Podcast
The Manufacturing Automation Podcast
Hosted by Gimbel Automation and Develop LLC · EN
Michael and Matt talk about company philosophies and operating systems, industrial marketing for automation B2B companies, how they structure their lives/work-life-balance, and much more.
30episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Travel Kills Momentum: Killing IntraLoad, 3D Configurators & Sales Comp That Actually Works
6d ago00:54:13Tap to summarizeMichael opens on the road — again — and makes a decision he's been circling for a while: IntraLoad is done, full-service in-person turnkeys are done, and the business is going all-in on product revenue and remote Turnkey Direct installs. The goal is scalability without him being the critical path. Matt's feeling a different kind of drain — not hours, but context switching. Negotiating contracts, building comp structures, prepping for Automate, and trying to find time for a deal pipeline audit that hasn't happened in seven weeks. Both hosts land on the same diagnosis: the grind doesn't get lighter, the weight just shifts.On the marketing and sales side, Michael launches a 3D configurator with 300 machine models that lets customers visualize and add-to-cart a full automation package in one click — built on Replit, deployed via iframe, and now wrestling with an SEO tradeoff Matt pushes back on. They go deep on keyword strategy for machine-specific CNC tending pages and whether low-difficulty brand keywords are actually worth chasing. Matt, meanwhile, is seven weeks behind on a deal pipeline audit and actively designing his first sales hire — with a margin-based comp structure his roundtable helped him shape that ties commission to delivery, not just close.Engineering covers Develop completing its full hiring wave — CNC machinist, two new engineers on June 1st — and a site visit to a multi-robot machine that's running beyond KPIs with operators onboarding in under a day. Michael's Coolant Clear 2 production prototype is wrapped, supply is being reshored, and a viral Instagram reel hit a million views in two minutes of filming. The episode closes on cash strategy — Matt's three-tier war chest structure and a frank conversation about what happens when you pour every dollar of margin back into R&D.
Transcribe →Two Biggest Deals Ever, CoolantClear Rev 2 & the Flywheel Finally Kicking In
2w ago00:54:05Tap to summarizeMichael opens with something he hasn't been able to say in a while — things are calming down. Passive revenue is growing, repeat customers are showing up, and he's starting to feel less like the linchpin of every transaction. Matt, meanwhile, is deep in financial planning for a line of credit renewal that has to account for two of the largest projects in Develop's history landing back to back in 90 days, with multi-million dollar material procurement timelines to match.On the sales side, Develop closes one of its biggest deals to date — booked for Q3 to fit existing capacity — while Michael sells through his entire CoolantClear inventory and launches Rev 2 with domestic machining, an integrated solenoid, and a redesign that expands compatibility to Brother machines. The Spindle Storm billet chip fan is also weeks from launch at $129, going head to head with a $400 competitor. Matt credits Claude and connected HubSpot and QuickBooks data for building his most thorough bank model yet.Engineering covers Develop's full mechanical team locked on the complex case packing machine through Q2, a FANUC training week for team members, and a growing facility question — add 12,000 square feet onto the current building, or move entirely? Michael wraps with a candid take on AI-driven ad optimization: out of roughly 100 SKUs, Google Shopping ads were only profitable on about a dozen. Turning the rest off nearly doubled ROAS overnight.
Transcribe →Automate or Bust: Trade Show All-In, Gim Command Live & When AI Makes Scrap Fast
3w ago00:57:46Tap to summarizeMatt opens the week with a closing runway feeling — Automate is on the horizon and there's a lot to do. He walks through Develop's most ambitious trade show setup yet: a 10x30 booth with a 10x20 LED wall, live HMI demos where attendees can actually run a machine, and a complete website overhaul cutting everything that isn't hyper-focused on automation. The website nearly tripled in traffic over the last six weeks — partly explained by an A3 and FANUC SI certification press release going out around the same time.Michael's week is defined by one thing: Gim Command going live internally. The custom AI-built ERP has already replaced multiple SaaS subscriptions, moved all task and Kanban management out of Notion, and has Claude embedded directly into the system for user-level queries. He's 100-plus hours in, spending $3–4K a month on AI credits, and describes the experience as "transformative" — while Matt remains skeptical and reminds him that every software project he's ever seen runs long. Meanwhile, CoolantClear goes viral again with a million-view Instagram reel — and breaks the supply chain. The AI-caused Tumble Blast product ID deletion from last week wiped out Google Shopping ad learning worth tens of thousands in spend. Michael's reflection: AI is like automation — you can make a lot of parts fast, or you can make a lot of scrap fast.The episode closes with a substantive exchange on CI discipline — Matt's WIP-cap system, budgeted CI pools, and why letting small improvements die on the vine is often the right call — and a fractional CFO update: two weeks in, already identifying changes, and told to stop asking for permission.
