What if your product development cycle could be compressed from 12 months to weeks? In this episode of Built Not Born, the conversation focuses on unpacking why physical product companies struggle to move fast and how they can build agility into their DNA.
Host Sage Nye sits down with Brian Lindauer, Founder and CEO of VibeIQ, as Brian shares lessons from two decades across retail and product development, explaining how fragmented systems, unstructured data, and siloed teams quietly slow decision-making and inflate inventory risk.
The conversation explores how true product-line understanding can compress development cycles from months to weeks, and why AI’s real power isn’t just automation, but prediction to help teams assess feasibility, margins, and manufacturability earlier in the process.
Brian also dives into building enterprise tools people actually want to use, scaling go-to-market strategies for physical goods, and hiring A-players who thrive in ambiguity. It’s a practical, grounded discussion for founders and operators looking to turn product development from a bottleneck into a strategic advantage.
What if your product development cycle could be compressed from 12 months to weeks? In this episode of Built Not Born, the conversation focuses on unpacking why physical product companies struggle to move fast and how they can build agility into their DNA.
Host Sage Nye sits down with Brian Lindauer, Founder and CEO of VibeIQ, as Brian shares lessons from two decades across retail and product development, explaining how fragmented systems, unstructured data, and siloed teams quietly slow decision-making and inflate inventory risk.
The conversation explores how true product-line understanding can compress development cycles from months to weeks, and why AI’s real power isn’t automation, but prediction to help teams assess feasibility, margins, and manufacturability earlier in the process.
Brian also dives into building enterprise tools people actually want to use, scaling go-to-market strategies for physical goods, and hiring A-players who thrive in ambiguity. It’s a practical, grounded discussion for founders and operators looking to turn product development from a bottleneck into a strategic advantage.
Here’s what you will learn:
- Why physical product companies struggle to achieve a 12+ month GTM cycle
- How to build enterprise software users actually *want* to adopt instead of resisting
- The expansion revenue playbook for infrastructure products
- How to identify your ICP and go-to-market playbook without losing early momentum
- Why AI's biggest leverage in product development isn't automation, it's prediction and agility
- The non-negotiable leadership principle: hire relentlessly for character and culture
Brian Lindauer is the co-founder of VibeIQ and a longtime leader in merchandising and product development for consumer and retail brands. After two decades helping teams build assortments that drive revenue, reduce markdowns, and deepen customer loyalty, Brian saw how outdated, siloed data slowed critical decisions. In 2020, he launched VibeIQ, the first assortment lifecycle platform unifying real-time product data and visuals, helping teams collaborate earlier, move faster, and turn assortment complexity into clarity.
Episode Resources: