The challenges faced by a hardware startup are distinct from software startups and services. Supply chain logistics, especially during a global pandemic, present unpredictable daily challenges that test the mettle of the most intrepid startup teams. But challenges also present opportunities.
StartupSac and the Carlsen Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship at Sac State welcomed two successful startup leaders for September’s Startup Happy Hour — Engineered Medical Technologies (aka tCheck) CEO Peichen Chang and COO Bob Whitson.
In business since 2014, Engineered Medical Technologies is the maker of tCheck, a device that uses a spectral analysis to test concentrations of compounds. Simply put, tCheck is a home cannabis testing device that makes it simple and quick to determine the potency of your infusion, concentrate, or raw flower. Despite the challenges of operating in the cannabis space and the supply chain and logistics, tCheck is profitable with million of dollars in revenue, venture capital investment, and very strong demand for its product.
During this event, StartupSac co-founder Laura Good interviewed CEO Peichen Chang and COO Bob Whitson to learn more about the startup, including:
- Their prior experiences as entrepreneurs
- What tCheck is and what it does.
- The origin story of tCheck?
- The challenges a hardware startup has to overcome that don’t exist for software or service startups?
- How the startup adapted to the supply chain challenges that resulted from the pandemic.
- The effects of operating in the cannabis space despite not directly sell cannabis.
Watch the recorded video below.
