Being an Engineer
Being an Engineer
Dakota Welker | User Needs, Design Inputs, Verification & Validation
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Dakota Welker is a mechanical engineer, product developer, and founder of Think MedTek, an engineering consultancy focused on helping startups transform early-stage ideas into functional, manufacturable products. A Purdue University graduate with a background in engineering technology and organizational leadership, Dakota has worked across medical devices, industrial automation, pneumatic systems, and other forms of physical product development.
Through Think MedTek, Dakota works closely with physician inventors, hardware founders, and growing product companies that need experienced mechanical leadership without immediately building a full internal engineering team. His work covers product design, CAD engineering, prototyping, design optimization, testing, and preparation for manufacturing and regulatory requirements.
Dakota’s project experience includes leading a medical-device redesigns with validated improvements, developing a multidisciplinary nephrology prototype in 12 weeks, and designing surgical and prosthetic concepts that contributed to patent filings and grant opportunities. He has also taken over projects that stalled during previous vendor or freelancer engagements, helping clients improve both technical quality and development timelines.
His approach is built around treating every prototype as though it could enter production in the near future. Rather than postponing manufacturability, documentation, supplier planning, and risk reduction, Dakota incorporates them throughout the development process. That philosophy allows startups to create prototypes that do more than demonstrate an idea—they support testing, fundraising, regulatory planning, and the eventual transition into production. Think MedTek similarly emphasizes rapid iteration, startup-conscious budgeting, and designing for real-world use from the beginning.
LINKS:
Dakota Welker LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dakota-welker-834453b0/
Think MedTek website: https://thinkmedtek.com/
Aaron Moncur, host
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So my favorite part, um, I would say it's just the eng- I mean, of, of course I enjoy the engineering. That's-- I really enjoy the creative design and development. I enjoy, like, being able to see things go together and work when I build a prototype. But I also too, like, I kind of had some enjoyment of being able to educate people who have no clue and kinda seeing that light bulb, and them then kind of like, "Oh, that's really helpful," and things like that. And like, you know, it's almost like, "Hey, my dream's like here," like, "This is what I envisioned."
Aaron:Hello, and welcome to another episode of the Being an Engineer podcast. Today we've got Dakota Welker, who is a mechanical engineer, product developer, and founder of Think Med Tech, where he helps hardware and medical device startups turn early concepts into manufacturable, test-ready prototypes. His experience spans product design, CAD, DFM, prototyping, verification and validation, and production transfer. Dakota has led major cost reduction initiatives, rescued stalled development projects, and helped founding teams move quickly without sacrificing quality and manufacturing readiness. Dakota, welcome to the show.
Dakota Welker:Yeah, thanks for having me
Aaron:So tell us what made you decide to become an engineer?
Dakota Welker:Oh, this goes back to high school when I remember I didn't really know what I wanted to do. Um, there was a few different things I was looking at, like farming. I was really into agriculture. Uh, I was really into like art a little bit. I was not a good artist, but that's what I was kind of into. Um, but then I had a physics teacher I really got interested in, like, I really, uh, learned a lot from him, really enjoyed his class of physics. So I decided, you know what? The engineering class sounds really interesting. I'm very curious. You know, I love, like how things are built and how things go together. So I tried it and then I loved it. And then at the same time, I was taking an entrepreneurship program and it was actually at the Purdue campus, um, in Anderson. So, uh, at the same time I was doing that, I got to in, in, that, uh, area and it had an engineering program and I really, you know, I got some mentor, a mentor there that I really learned a lot from and really liked, looked at that program and I was like, "I think I really wanna do that." So, and the rest is history, and I fell in love with engineering and really enjoyed being an engineer
Aaron:So you're primarily in the pr- product development space, and, uh, your, uh, your company, uh, Think Med Tech is, is focused on medical devices, but you also have a day job where you do a different kind of, of product development. How did you decide that product development was the area within engineering that you wanted to focus on?
Dakota Welker:So I would say that like, it's just s- I've tried to-- Like, I started out in automotive and didn't really it, and then I got into pneumatics and there was things about pneumatics that I enjoyed, but I don't know. When I got into-- I got into a medical device startup and really enjoyed developing that product. Um, so I think it's just nice to be able to see, like, people, like, having hands-on benefit or a direct benefit from it, um, and be able to see that development and seeing how people interact with it. Yeah, you see that with, like, other, like, industrial products and things like that, but I feel like you really get to see how people use it, understand people, and integrate with that. So I think it's maybe the art, you know, the part that's was interested in art, like, and I get to pull in that to it. And then I have, like, an entrepreneurship part of me that I really-- Like, I really enjoy entrepreneurship and business, so I get to pull that into it as well, and then kind of put it into developing a product that a person, like, touches and feels, and you can iterate and build and things like that.
