Perseverance Over Speed: Creating a New Category with Impinj's Chris Diorio

Founded & Funded

In this episode of Founded & Funded, Madrona Managing Director Tim Porter and Venture Partner Patrick Ennis host Chris Diorio, co-founder and CEO of Impinj, the pioneer and world leader in RFID technology. Patrick and Chris have known each other for more than 24 years — since Madrona and ARCH Venture Partners co-led Impinj's first round of financing in the summer of 2000. In this episode, these three reminisce about old times and share some fun stories while diving into what it takes to truly launch a new category — and the patience required by both entrepreneurs and investors when doing so. They also discuss developing new speculative technology, navigating channel partner relationships, making it through an IPO during uncertain times, and how Impinj became the least known $4.6 billion public company in Seattle. This is a must-listen for any entrepreneurs out there.

Full transcript: https://www.madrona.com/perseverance-over-speed-creating-a-new-category-with-impinjs-chris-diorio

Chapters:

(00:00) Introduction (02:01) Creating a category, early days of Impinj (03:22) Pivot to RFID(04:40) Struggles and Breakthroughs(08:50) Principles and Company Culture(13:01) Struggles with RFID Standards (14:27) Surviving and Thriving (15:11) Adoption and Scaling Challenges (18:01) End Customer Scenarios and Partnerships (20:52) Financing Strategy and Key Partnerships(23:27) Patrick Meeting Morris Chang: A Career Highlight(24:50) Remembering Tom Alberg's Influence(27:55) The Art of Hiring and Mentorship(33:13) The Journey to IPO(36:42) Strategic Partnerships and Investments (37:01) Company Principles and Future Outlook (38:35) Balancing Work and Life