How Nothing Founder Carl Pei Built A Multi-Million Dollar Smartphone Brand In Just 2 Years

After co-founding the successful Chinese smartphone maker OnePlus, Carl Pei felt the tech industry was missing the fun and wonder he remembered as a dedicated gadget fan growing up in Sweden. Pei decided to launch a new smartphone brand, this time with an increased focus on thoughtful user interface and stylish yet practical designs. In only two years, the brand known as "Nothing" has gained a cult following and gone to $600 million in annualized revenue. On this episode of The Main Function, Pei reflects on the highs and lows that have come with the journey of pursuing excellence in hard tech. More on Nothing here: https://us.nothing.tech/ Apply to Y Combinator: https://yc.link/MainFunction-apply Work at a Startup: https://yc.link/MainFunction-jobs Chapters (Powered by https://bit.ly/chapterme-yc) - 00:00 - Coming Up 00:36 - Carl's journey into tech 02:47 - Starting OnePlus 05:27 - How Nothing came to be 07:07 - Building a new smartphone is hard 10:07 - Why Nothing made earbuds first 13:12 - Cultivating a cool brand 14:22 - The right Tim Cook/Jony Ive ratio 15:21 - Nothing's glyph interface 17:09 - Carl's favorite designs 19:38 - Advice for hard tech founders