Simone Giertz: Queen of Sh*tty Robots, Innovative Engineering, and Design
Core Takeaways
Simone Giertz built her first hardware project, an iPhone case with retractable guitar strings, using capacitive touch and Bluetooth.
▶ 1:00
Why it matters
This project launched her career in electronics, leading to a pivotal internship at Punch Through Design.
Giertz's 'Queen of Sh*tty Robots' persona emerged from her Reddit posts, embracing failure as a creative force in engineering.
▶ 20:00
Why it matters
This approach challenges traditional engineering norms and highlights the value of creativity over perfection.
Her brain tumor diagnosis post-TED Talk revealed a golf ball-sized tumor, which had been growing for 10-15 years.
▶ 1:10:00
Why it matters
Her health journey underscores the unpredictability of life and the importance of resilience and adaptability.
Simone's product business, including the Everyday Calendar, is self-funded and aims to diversify income away from YouTube.
▶ 1:30:00
Why it matters
Self-funding allows her to maintain creative control and independence, crucial for long-term sustainability.
Simone critiques societal norms, noting the lack of female role models and the potential harm of powerful technology.
▶ 2:00:00
Why it matters
Her insights highlight the need for ethical considerations in technology development and gender representation.
Ask this episode Deep
A preview of how Deep chat answers, grounded in this episode with citations and timestamps:
Cite this episode
For papers, blog posts, anywhere.
Related episodes
Where to go next from this conversation.
More on these ideas
Tony Fadell: iPhone, iPod, Nest, Steve Jobs, Design, and Engineering
Shares innovation, product development
2h 46m
Gavin Miller: Adobe Research
Shares robotics
1h 9m
Kai-Fu Lee: AI Superpowers - China and Silicon Valley
Shares innovation
1h 26m
Jim Keller: The Future of Computing, AI, Life, and Consciousness
More like this
2h 39m
AI-generated summary · last refreshed 2026-06-07 18:02:30 · how we make these
Quotes are matched verbatim against the source transcript; references are checked to resolve to real URLs. Even so, AI can misread structure or attribute claims imperfectly. If you spot an error, please let us know.