Aaron:Yeah, th- this is sounding an awful lot like my own journey a long time ago. Of course, I got laid off and had to start something to feed the family, so luckily you're not in that situation. But I was always into kind of the aesthetic side of design, not just the, the functional side of engineering. And so I was super excited to start doing design on, on my own, where I could wear all the hats. I also had that entrepreneurial business bug. I'm curious, where did that come from for you? What, uh, what was it that made you interested in, in starting your own business?
Dakota Welker:I, I remember even since elementary I was interested in starting a business. And I don't know exactly what it was, whether it was just like the appeal towards like the freedom that you would get from it, you know. I, I know the joke, you know, you get to choose your 80 hours to work, but there's still like a, like an, a freedom aspect to it or like, you know, and I started studying it and like, you know, it has a-- your, your ceiling is just unlimited and I really enjoy that aspect of it. And then as I've gotten into it more and more, I really enjoy the skill building. Like it, it helps you build skills in a way that I feel like my day job hasn't gotten in the same, in the same way. I mean, obviously I've learned a lot from my day jobs, um, but I feel like entrepreneurship pushes me in like i-in my skill sets and my character. It just, it's really developed and forged me as a person, and I've just like really enjoyed it even more. Um, I don't know, like would say it's been a progressive interest, increasing interest in entrepreneurship, but I wouldn't say I, I can point to like this one thing that really got me into it.
Aaron:When you were younger, you mentioned even being interested in business and entrepreneurship back then. Uh, maybe using the, the term business is too much of a stretch, but were there any, quote-unquote, "businesses" that, you know, a lemonade stand on the side of the road, even that type of thing, that, that you started when you were a kid that you, you tried and you were like, "Yeah, I like this. This is fun"?
Dakota Welker:Yeah. So, um, I remember in elementary I was really into Captain Underpants and they
Aaron:Oh, nice.
Dakota Welker:Yeah, so that was my, uh, fifth grade interest. And then they would always make these comic books, and they would sell the comic books. So I got really into, like, trying to do that with one of my best friends at the time, and we would try to sell them. I mean, he was a better artist than I was, so he always did better. But, um, I remember trying to do that and I like, you know, being a creative and, like, making my own thing. And then in middle school I, I tried to like a few things, like a, like a stand. You know, I would sell like snacks and sodas at garage sales that, you know, my grandmother would do, or I even tried doing like a lemonade stand in middle school. And then, um, got back into that, like did some graphic design type stuff in, in high school. So I've tried like a series of things and then, you know, I've tried a few things even since as a, as an adult.
Aaron:Yeah, same thing with me. Uh, I remember in middle school I, I had a, uh, baseball card business. I'd go to school and I'd have, you know, 100 cards that, uh, were pretty good I guess, and I'd sell them here and I'd sell them there, and the whole thing went great, and I did pretty well until someone stole all my cards and shut me down. I was out of business. It was a, it was a sad day, yeah. But anyway, it was fun while it lasted. All right, let's get back to engineering. Um, let's talk about prototypes. So you are a big believer in prototypes, and not just prototypes that, that look good but are actual- actually functional, move the, the business forward somehow, a- and maybe even have some element of, of DFM implemented. So what, in your mind, what separates a prototype from something that just looks good to something that's actually gonna move the business forward?
Dakota Welker:Yeah. So to me, a prototype, especially at the early stages, is you're just trying to learn things. Um, and that's an approach. And I-- There was a book, uh, called"Lean Startup" that I really enjoyed, and I'm, I've been trying to, uh, tinker around with that type of concept of, like, getting something built, keeping things moving, learning from it. So to me, it's about having something that's gonna be-- uh, uh, learning something that's gonna be towards your end goal. So I think it's about understanding your end goal, what you're trying to go for, and trying to learn as quickly as possible and as effectively as possible. Um, so, like, I've had a few times where it's like, you know, you have these inventors and they want this prototype that looks nice to, to an investor, or they had one made in the past and it wasn't quite what they wanted, uh, because it didn't show the functionality. So, like, you have to have to show the, like, core functions to be able to show like, okay, what's-- what are you trying to-- what-- how's your product different? Yeah, maybe it looks nice, but how is your product different? So showing some of those mechanical aspects or, um, uh, electrical or software aspects. And I, I'm not a software or electrical guy. I do it through, uh, like my, my software skills are AI, you know, prompting, and my electrical skills are, you know, Arduino boards with maybe a few ca- wires, and that's about my capability. But, like, the-- you try to integrate with those technolo- those technologies are also important to, to sell your prototype if you're, like, pitching to investors. And if you're not trying to pitch to investors in that next thing, what you're trying to do is show, like, what's gonna work, what's not gonna work, and that's how I, I view it.
