Interview Series #04 - The Future of Manufacturing
An interview with Natan Linder (Co-Founder and CEO at Tulip Interfaces).
Hey there!
this is the fourth interview of my interview series with founders and commercial leaders of manufacturing technology companies. I will share these interviews regularly with you. You can find a written summary of the interview below.
Enjoy reading - and as always, sharing and feedback is a gift.
Robin
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Intro 👇
In this interview, I sat down with Natan Linder, Co-Founder and CEO of Tulip Interfaces.
Tulip, founded in 2014 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), is a leader in frontline operations, working with companies across industries to equip their workforce with connected apps. The company enables businesses to streamline workflows, integrate machines, and gain actionable insights without needing extensive coding expertise. Since its inception, Tulip has grown to serve a diverse portfolio of global customers, including leading names such as Roche and Stanley Black & Decker. These organizations rely on Tulip to bridge the gap between the shop floor and cutting-edge digital innovation. Tulip has raised over $150M to date and has recently launched its generative AI-based frontline co-pilot.
Natan and I talked about Tulip’s early days, key strategic decisions, user adoption and how to make transformation successful. Below you can find a summary of the interview. Thanks again Natan for all the work you have done in this industry and for sharing your story.
“We had to punch above our weight, going global very early, because supply chains are global and multinational companies need that capability.”
The main take-aways for builders
👉 Stay close to customers: focus on asking questions instead of storytelling and selling. Operational staff in the factory will be long term advocates of your solution if you can make their job easier/faster. Every new hire should spend lots of time with customers during the onboarding phase
👉 Embrace an ecosystem mindset: manufacturing is very complex and requires multiple integrated solutions to provide value. It is essential to find partners for successful transformation of a company
👉 Pick a broad enough vertical: manufacturing can be very specific. If you are too narrow, you will have a hard time scaling your solution to other verticals
👉 Avoid point solutions: while it can be tempting to solve a specific problem early on to get initial traction, it will be much harder to become a platform business later on
The early days of Tulip
When Tulip got started around 2014, the early team worked on an initial thesis document outlining Tulip’s vision for a manufacturing operations platform. Most of the thesis still holds true today such as the need to build a composable architecture that allows for flexibility and scalability in manufacturing operations
The founders identified a gap between the exponential growth of general software/cloud tech compared to linear adoption in manufacturing operations. One of the key questions was: why does manufacturing operations staff still use manual tools (post-its, paper) to build very sophisticated products? This needs to change
The company started with an initial check from a customer before the founders invested their own money and raised venture funding later on
Tulip took an early bet on regulated industries such as pharmaceuticals and medical devices. This came with additional complexity on the compliance side. However, the bet has paid off since these industries now represent around 30-35% of the business
Key strategic decisions
Going global early: Tulip went global very early on due to the focus on large multinational customers. Based in the US, its second customer was already in Europe
Own hardware: to ensure edge capabilities, Tulip decided to build its own hardware
Quality management system: to serve regulated industries, Tulip developed a quality management system and needed to go through many certification processes which is very time consuming for an early-stage startup
Open ecosystem: instead of being protective of its IP, Tulip has been very open with what they are developing and how they are working with partners. To put it with Natan’s words: “don’t be cagey”
How to make digital transformation successful
Digital transformation is about enabling the people to change how the company works. It's a continuous, ongoing process and not one-time event - something many people get wrong
The focus should be on continuous transformation, as both the technology and the business need evolve over time
It's crucial to empower the staff on the ground to drive transformation, rather than relying solely on top-down directives
Embracing an open ecosystem mindset is essential, as manufacturing operations require integrated solutions from multiple sources (think machines, sensors, people, material)
3 learnings from Formlabs that he applied at Tulip
Accessibility of complex technology: Natan emphasized making complex technology accessible to the end users with Tulip, similar to how Formlabs made 3D printing technology user-friendly for designers and engineers. Tulip’s no-code platform and generative AI co-pilot are examples of that focus
Asset-light manufacturing: Formlabs operated as an asset-light company, relying on contract manufacturers and investing in manufacturing technology to ensure product quality and delivery, a principle that influenced Tulip's approach
Vertical integration: the need for complete vertical integration and in-house software development at Formlabs highlighted the importance of multidisciplinary engineering capabilities that you need in a team, which Natan applied to Tulip's operations
His advice for user adoption
Empower through education: Tulip university plays a crucial role in empowering its users by offering courses that have been completed by over 12,000 participants, enabling them to become proficient in using Tulip's platform
Train-the-trainer approach: the bottom-up model includes train-the-trainer workshops, which help disseminate knowledge and skills throughout an organization and fostering a culture of continuous learning and improvement
Template library: similar to other no-code tools, Tulip provides a library of templates that users can customize, allowing them to quickly get started and tailor solutions to their specific needs without starting from scratch
Cultivating groundbreakers: by focusing on training and certifying users, Tulip fosters a community of "groundbreakers" who are equipped to drive digital transformation and innovation within their organizations
Cultural practices at Tulip
Hands-on onboarding: every new hire needs to spend two weeks in customer support/success to understand Tulip’s customers in detail
Hiring mix: Tulip focuses to have a healthy mix of both experienced leaders and fresh graduates who are often becoming leaders later on
Adaptability principle: experience doesn’t predict startup success. Tulip focuses on adaptability and on hiring people who maintain “hunger and flexibility of mind”
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