Transcribe →EA Hired, AI Broke the Store & Build vs. Buy the Eternal Debate
4w ago01:04:46Tap to summarizeMatt opens with his head already in 2027 — two of the largest projects in Develop's history landed back to back, and now the focus is making sure the sales pipeline is ready to sustain that momentum after the current wave clears. Michael is back from the Toolpath Manufacturing Summit, where he spoke on a panel and came home with renewed clarity on where the business needs to go — and a snowboarding edge sharpening that made him feel like a beginner again.On the marketing side, Develop's website traffic has nearly doubled in a month with no clear explanation — knowledge base pages quietly gaining traction, possibly AI-driven. Michael, meanwhile, shares a costly AI mistake: a Shopify MCP server accidentally deleted product variants from the tumble blast listings, quietly costing an estimated $15–20K in lost revenue over three weeks before anyone noticed. He also breaks down how firing his marketing agency and replacing everything with Claude-connected ad analysis nearly doubled return on ad spend — and how he's now converting five-figure orders directly through the web store.Engineering covers Develop hiring a third mechanical engineer off a shortlist from a previous hiring round, a mechanical engineer transitioning into an IT and account management role ahead of the next growth wave, and a frank debate about daily huddles — whether founders should stay in them or get out. Michael pushes back on Matt stepping away entirely; Matt pushes back on Michael still running Gantt charts himself. The continuous improvements section closes with Matt finally hiring an executive assistant after a six-month search — first applicant on his birthday, first person hired.The episode closes with a long, honest debate about build vs. buy in software: Michael doubling down on his custom ERP despite the security and maintenance risks, Matt arguing you don't build your own CNC just because you can — and both landing somewhere honest about where they actually differ in philosophy.
Transcribe →Two Biggest Deals Ever, CoolantClear Rev 2 & the Flywheel Finally Kicking In
Apr 1500:36:35Tap to summarizeMichael opens with something he hasn't been able to say in a while — things are calming down. Passive revenue is growing, repeat customers are showing up, and he's starting to feel less like the linchpin of every transaction. Matt, meanwhile, is deep in financial planning for a line of credit renewal that has to account for two of the largest projects in Develop's history landing back to back in 90 days, with multi-million dollar material procurement timelines to match.On the sales side, Develop closes one of its biggest deals to date — booked for Q3 to fit existing capacity — while Michael sells through his entire CoolantClear inventory and launches Rev 2 with domestic machining, an integrated solenoid, and a redesign that expands compatibility to Brother machines. The Spindle Storm billet chip fan is also weeks from launch at $129, going head to head with a $400 competitor. Matt credits Claude and connected HubSpot and QuickBooks data for building his most thorough bank model yet.Engineering covers Develop's full mechanical team locked on the complex case packing machine through Q2, a FANUC training week for team members, and a growing facility question — add 12,000 square feet onto the current building, or move entirely? Michael wraps with a candid take on AI-driven ad optimization: out of roughly 100 SKUs, Google Shopping ads were only profitable on about a dozen. Turning the rest off nearly doubled ROAS overnight.
Transcribe →Getting to the Good Part: Viral Products, Style Guides & the CEO Shift
Apr 800:52:42Tap to summarizeMatt opens with a rare moment of reflection — his first real day off since his son was born surfaced something he'd been ignoring: he's lost the Sunday thinking time that used to drive his best strategic decisions. Both hosts find themselves in a similar place, mid-evolution on what their roles in their own companies should actually look like going forward.On the marketing side, Michael's CoolantClear goes viral with 600,000–700,000 views — and almost no one buys it. He drops the price, sales start moving, and a full product redesign is now in motion. He also walks through how deeply integrated his AI-to-ads setup has become, with real-time ROAS visibility and the ability to make changes across Google and Meta without touching a dashboard. Matt, meanwhile, is close to publishing the 1701 case study and candidly admits his agency is waiting on him — he's become the bottleneck he was trying to hire around.Engineering covers Project 29's progress toward its December deadline, Matt's quietly obsessive push to build a machine style guide for new engineers, and Michael's realization that having one great engineer has him immediately wanting to hire another. The episode closes with a conversation that's rare for this show — both hosts getting philosophical about the arc of entrepreneurship, business PTSD, and why they both feel like they're finally getting to the good part. Plus: grills, steaks, and a gantry mill sale that turned into a logistical nightmare.
