Dorrian Porter, CEO and Founder of Vestaboard – Building A Beautiful Hardware Messaging Display

Panic with Friends – Investing for Profit and Joy

You know what we do here on Panic. We talk about entrepreneurs and founders and investors looking for inspiration and trends. Today’s guest is the epitome of a grinder. Dorrian Porter is the founder and CEO of Vestaboard. I am biased because I am a personal investor, but Vetsaboard is magic. Vestaboard is art meets science meets technology. I hope you enjoy listening as much as I enjoyed my conversation with Dorrian.

You can listen to the podcast here on Spotify or Apple podcast and now all the episodes are on my YouTube channel as well.

You can also listen right here on the blog:

Guest: Dorrian Porter

Profile: CEO and Founder of Vestaboard

Where to Find Him: LinkedIn, Twitter

What’s Dorrian Panicked About?: Software launches.

Related:

Matteo Franceschetti, Co-Founder & CEO of Eight Sleep on Founding, Health, and Sleep Fitness (EP.180) (December 2021)

The Takeaway:

Hardware, like the name implies is hard. But when it’s done right, when the aesthetic is there, it becomes art. Now I have one for the office and home. It’s been exciting to follow the Vestaboard company.

Show Notes:

• (00:39) – Intro

• (05:17) – Welcome Dorrian

• (05:57) – The elevator pitch

• (08:02) – The inspiration for Vestaboard

• (15:12) – Designing and manufacturing

• (17:26) – Concept to shipping product

• (21:10) – The reality of the supply chain

• (26:10) – Economies of scale to lower prices

• (28:45) – The magic and aesthetic for kids

• (31:26) – Getting the software right

• (32:49) – Celebrity customers

• (35:11) – Using data to delight customers

• (40:50) – Getting the core product right first

• (43:45) – Art as a communication platform

• (51:01) – Closing thoughts

In the wild: