Bragi – The Headphone
Project Overview
Long before Apple AirPods, Bragi was a pioneer developing the world’s first fully wireless, intelligent earphones. I led the complete lifecycle of this consumer electronics innovation, from prototype validation through to global mass production. The role sat at the intersection of category-defining hardware and startup pace, in one of the most competitive product spaces on the market.
The Challenge
The core challenge was managing extraordinary complexity on every axis at once. I had to coordinate a cross-functional team of senior engineers, run manufacturing across Europe and China through formal stage gates (DOE, EVT, DVT, PVT), and secure strategic partnerships with tier-one global players, all inside an Agile framework. Hardware startups demand that hardware, software, and operational realities move together, in sync, without any of them slipping.
My Role & the Solution
Agile implementation in hardware. I embedded Scrum into an 8-person senior engineering team spanning hardware, software, and UX. Jira became the sprint-planning backbone, bringing predictability and structure to an accelerated, high-complexity development cycle rarely associated with consumer electronics hardware.
- End-to-end product lifecycle management. I orchestrated the full technical journey from design validation to mass production scaling, coordinating supply chain, operations, marketing, quality assurance, and certification agencies to keep market entry on track.
- Strategic alliances and business development. Acting as the bridge between engineering and business strategy, I negotiated a $10,000 exclusivity agreement with AT&T and pitched project concepts directly to the board, keeping the technical roadmap aligned with corporate long-term vision.
- Process innovation and risk management. I ran the project through formal stage-gate governance, presenting detailed project plans, risk analyses, and resource forecasts. I also designed and rolled out internal testing and inventory management processes that lifted product efficiency and quality
Results
A Real Impact
My leadership was instrumental in bringing this innovative product to the global market, achieving significant commercial and strategic milestones.
- Managed the complete lifecycle and market launch of one of the world’s first fully wireless smart earphones
- $10K exclusive agreement negotiated with AT&T, the world’s largest telecommunications company
- $1M+ product variant line delivered for the APAC market
- 2 platforms (mobile and desktop) supported