Transcribe →Fired the Agency, Hired the Engineer: Bad Marketing, Niche Products & Growing Out of the Weeds
Apr 100:49:16Tap to summarizeBoth Matt and Michael open the week running on fumes — but not without wins. Matt's team is locked in on the five-robot Project 29 build with a December deadline, onboards two new engineers in one week, and approves a search for a second electrical engineer as the team eyes doubling headcount. He also finalizes cutting VFS from Develop's website and reflects on a 77% Q1 OKR completion rate — solid, but with hard lessons on setting clearer accountability metrics.Michael's week is defined by contrast: he fires a marketing agency after just 30 days when they miss 13 of 14 deliverables and cost him an estimated $15,000 in lost Shopify revenue by breaking his Google and Meta ads. He walks through the incident in detail and makes the case for eventually doing marketing in-house. On the product side, he debuts the Auto Vice LT — sold out on the first run — and shares a new fifth-axis compatible rotary base plate he's developing after the original vendor said no. He also previews a 3D configurator that lets customers see Gimbel products laid out on their actual machine table before buying.The episode closes with a candid conversation about identity shifts — both hosts have had to consciously let go of being engineers to become CEOs — the cognitive load of AI overuse, patience in hiring (350 applicants and still waiting for the right assembly tech), and whether trade schools or recruiters are the better pipeline for small manufacturers.
Transcribe →Saying No to Scale: Pipeline Cuts, ECO Fatigue & 500% Growth Without Breaking
Mar 2500:58:50Tap to summarizeMatt and Michael open with a rare moment of alignment — both independently arrived at the same conclusion this week: they're doing too much. Matt trimmed his sales pipeline from 95 deals down to 33, cutting loose months-old leads that were draining energy without moving forward. Michael is rethinking his entire business model, pushing toward a larger share of semi-turnkey and product revenue and away from the complex integrations that eat margin and goodwill. Both are learning, in their own ways, that saying no is a growth strategy.On the marketing side, Michael hits a milestone — Shopify becomes the majority of revenue for the first time, driven by a Google Ads campaign running at 60x ROAS and a newly launched Auto Vice LT going immediately to backorder. Matt finalizes plans for the VFS spinoff page, approves new homepage and service page updates, and reflects on a six-year, 32-page sales playbook that finally gets a Claude-assisted rewrite.Engineering-wise, Matt's team goes all-in on Project 29 — a complex multi-robot build targeting delivery in under six months — while managing 91% utilization and onboarding a wave of new engineers. Michael launches the Auto Vice LT, rolls out Spindle Storm, and digs into ECO fatigue, sharing how removing his personal cell from his email signature has already changed how difficult customers escalate.The episode closes with a candid exchange on 500% revenue growth without doubling headcount, the real cost of training new engineers (60% output in year one), AI-assisted marketing agency oversight, and why customers who want to buy too fast are actually a red flag.
Transcribe →When the Grind Goes Smarter: AI-Built Systems, Margin Reality & Engineering at Capacity
Mar 1800:49:08Tap to summarizeMatt and Michael kick off Q2 planning mode while navigating one of the tightest operational squeezes yet. Matt reflects on running 91% engineering utilization — well above his preferred ceiling — and what that means for team sustainability, onboarding, and hitting deadlines without burning people out. He also shares a quiet but meaningful decision: hiring a cleaning crew that returned a 25% time gain for engineers, and donating Develop's SMT pick-and-place line to a local trade school.Michael, powering through being sick, goes deep on a fully custom AI-connected ERP he's built from scratch without writing a line of code. Tied into HubSpot, Shopify, LinkedIn, YouTube, QuickBooks, and Gmail, it's already automating email drafts, flagging follow-up gaps, cross-posting social content, and even modifying Shopify product pages on voice command. He also runs a hard margin audit that reveals both the IntraLoad and semi-turnkey lines are underperforming — and shares how he's repositioning pricing to target 60% gross margins. CoolantClear officially launches as a full product, with zero beta complaints.The episode closes with a candid debate about whether SaaS is dying for small business, OKR structure and performance-based comp, meeting culture creep, and a team event brainstorm that ends somewhere between skydiving and workers' comp risk management.
Transcribe →Product vs. Service: The Dangerous Middle for Automation Companies
Mar 1100:47:59Tap to summarizeMatt and Michael dive into a question many automation companies eventually face: are you building a product business or a service business—and what happens if you try to do both? Michael reflects from a corporate retreat on the tension between scaling product-driven revenue and supporting the service-heavy work that often surrounds automation deployments.Meanwhile, Matt shares what growth pressure looks like on the integrator side. With a single customer consuming a large portion of Develop’s engineering capacity, the team is racing to hire new engineers, restructure financial forecasting, and build the systems needed to support multiple large automation builds without sacrificing delivery quality.They also discuss pricing strategy for automation products, how operator skill level affects real-world reliability, the risks of customer concentration, and why founders often become the bottleneck again during rapid growth phases. Along the way, the conversation touches on marketing slowdowns, hiring challenges in engineering roles, ERP experimentation with AI, and the constant balancing act between execution today and building the systems needed for tomorrow.
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