Jennifer Eby from MaRCTech2 was the first guest on episode #0001 of "Friends of Fresh." Craig Baerwaldt has known Jen for almost a decade while networking in the Puget Sound hardware community.
Jennifer is super knowledgeable on all things hardware and supply chain solutions. In her role at MaRCTech2, Inc., navigating the rapidly changing tariff situation, she has proven to be a power networker and overall an awesome human!
In this video interview, Craig asks Jennier to provide her expertise in the hardware solutions industry.
Key points include:
Craig Baerwaldt (00:03):
Hello, welcome to Friends of Fresh. I'm your host, Craig Baerwaldt, hardware solutions manager at Fresh Consulting. Today's guest is Jennifer Eby from MaRCTech2. She's a highly networked hardware solutions expert, a long time lifelong learner and leader, and a friend of mine for almost a decade. So welcome to the show, Jennifer.
Jennifer Eby (00:26):
Thank you, Craig. It's fun to be here.
Craig Baerwaldt (00:29):
Exciting.
Jennifer Eby (00:30):
Hey,
Craig Baerwaldt (00:30):
Getting into this, what is Friends of Fresh? Well, it's not really a podcast, it's just five minutes of getting to know someone who in our orbit at Fresh of helping us deliver solutions. It's model after Geek Wire's, Geek of the Week articles, however, this is coming to you in a video format so that you can get to know someone's personal details a little bit more. And we're going to talk with people who help us deliver hardware solutions here at Fresh Digital Solutions, and all things artificial intelligence and machine learning. So we're going to jump right into it. Jen, this is quick and punchy. There are seven questions for you.
Jennifer Eby (01:06):
So
Craig Baerwaldt (01:06):
What's the hardest component or component category to source on the bill of materials or bomb right now?
Jennifer Eby (01:13):
Oh goodness. Oh man. You didn't give me any heads up for these questions at all. So, I think that the challenge right now is just tariffs. So anything really is challenging right now. I guess that's just the answer I can give you. It's all, everything is a bumpy, bumpy,
Craig Baerwaldt (01:31):
So great. Lead in. I didn't plan this at all. Tariff craziness increases, decreases, or stays the same in Q4 of 2025.
Jennifer Eby (01:43):
Oh, that's a great question. I'm going to say it's going to stay crazy.
Craig Baerwaldt (01:48):
Okay.
Jennifer Eby (01:49):
Just my guess.
Craig Baerwaldt (01:51):
How is the year in 2025? Lots of crazy. Yep. So you and I have done tons of networking. We've been in groups of Pacific Northwest Aerospace Alliance, PNDC, and all sorts of different hardware meetups. I want you to think of one single networking event and what's the single best networking event you've ever been to, and what made it special?
Jennifer Eby (02:13):
I love the Seattle Hardware Meetup group. What made it special is I know so many people there and I can solve so many problems. It's just so fun to connect with everybody. That's my favorite one.
Craig Baerwaldt (02:24):
Got it. What's the hottest hardware segment right now? Consumer electronics, robotics, and medical advice. It can be anything. What's the hottest thing that you're seeing right now?
Jennifer Eby (02:35):
Ag Tech is big, and then of course, unfortunately, defense, but Ag Tech is green tech, green technology, and Ag Tech, I feel.
Craig Baerwaldt (02:43):
Got it. What's the longest duration? Is it taking you to take a prospect to a customer? What's the biggest span there from first contact with someone to actually converting them to a customer?
Jennifer Eby (02:55):
Oh, heck. You mean like closing the deal?
Craig Baerwaldt (02:57):
That's Right.
Jennifer Eby (02:58):
I have a project right now that I've been working on for six years. That's probably the longest one. It's a custom battery pack solution for the automotive industry.
Craig Baerwaldt (03:09):
Got it. Yeah, I had a defense project that I just closed a couple of months ago, and it was literally five or six years. So it can take a long time. Hardware,
Jennifer Eby (03:17):
A long time.
Craig Baerwaldt (03:19):
What's your favorite productivity tool right now?
Jennifer Eby (03:21):
Working on exploring with AI, not giving myself away to it, not giving it too much power, but working on expanding that into research. A lot of research with customers and connections,
Craig Baerwaldt (03:37):
And a final chance for Jenn's personality to shine through. What does woo woo mean?
Jennifer Eby (03:46):
Oh, good one, Craig. Oh gosh. So for me, that's my joy, my metaphysical expansion, spiritual growth, continual learning. Like you said, woowoo to me just means anything that somebody else might think is just super not mainstream, and I like to be different, so I'm super not mainstream.
Craig Baerwaldt (04:09):
Well, you know me, I love Seth Godin's Purple Cow. So I dunno if you've ever read that in the marketing side, but as you know, I don't always follow the typical business development model.