Aaron:What's the typical, um, what's the word I'm looking for? Like, path, I guess, that, that your customers take. Like, what, what, what's the, the hero's journey, so to speak? Um, are you working with mostly, in your company that is the Think Med Tech, are you working with mostly startups? And, like, how do they find you? Where are they typically starting that, that you help with? Like, what's the next stage that you're typically trying to help them get to?
Dakota Welker:Yeah. So most, most of the people I get, um, I've had a few people come through LinkedIn, but it's mostly been through Upwork, um, through that freelance platform. And a lot of them are, they have no idea. Like, they don't know, like, what goes into engineering or product development, and they just have an idea and they don't, you know, maybe they Like they, they have some, the money that they can put into it, and they, and they want-- they're really passionate about their product, but they have no idea, like, what, what the, what to do. So, like, I usually go for a four-stage approach, and I'm constantly trying to iterate on it and improve it. Um, my goal is to try to be able to have something as much ground, grounding as possible to where they could have as m- set them up for as much success as possible within a budget that's reasonable for them. So when you're doing a, you know, you're bootstrapping and doing it out of pocket, you don't have a million-dollar budget to develop a medical device, for example. But you may have $10,000 to at least get through to the point where you can have something to pitch to investors. And that's what a lot of people end up with, is something they want to present to an investor. so I, I'm going back to my four-phase approach, is usually I start out with, like, a documentation phase. So that may be developing the products, the problem statement, uh, really defining what they're after, um, helping them kind of get an idea of what market they're after. Uh, I try not to go into things that are outside of my expertise too much, but I try to go and say,"Hey, do your market research. Make sure you know what you're aiming for," because I don't want you to spend a bunch of money on something that isn't really something that's gonna sell. So I always try to en-encourage them to do that. Um, give them the differ- kind of give them an idea of, like, what the regulatory, uh, pathway… If it's a medical, a regulatory pathway. If it's not medic-medical, it would be like, you know, what's their pathway to get that product out to the market. So I guess it's in a way, like, a 1,000-foot view of the roadmap. Um, and then I try to define, like, what your user needs, um, and your design inputs are, uh, for medical device, and I do, like, a version of that for if it's, like, a consumer. Um, I mostly do medical. That's mostly what I've been, I've been able to help, like, uh, physicians mostly is who I, who, who I've helped. Probably over half the people have been that. Um, and then once that's all done and in place, we start getting into the point where I'll start doing, like, concepts. So maybe I'll do some hand sketches. Uh, don't look at them. They're not pretty, but they get the message across. Uh, I may even go into and use, um, a secure AI, uh, to get some renderings, um, something that's gonna protect their information still, but still get some kind of rendering to kind of get an idea of, like, what we're gonna go towards. And then I'll go into CAD, and then after that, I'll go into the third phase, which is prototyping. So I'll build a few different, a few prototypes and maybe a few rounds of prototypes. And then the fourth one's shipping them the prototype, closing it out, kind of getting some feedback from them, and getting into those next steps. So that usually gets them to something they, they either can, you know, test on their own or they could present to an investor or, and go to the next phase, the next stage that they wanna go into. Um, and I've been able to keep that decently affordable a-and effective, as I mentioned before. Um, but I definitely have, like, sp- Started to look at my process and more and more time is being spent in phase one and two. Um, especially phase one and really laying that groundwork. And then phase two is, like, really getting into more details within the CAD. Uh, that way we're spending less time and less money on the actual prototype. Uh, still more of an MVP, like 3D printed, uh, something I do in my own shop by hand type of prototype. So still trying to keep it low, still trying to get it to there as quickly as possible. and I could go down that loop as about, like, thought process about, like, how to, you know, how quickly do you get to the prototype versus how much time do you spend up front, and that's a, balance on its own.
Aaron:Some of these, uh, physician inventors that you work with are, are not engineers, right? Engineers, I would hope, understand and appreciate the value of good documentation. But outside of having that core experience as an engineer, I could imagine that some people might not appreciate the value in the documentation. Do you ever get pushback from some of these customers saying, "Why are we spending all the time on, on defining requirements and, and documentation? Just, just put something in, into CAD and 3D print it for me." Or is that not a, uh, an objection that you face very often?
Dakota Welker:So I think it depends. Um, a-a-and I think part of that's just building trust. Uh, part of it's just like, you know, you, you wanna have it to where you build trust with your customer. so if they don't trust you, I think that's part of where that like, you know, well, there's a reason why there's documentation and you can explain that to them. But if they don't trust you, I don't think that's gonna, that's gonna fall flat. Um, most of the time it does okay, especially with physicians. They, I think they understand the value of like documentation and laying their groundwork, but I've even had pushback even from physicians. Like I've, I've did some testing. Um, there was a physician I did some, a prototype for and did some testing, and he wanted me to, uh, not to skip that documentation. And then I explained to him, I'm like,"One, I don't actually spend that much time on it. I'm able to actually utilize tools to, to just speak my notes, get it done pretty quickly." But, uh, it's also two, it shows value because the value in that is that it's like it's showing what I did, why, you know, thought process of what I did, wha- why I did it, how to improve on it, and so I don't repeat the same mistakes in the next prototype. So in the end, it will save in the long run because if you're just, if you're not taking notes along the way, to me, you're gonna repeat the same mistakes or you're not gonna understand why you made those mistakes.
Aaron:There's an engineer that I know and respect a lot who likes to say that the difference between building something in your garage and real engineering is documentation, and I think that's, that's very true. Yeah. Um, what is-- what's your favorite part of the process? I mean, you're wearing a lot of different hats now, right? You're wearing the, the business owner hat. You're wearing the marketing hat. You're wearing the accounting hat. Obviously, you're wearing the engineering hat. What's your favorite part of it?
Dakota Welker:So my favorite part, um, I would say it's just the eng- I mean, of, of course I enjoy the engineering. That's-- I really enjoy the creative design and development. I enjoy, like, being able to see things go together and work when I build a prototype. But I also too, like, I kind of had some enjoyment of being able to educate people who have no clue and kinda seeing that light bulb, and them then kind of like, "Oh, that's really helpful," and things like that. Um, so that's, that's also been enjoyable, is just being able to see the client experience of being able to, like, educate them and get that light bulb, or like when they're really happy with their prototype, like being able to see it and like, you know, it's almost like, "Hey, my dream's like here," like, "This is what I envisioned." And so that's, that's been fun too. Um, yeah. I would… Go ahead.
Aaron:What's their path to revenue? Uh, I mean, um, uh, a lot of the people you're working with are, are, uh, physician founders, right? They don't have, like, a big sales team built out where once the product design is finished, they can just hand it over to the sales team, and they go out and start selling it. These are individuals. So how do, how do the customers that you work with, these, uh, generally physician-led inventors, how do they bridge that gap between, uh, having a, a product that's developed and then generating revenue from it? Is there, uh, one path that you see occur over and over, or has it been a lot of different things?
Dakota Welker:I'll say that, like I haven't been able to be as part of that process too deeply. Um, but I, I've been able to see a few different versions of it. So like within medical, there-- it's really difficult to get into hospitals. Um, so like there's different strategies they can do with that. Like you have to think about reimbursement. Um, some of them will do like a program where like I've seen some startups, they'll, they'll sell a device at cost and then they'll sell disposables and that's where their money and revenue comes from. Um, some of them will just, they can just sell, like if it's just something like it's a simple device, they could sell that and be able to do that to, and they make their revenue off of that. Um, and then some of them it's, it's a rent, like they may rent a machine out. Um, so there's a couple different paths they can choose and I think the important part is just knowing how that's gonna fit into the medical system. Um, like some of them it's, you have to understand that like how medical, you know, hospitals do their, their, how they do their, their business, um, and how to get into that business. And that's not always as easy and straightforward as just going into Amazon and throwing your product on Amazon and doing typical marketing way, you know, through that. Um, so I would say that's what I've seen in, in, in a couple different ways.
Aaron:There was a project that you did that I read about, and it was some kind of medical device filter, and you were able to reduce the manufacturing costs by something like 50%, which I thought was incredible. Can you walk us through that process? What happened? How were you able to strip out that much cost from the product?
