we had with our phones.

Please don't tell them about us...

In some ways, if this instigates them implement it in their OS, we are doing our job, and then we can pivot and keep working on ideas that we hope will serve others.

I agree that we should find ways to limit instead of instigate multitasking while driving.

Building tech is usually clearer than finding a clear use case for it. As we find ways to mature the tech to be aligned with the ultimate vision we have, we will test various problems the immature tech can solve.

With that being said, if you have any ideas where this could really help people (for instance people with motor disabilities), please share them. We would like to serve people and build with humility.

Hi HN! We built Blue, a voice assistant that can use any app on your phone via a tiny USB-C hardware “hand” we call Bud. Here’s how we went from concept to 100 working units in 55 days for YC Demo Day.

About me: I’m a robotics and product design engineer focused on building thoughtful tools for the world. I hold dozens of patents in hardware and manufacturing, and I care deeply about how things are made and who they’re made for.

For over a decade, I’ve worked across robotics, wearables, and consumer electronics. As one of the first engineers on the Apple Vision Pro, I took it from concept to mass production.