Jennifer Eby (04:20):
I don't at all.
Craig Baerwaldt (04:23):
So I would ask you, so as we get a little bit more in depth here, do you remember where we first met?
Jennifer Eby (04:29):
I think, was it at your previous company, at your PA party? No, it was before that. I got invited to the Paella party.
Craig Baerwaldt (04:39):
Yeah,
Jennifer Eby (04:39):
No.
Craig Baerwaldt (04:40):
Well, actually
Jennifer Eby (04:41):
That moment, no. Yeah,
Craig Baerwaldt (04:42):
So I remember you were leading, and I connected with you on LinkedIn. You were leading the hardware group at the time, which now is passed through multiple people, I think Sean,
Jennifer Eby (04:51):
Oh gosh. Oh, that's right. Is
Craig Baerwaldt (04:52):
Currently leading it. But I think where I actually met you first in carbon form was actually an event at Night Tech.
Jennifer Eby (05:00):
Yes. You're so right.
Craig Baerwaldt (05:01):
Jamie Garza, who is now the embedded and augmented staffing solutions expert here at Fresh Consulting, he was at Night Tech giving the presentation on Princess Cruz's Medallion. There was a hardware bus outside, and that's the first event that I ever, one of probably now hundreds that I've seen you at.
Jennifer Eby (05:20):
That's right. A couple of companies ago.
Craig Baerwaldt (05:24):
Exactly. For you. Yeah, exactly. And then I literally met Jamie Garza at Space Happy Hour eight days ago. So we had a couple video calls, and we've been connected on LinkedIn all that time, but the first time I ever met him in person was last Thursday at Space. Happy hour.
Jennifer Eby (05:39):
That's insane.
Craig Baerwaldt (05:40):
Exactly.
Jennifer Eby (05:41):
That's insane. That's right. That's right. And then you reached out to me and said, Hey, let's talk about, because you were doing the X-Ray company then.
Craig Baerwaldt (05:48):
Yep, exactly.
Jennifer Eby (05:48):
And so came over, had a tour networking on that. Yep, that's right. Good one.
Craig Baerwaldt (05:53):
Yeah. So we've got a couple more questions to close it out. We both know hardware is hard, sometimes startups don't plan enough. Unexpected issues pop up in product development and the build test iterate process. That is NPI. What are some underrated considerations or advice you would give to a customer bringing new hardware product to market?
Jennifer Eby (06:21):
Oh gosh. I mean, this isn't to slam about any particular distributor, but don't just buy your parts on a website and expect that it's going to be there for you when you want to manufacture it in volume. Work with your local technical resources, local distributor, FAEs, manufacturer, FAEs. Just really vet your resources and go into it with a clean bomb. There we go. That's another good one with a clean bomb. That's super helpful.
Craig Baerwaldt (06:53):
That is great advice. So to close it out, I know that you love helping customers. Talk a little bit more about what you do at MaRCTech2 and then your favorite part of helping customers through their hardware journey.
Jennifer Eby (07:07):
So MaRCTech2 is a manufacturer's rep, and we focus a lot on quick-turn circuit boards in all market segments, flex Ridge of Flex, but also everything that goes around the circuit board, the plastics, the metal LEDs, all of these different things that go into a hardware device. What was the second part, Craig? What was my favorite part?
Craig Baerwaldt (07:30):
Yeah, the favorite part of helping customers.
Jennifer Eby (07:34):
I love just connecting people to solutions. It's not about making the money. It's about how can I help the customer solve a problem and who can I put them together with? We talk about all the time, Craig, how do I put them together with the right company to help solve their problem that is the most fun for me. And then sometimes the money comes with it, sometimes it doesn't. But that's what really, really, really brings me great joy.
Craig Baerwaldt (08:03):
Right. Well, you are true.
Jennifer Eby (08:04):
Joy. It's helping.
Craig Baerwaldt (08:04):
You are a true joy to work with. We've been long friends in the hardware business. We know it has its challenges, but we both facing those challenges head on and bringing solutions to our customers. So thank you for joining us on Friends of Fresh. It's our first episode. Like I said, my goal is to kind keep this five minutes. We're three and a half minutes over, but a great conversation with you, Jen. For everyone listening at home who wants to connect with Jennifer, the links will be here at the closing screen. A couple other places to connect with Fresh Consulting, you can check out our website. We're on LinkedIn. We run the Northwest Robotics Alliance with a couple other partners. I personally run Space Happy hour, so if you're interested in anything robotics, check out Northwest Robotics Alliance, all things space, industry@spacehappyhour.com. So that's it. And again, Jen's details will be here on the closing screen in just a second. Thanks for joining us, Jen.
Jennifer Eby (08:57):
All right, see you. Have a great day.