Dakota Welker:Yeah. So I'll put this caveat at the beginning, um, that I didn't actually get to see that product go into full force and to production. Um, so I'll put that caveat at the beginning 'cause I ended up leaving, leaving before that. Um, and it-- but it was close. Uh, so that, that was one that was brought to me, uh, and the guy-- there were some guys that already did some research, so I wanna give them credit where credit's due. And they started going in through and, and kind of seeing different things. And so what the big strategy behind that was just bringing it in-house and working with different vendors rather than the one vendor that you were locked into. So, like with that specific type of filter, um, it, it was very niche, so, like they could charge a lot. So, like the, the strategy was to bring it in-house, do some, uh, uh, that's own- their own components and do the assembly in-house. So that's how they were able, uh, to-- and work with outside vendors to negotiate pricing and, and, and manufacturing strategy and things like that to be able to reduce that cost. Um, so that's, that's where that-- that's how they were able to-- that's how that pro- we were able to do that with that project. And we got to the point where it was like it, you know, it was, uh, you know, the tooling was made, everything was in, in good shape. It just hadn't got to the point of going through the final FDA check marks to get out to the point where it was part of the, uh, market. But it was already part, you know, it was something that they, they knew it was gonna sell and that kind of thing.
Aaron:Nice. That's-- Yeah, we have customers who are the same way. They, they have a product, and they have a contract manufacturer who's making it, and it costs an arm and a leg, and they're trying to insource it. Uh, we've, yeah, we've developed several machines that allow them to do that, so I know exactly what you mean there, and that can be a huge cost reductions. Um, uh, since we're on the topic of medical devices specifically, let's talk about verification and, and validation, which are two terms that are very common in the medical device world. But engineers outside the, the medical device world might not be as familiar with those two terms. Can you talk about what they mean and, and how they are implemented throughout the, the medical device product development process?
Dakota Welker:Yeah. Um, I did have one quick note on the medical filter that I think is also valuable, is that
Aaron:Oh, please
Dakota Welker:we specced it from something that was over-specced for what was needed
Aaron:Ah.
Dakota Welker:it was specced for the right uh, the right use case.
Aaron:Yeah
Dakota Welker:and that's also important. Um, yeah. And then, uh, verification and validation. So those are something that's, that's a term that can get a little bit confusing when you're not in the medical device world, 'cause it kinda sounds like the same thing. So verification in a nutshell is basically you're, you build something, you, you write an engineering spec, you build it, you test it, you check the fa- fact that you met that spec. So it's, um, if you look at the FDA thing, you got your user needs and you got your design inputs. Your design inputs are basically your engineering specs. And so you're testing that in the lab. Your user needs may be something that's gonna be implemented with the user itself, and that's where you validate it. So for example, you may have something that you have an engineering spec that you need a certain flow rate. Okay, well that's a verification, and you're verifying that you could do that flow rate, and you're doing that in the la- uh, you know, you're doing that in your prototype shop or your lab or whatever it is. But you also need to be able to meet, uh, a certain, um, toxicity requirement. So you may take it out and do cytotoxicity testing. So that would be a validation of that, that, that user need. Um, does that make, is that a good explanation of that, you think?
Aaron:I think so, yes. You're saying, uh, technical requirements or design inputs are, are matched with verification, whereas the user needs, the, the more qualitative requirements, shall we say, are matched with the, uh, validation
Dakota Welker:Yeah, yeah. And user needs and design inputs, sometimes you'll get design inputs out of the user needs. Uh, but it, at the end of the day, you're validating that you have that user need met and you're verifying that you have the design input met
Aaron:Yeah, and user needs and, and design inputs are often, uh, always used in formal medical device development, but they're so practical and, and I'm sometimes surprised that they aren't used more commonly in just general product development, right?
Dakota Welker:Yeah, and I've actually been able to use that in things like consumer products. I've, I,
Aaron:Ja
Dakota Welker:it useful and it's, it doesn't have to be as stringent as it is with medical device. Like of course, for medical device you have to meet FDA requirements, so you got a lot more documentation and things like that. But I, I found it so useful to define like that, and I kind of tweak it, you know, since you don't have to worry about meeting regulatory, I kind of tweak it and fit it according to that product. So, excuse me. A user need might be, you know, in that version may be like, well, it has to ergonomically, you know, it has to be comfortable for the person. So that may, you know, and that's, you know, and that may be a design input. Well, comfortable might mean like it has to meet a certain pou- a pound of weight support or something like that. Um, so I've been able to like modify that even for like consumer products.
Aaron:Yeah. Yeah, that's great. Um, do you ever inherit projects from an- another engineer? Like, one of your customers comes to you and says, "Hey, I was working with this other engineer or other engineering company, and for whatever reason couldn't get it a- across the finish line. I, I want you to finish it." Is that something that happens?
