Interview with Marco Ciaffi
Marco Ciaffi
JULY 15, 2024 | 00:43 | Episode 26
Marco Ciaffi and the challenges and lessons he and Jothy learned from the Dover experiences
In this conversation, Jothy Rosenberg and Marco discuss their backgrounds, their experiences working together at Dover, and their current endeavors. They touch on topics such as the importance of culture and communication in building a successful company, the challenges they faced at Dover, and the lessons they learned from those experiences. They also discuss the concept of grit and how it has shaped their careers. Marco shares his current role at Rebuild Manufacturing and the vision of reshoring American manufacturing.
ABOUT MY GUEST
Marco Ciaffi, Engineering Director at Re:Build Fikst
Marco has been working in high tech for several decades. A native of Italy, Marco grew up in New York City and received a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Pratt Institute. He moved to New England to begin his engineering career with Digital Equipment Corporation. Marco moved into cyber with RSA Security where he led hardware and software engineering teams building authentication products. Along the way he went on to receive a Master’s degree in computer science from Boston University and an executive certificate from MIT’s Sloan School of Management.
In 2015 he joined a small team at Draper Labs in Cambridge, Mass which spun out two years later and created Dover Microsystems. Marco was one of Dover’s Co-Founders and its VP of Engineering. Today Marco is building a new Embedded Systems team at Re:Build Manufacturing, based in Massachusetts.
Summary
In this conversation, Jothy Rosenberg and Marco discuss their backgrounds, their experiences working together at Dover, and their current endeavors. They touch on topics such as the importance of culture and communication in building a successful company, the challenges they faced at Dover, and the lessons they learned from those experiences. They also discuss the concept of grit and how it has shaped their careers. Marco shares his current role at Rebuild Manufacturing and the vision of reshoring American manufacturing.
Takeaways
The importance of culture and communication in building a successful company
The challenges and lessons learned from working at Dover
The concept of grit and its impact on career success
The vision of reshoring American manufacturing at Rebuild Manufacturing
Sound Bites
"I was doing things that I never imagined that I have to do."
"[NXP was] so close to putting you in and then suddenly, you know, [they] pulled the plug because, well, you know, we'd run out of money."
"My biggest struggle right now is really talent, getting talent.”
Links
Marco’s Re:Build Manufacturing: https://rebuildmanufacturing.com/
Please leave us a review: https://podchaser.com/DesigningSuccessfulStartups
Tech Startup Toolkit (book): https://www.manning.com/books/tech-startup-toolkit
Jothy’s website: https://jothyrosenberg.com
The Who Says I Can’t Foundation: https://whosaysicant.org
Jothy’s TEDx talk on disabilities: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNtOawXAx5A
Chapters
00:00 Introduction and Background
05:47 Working Together at Dover
09:42 Challenges and Lessons Learned at Dover
23:05 Smooth Landing and Lessons from Dover
27:57 Current Challenges and Talent Acquisition
32:54 The Power of Grit
36:39 Reshoring American Manufacturing
