ABOUT THIS EPISODE
Wait two weeks to find out a part doesn’t work.
Then wait two more weeks to try again.
Sam Mathew knows what that does to a builder.
He started in hardware. During COVID, he switched to software because he couldn’t get parts. Slow iteration wasn’t just costing him time. It was discouraging him from building hardware.
Now he’s back, making parts for other builders.
twentyfour26 manufactures metal parts in San Francisco for robotics and consumer hardware startups.
But it didn’t start as a machine shop.
Sam and his co-founder, Hemant Mahendru, were building software for manufacturers. Selling it was hard.
So on the first day of Founders Inc., they changed the business: instead of selling software to manufacturers, they became one and started taking orders themselves.
Their approach is deliberately focused.
Rather than trying to manufacture everything, they standardize the machine, materials, tools and workholding around a narrower set of parts. Their software handles quoting and programming, and they run production themselves.
Upload a STEP file. The software checks whether the design fits their setup, flags anything that needs changing, and turns accepted designs into a quote and machining plan.
When the part fits and capacity allows, they can cut it the same day.
For a hardware team, that’s more than a shorter delivery time.
It changes how often they can test a design, learn what’s wrong and try again.
The obvious cost of waiting is a delayed prototype.
The less obvious cost is a builder deciding to work on something else.
Sam’s building for the people who want to stay in hardware.
"Send CAD. Get metal."
🎙️ Sam Mathew, CTO & Co-Founder, twentyfour26 on Fondo START
01:57 Making new toys from old ones
02:22 Dropping out in 10th grade to build an edtech startup
04:05 The outdated spreadsheet that sparked the company
04:43 Lessons from their first YC interview
05:18 Pivoting from manufacturing software to making parts
06:00 Turning CAD files into metal parts
06:28 Why faster access to parts matters for hardware builders
06:52 The cost of waiting between prototypes
07:35 The practical reason Sam shaved his head
07:48 How a seed-round joke became a viral video
Check out twentyfour26.com