Dakota Welker:Yeah, I've had that happen quite often. Um, and you know, there's different reasons why, uh, and but I've been able to like take that and u- usually it's oftentimes just really trying to understand that, that client, um, and what they're after and then, um, just being realistic about what they can achieve with the budget, uh, and, and just communicating. Like it's just over-communicating. And I think sometimes th- that's seems to be the issue I see, um, is of the big issues is, is one, I think sometimes engineers can struggle with communication. Um, and I've definitely had my struggles with it, so I'm not, you know, saying anything bad about that. I, I have my struggles with communication as well. Um, but that's been able to be helpful. Um, the other thing too is not understanding like, um, you'll have somebody that maybe could- wants to- they could do- want- they may want a product that could be done really cheap, so they go to someplace else that ha- that they say can do it for really cheap from, uh, I'm trying to put this, uh, like from a, from like a non-US, um, engineer. Well, s- and but they don't understand like, okay, sometimes those guy- l- and there's, there's rooms and there's places for that, so I'm not trying to say that. But there's times too, it's like, okay, well, what you wanted isn't gonna be capable with that specific freelancer for that cheap. So yes, they could provide you maybe like a, a, a, a d- like a CAD that pr- you know, gives you the kind of the, the look and the feel you want, but you're not gonna have all the detailed engineering. That takes from somebody who's got a different skill set. And I, I should say that's even with US engineers. There's US engi- or that are more CAD-based rather than engineers. Um, so I think that's the other thing I've, I've seen,
Aaron:Ja,
Dakota Welker:that I've had to rescue fr- people from like l- th- those projects where it's like they expected a, a fully engineered product, but they just got the CAD.
Aaron:Yeah, that can happen even, even with, um, larger customers. We have a, a, certainly won't name any names of course, but, uh, years ago we had a customer who, um, had been around for quite a while and had a, a mature product line and came to us and said, "Hey, we need to develop a, um, a, a new part to this, to this line." And, and so we gave him a quote for it, and it was very clear what the scope of work was, and, and they said, "Yep, great. Sounds good. Let's do this." And, and we got to, to the end and gave them all the deliverables, and, uh, there were, uh, I think there was a drawing package that, that wasn't in there, and they were like,"Hey, where's the drawing package?" And we're like, "Well, you didn't want the drawing package. Like, here's the scope of work that we wrote very clearly. You didn't ask, you didn't want the drawing package." So we said, "It's not, that's not, you know, part of the scope." And, and you get to the end, and maybe it's a different person who's managing it at the end than it was at the beginning, and they have different expectations, and communication didn't happen internally, and, and, you know, it, it happens with, with, uh, uh, what's the word I'm looking for? Um, individual inventors as well as big established companies that you think would know better. But it's a- across the board, communication is always, always, always a challenge. What, uh, what's one aspect of the engineering process that you don't like?
Dakota Welker:Oh, the engineering, uh, one aspect. Um, I know on the, like… It's not the engineering side, it's more like, uh, the, the, the more client relationship is like when you have something and they're unhappy with it, having those meetings are not always fun. Um, and I th- I, and I, I would say even in, when you do with engineering, there's just some people management that, that's just hard to, to, to, to navigate, and that's never fun. Like, there's sometimes like you, you know, I've had I've worked for, um, that they, they, you know, had a different idea and/or maybe they had a different-- Or they have an expectation that they think I should meet, but maybe isn't realistic for me, and because they're not an engineer, they don't understand that. And that's hard to some- to, to navigate. Um, and, and just, or even just trying to push back on different ideas. Maybe you're like, I've… Even with other engineers where it's like that idea isn't, you know you've done that before, you know it's the wrong path, and you try to tell somebody else that's the wrong path and try to push back on them. Um, and, and then that just, that, that, that conflict, um, with, with other people. And I, I understand there's a time and place for it and it's needed. That's just a challenge I have with it. So maybe not specifically engineering, but more on the people,
Aaron:Yeah.
Dakota Welker:of things.
