From Failed Kickstarter to Exit with ShredLights' Eric Birkemeier

In this episode of the Tacos & Tech Podcast, host Neal Bloom sits down with Eric Birkemeier, founder of ShredLights and now part of Meepo Electric Skateboards. Eric's story is a wild ride - from 3D-printing in the SDSU ZIP Launchpad and selling Jordans out of thrift stores, to building a niche hardware company and ultimately exiting to a global electric skateboard brand.

They unpack how Eric turned an early failed Kickstarter into a business with over $1M+ in revenue (with zero ad spend!), the importance of discovering product-market fit through real customer feedback, and the emotional rollercoaster of running and eventually selling a hardware startup during a downturn. From bootstrapping to navigating COVID, tariffs, and copycats - Eric shares what it really takes to get to the finish line (and how the finish line is just another beginning).

Key Topics Covered:

• From basement builds to business: Eric's early love for inventing and entrepreneurship

• The SDSU ZIP Launchpad, finding community, and the startup that wasn't a fit

• Why the wrong customers helped him discover the right market

• Pivoting from skate culture to the growing micro-mobility movement

• Scaling from 3D printers to overseas supply chains - and the lessons from doing it the hard way

• How Kyle and Eric's founder relationship helped them navigate burnout, illness, and transition

• Building trust with manufacturers and how one trip to China changed everything

• Financial forecasting, staying lean, and prepping for an acquisition

• The gritty, real story behind selling a business - and what Eric's learned about what comes next

Links & Resources:

• ShredLights

• Meepo Electric Skateboards

• Physics Girl on YouTube

Connect with Eric & Neal

• Connect with Eric Birkemeier

• Connect with Neal Bloom