PUCK – Universal Smart Remote (SmashToast, Inc.)

PUCK is a compact, infrared-to-Bluetooth smart remote designed to modernize control of legacy devices. As founder and product lead at SmashToast, Inc., I guided PUCK from early concept through full commercial launch, managing the product across its entire lifecycle—research, design, engineering, manufacturing, distribution, and customer support.

Role & Skills Developed

  • Product Strategy & Market Validation: Led customer discovery to identify a niche for a low-cost, low-friction way to control IR devices from smartphones. Defined core value proposition and scoped the MVP.
  • Hardware & Firmware Development: Oversaw the design and refinement of multiple hardware iterations based on the Telink TLSR8269 chip. Collaborated with engineers on firmware development, device pairing workflows, BLE communication, and IR signal processing.
  • Mobile App Architecture: Directed iOS/Android app feature development, including device onboarding, IR command libraries, and UI flows for seamless remote control.
  • Supply Chain & Manufacturing: Managed sourcing, production planning, quality control, and contract manufacturing to ensure consistent builds across batches.
  • Brand & Go-To-Market Execution: Built the company’s brand identity, created launch campaigns, secured retail and distribution partners, and established customer support infrastructure.
  • Scalable Operations: Implemented systems for inventory tracking, returns handling, customer feedback loops, and continuous firmware/app updates.

Key Product Lifecycle Milestones

  • Concept → Validation:
    • Identified a market gap in enabling smartphone control for IR-based legacy devices.
    • Completed early functional prototypes proving long-range IR transmission and stable BLE connectivity.
  • Prototype → Architecture Refinement:
    • Designed successive hardware revisions to reduce size, improve power efficiency, and optimize IR LED positioning.
    • Refined firmware to ensure low-latency command transmission.
  • Testing → Certification:
    • Performed iterative functional, reliability, and environmental testing.
    • Navigated regulatory certification (FCC/CE), ensuring compliance across markets.
  • Manufacturing → Launch:
    • Coordinated production runs and validated each unit through quality-assurance procedures.
    • Launched PUCK through direct sales channels and retail partnerships, including integration with nationwide distributors (Walmart, Home Depot, Amazon, etc.).
  • Post-Launch → Growth:
    • Strengthened mobile app features based on customer insights; expanded IR device compatibility.
    • Supported thousands of active users with ongoing updates, documentation, and technical troubleshooting.
    • Leveraged customer feedback to explore next-generation form factors and chipset upgrades.

Impact

PUCK established SmashToast as an innovative hardware startup capable of taking a consumer electronics product from idea to market with a lean, iterative process. The experience cemented my expertise in full-stack product development—hardware, firmware, software, manufacturing, and GTM execution—while sharpening my ability to validate ideas, lead cross-functional teams, and scale a product in real-world use.