Aaron:It's almost like what makes it so fun also makes it challenging, right? Because the, the fact that it's you're developing something, you're inventing something, that's what's so fun. You get to create something that never existed. But because it never existed, it's really hard to define, uh, exactly what the expectations are. Of course, we do our best job with, uh, uh, user needs and design inputs and, and all these things, right? But at the end of the day, uh, even a simple product, when you're developing it, something that has never existed, it's just really, really tough to define everything, and that can lead to some of those unmet expectations. And, and sometimes it's maybe a gray area. Other times people can just be kind of unreasonable, and, and that's where the documentation really becomes super important. And we've had some examples here at Pipeline. Thankfully, we've had really good documentation, and, uh, uh, very infrequently, but, but a small handful of times, a customer has come back and said, "I'm not happy because you didn't give me what I paid for." And we can point to our documentation and say, "Yes, definitively, we did give you exactly what you paid for." And, uh, thankfully, you know, knock on wood, we've never had any, any, um, become too big of, uh, a problem. But the documentation, like you said, overcommunication, super, super important. It's a pain in the butt sometimes, right? Like, writing all the things down and cr- keeping this documentation, it's, it's not fun, but it, it… And, and 99% of the time, uh, it's not even needed. But it's that 1% of the time when it really is needed, boy, you are, are so happy that, that you did a good job maintaining accurate documentation
Dakota Welker:Yeah, absolutely. And another thing I've-- that kind of helped me is like almost scaring away some people, like, and just saying,"Hey, this is what you're getting. This is how much it costs." And like, you know, since I deal with a lot of early stage people, um, that what they-- it kind of scares some, some people away that would like have like want more for less because they have that maybe they don't understand or, you know, I, I don't know their story. I'm not gonna try to pretend like I do. But just being really, really well-defined and, and being very, very clear, this is what you're getting
Aaron:Yeah
Dakota Welker:at the beginning, I think has helped. And I've even like tried to sit down and have like a Zoom meeting with them and go through it point by point and make sure they understand.
Aaron:Yep. Yeah. Um, I, I'm curious, what does your, your day look like? I mean, you're working a full-time job. You, you've got a family. You've got your, uh, your, your Think Bed Tech, uh, side hustle going. Uh, maybe there are other activities and responsibilities that you have in there as well. When are you finding time to sleep with all of this? How, how many hours a day are you working on average?
Dakota Welker:So, depends on what's going on that day. So I probably work on average 60 hours a week, um,
Aaron:It's a lot
Dakota Welker:yeah, is a decent amount. It's, it's manageable, um, but it's, it's a decent amount. So I would say one of the big things is, uh, definitely support from my wife. Uh, she's been very supportive, so I'm, I'm very happy with that. Um, but I'll go back to your original question of what my day looks like. Um, so usually I, you know, I get up, I do my morning routine, and then I go to work and do my day job. I fit in my, uh, my fitness at my lunchtime. Um, and then after that I'll go home after, you know, work ends, and then I'll work on, you know, visit with the, with the family. And I have, you know, three little ones, so I help, like, you know, spend some time playing with them, um, or, you know, helping my wife. And then I'll go and work, work a couple hours until it's time for bedtime. And then when it's time for bedtime, I, you know, help do the r- you know, bedtime routine with the kids and do, you know, story time and things like that. And then if there's a little bit of time left over, um, before we go to bed, I, I try to spend some time with my wife or I may have to catch up on some emails. It kinda depends on day to day. Um, and then, you know, of course it changes with like kids' activities or
Aaron:Yeah. Yeah
Dakota Welker:where it's like I got-- There's some weeks I have to work 30 hours on my, you know, you know, projects and that's, that's-- and I get very little family time. And then there's other weeks I maybe get five hours and there's so much going on with family stuff. So it's just staying flexible but also understanding your deadlines.
Aaron:Yep. Yep. All of this sounds very, very familiar. I mean, that was my routine back in the day too. Although I don't think I had the, the exercise part. I… There was a period of time for sure in the beginning of Pipeline where I did not make time for exercise, but it was wake up, work, uh, stop, eat dinner with the family, play with the kids for a bit, and then go back to work and do it all over the next day. It w- it, it was a lot, and I'll be honest, I'm, I'm kind of glad that those days are mostly behind me. Every now and then, uh, a busy week sn- sneaks up, but, um, I'd say I'm like 45 to 50 hours or so. Uh, probably closer to 45 hours right now, and, and that's, it's kinda nice to have a little bit more free time. Which leads me to, uh, something else I, I was curious to ask you about. What does your ideal situation look like? Of course, th- these things are always changing, but, uh, what do you think you would like the future to look like, you know, three, four, five years from now? What w- what is it that you're working towards, if you have your way?
Dakota Welker:Um, it's probably-- I mean, I really enjoy the place I'm working at now, so I'm not looking to make a, a change to that anytime soon, and I don't feel like my business is where I would want it to be. But I'm thinking if I'm gonna move from the place I'm currently at, it's probably into building, into that business full-time. Um, and, and then probably doing that full-time for a while and then, know, probably until the end of my career. So that's kind of how I envision. Of course, things could change. I'm open to different opportunities and, you know, life, you gotta just have to pivot according to life.
