The Next Big Idea Best Of: Tony Fadell’s Guide to Building Products, Startups and Careers
25 snips
Apr 16, 2026 
Tony Fadell, engineer and entrepreneur who led development of the iPod, iPhone, and Nest, shares lessons from a career of bold product bets. He discusses mentorship, learning through failure, rapid product building, choosing the right customer focus, and designing for real user needs. Short, actionable conversations about timing, storytelling, and responsibility in product design.
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Prioritize Learning Over Title Or Salary
- Choose roles and projects for what you'll learn, not for title or pay.
- Tony Fadell says early-career choices should prioritize skill-building to become exceptional over chasing money or status.
Win Mentors By Being Persistent And Helpful
- Get persistent access to people you admire by repeatedly offering tangible value.
- Fadell describes a six-month cadence of submissions and useful follow-ups that convinced General Magic to hire him.
I Tried To Build The iPhone Twice
- Tony recounts building proto-iPhone projects for years before success at Apple.
- He calls General Magic the first iPhone attempt and notes 14–15 years of iterative failure before breakthroughs at 31.