Aaron:Yeah
Dakota Welker:but right now I'm okay with where I'm at. I, I really, I, I, I just started the place I'm at actually back in February, bounced
Aaron:Nice
Dakota Welker:um, and really enjoyed it and, um, enjoyed the, the atmosphere and being able to, uh, to develop the products I do. Um, but yeah, I think the next move, if I was gonna move out of that place, would be into, uh, my own business. Um, and hopefully having more time eventually for the kids. They're little, so I don't wanna miss their whole childhood. Um, and I, I enjoy spending time with my family, so I try to make that, try to squeeze that in as much as possible while still doing everything that I'm doing.
Aaron:For sure. Yeah. All right. Well, well let's wrap things up here. Um, I've been enjoying asking all of the guests recently what they're working on that they think someone in the audience might be able to help them with. Of course, you've been very generous and shared a lot of great information, and hopefully the audience members will be able to take some of that and use it, apply it to their own work. What's something that you're working on, whether it's a, a new technology you're trying to learn about, or a subject matter ex- expert, or a, a vendor you're trying to meet that perhaps someone in the audience listening right now could help you with?
Dakota Welker:Yeah, so I got something I'm trying to learn and then I, uh, one of the things I'm working on is networking. So, so far as learning, I'm trying to find, uh, something I specialize a little bit more in. So I'm learning, uh, C… I, I have a lot of pneumatics and fluids experience, uh, and trying to app- put that application into medical device a little bit deeper. So I'm trying to learn CFD, so I'm going through like Simscale type things. Uh, so that would be something if, you know, somebody's got some good tips on that and how to d- dive into that, uh, DIY style, um, I definitely would be open to that. And then, uh, I've also been working on networking and building relationships, especially within the medical device space within Indianapolis. Um, been able to help an incubator and give my time there and build some relationships. And I have one that's not medical device, that's more just inventors and hard tech that's another incubator. So it doesn't necessarily have to be med- medical device, but that's-- If I had to narrow it down, medical device would be an Indianapolis area. That would be, know, if you know somebody that I could connect with that would be a good fit to talk to or I can give s- you know, some help with, I, I would definitely be open to that.
Aaron:The, the CFD that you mentioned, it's been a while since I even looked at CFD, but I remember, uh, 10, 15 years ago anyway, it was kind of inaccessible just from a cost standpoint to individuals. Um, of course, you've got some revenue coming in from your, your business, so maybe you're, you're not exactly in that position. But, uh, are, are there, are there CFD tools nowadays that you can start learning f- uh, whether it's like a, I don't know, a student version? Or how do, how do you get your feet wet with something like that without spending an arm and a leg just to start learning it?
Dakota Welker:Yeah, so SimScale, and I think Ansys does too, uh, offers some free tools to learn it. Now it gets pretty expensive once you get into it and you actually wanna do it for client work, so I haven't figured out how to navigate that yet. But, um, far as learning, uh, they have a certain amount of hours, uh, simulation hours you can use
Aaron:Okay. That's cool. That's a great idea for them. All right. Well, great. Dakota, uh, super fun talking with you. Anything else that we haven't hit on that you wanna cover before we end?
Dakota Welker:Um, I would just say, you know, if you're an, a newer engineer or just somebody who's learning, just like experiment, try different things, do your own projects, do projects for other people. It, it'll help you learn so much. Like I-- the fact that I'm able to do my full-time job and do some, some work building my own business has really leaped my skills as an engineer. Um, so I would encourage that.
Aaron:Yeah, even if you continue working for, you know, someone else, the current company or, or whoever, the skills that you've learned doing your own thing are just gonna make you that much more valuable to your, your current and future employers, right?
Dakota Welker:Absolutely. Yeah
Aaron:Yeah. Great. All right, Dakota. Well, thanks again for spending some of your time with us today and, and sharing some of your experience and insight. Um, uh, appreciate it very much and, and, uh, we'll, we'll… looking forward to getting this out there so everyone else can hear it. Uh, where can, where can people find you? How do people get in touch with you?
Dakota Welker:Yeah, so you can find me on LinkedIn, of course. Um, but my website's thinkmedtech.com. Um, just very basic website, but, uh, that you can fi- do contact me through there, but LinkedIn would probably be best. I check my LinkedIn a lot more regularly.
Aaron:Awesome. Terrific. All right, Dakota, thanks again
Dakota Welker:Yeah, thank you
