About the Book

Tangibles: Strategic Product Management for Connected Hardware

Physical products are becoming platforms. Watches track health. Appliances join networks. Vehicles update overnight. The companies that understand this shift build durable competitive advantage. The ones that don't face margin compression, commoditization, and disruption by software-first competitors.

Tangibles is a strategy book for the people building these products. It covers the full arc from hardware's structural challenges through digital transformation, validation, competitive positioning, security, and business model design. The treatment is practical, grounded in real companies and real data, and aimed at practitioners who need strategic clarity and actionable tools.

What the Book Covers

Arc I: Hardware Challenges, Old and New
Why "hardware is hard" and how traditional development cycles, cost structures, and validation logic often fail.
Arc II: Digital Transformation Foundations
The infrastructure that transforms static hardware into connected, software-augmented products — interfaces, sensors, connectivity, and edge intelligence.
Arc III: Validation Cycles
How to cut risk by testing early, learning fast, and sequencing investment in the slower, higher-stakes reality of physical production.
Arc IV: Positioning and Perceptions
How launch strategy, killer features, and competitive positioning shape adoption and brand perception.
Arc V: Paradise Lost
The security, privacy, and societal costs that come with putting software inside everything.
Arc VI: Business Models and Moats
How recurring revenue, data-driven services, and platform economics create lasting competitive systems.

Case studies include iRobot, Tesla, BYD, Apple, Swatch, SharkNinja, Dyson, Nespresso, and more — companies that succeeded or stumbled when their products "smartened up."

Who It's For

Product managers transitioning to or working in hardware companies
Hardware startup founders and entrepreneurs
Innovation leaders in established hardware companies
Engineers bridging physical and digital product development
Consultants advising on connected product strategy

About the Author

Yoel Frischoff is a product strategist with over 35 years of experience developing durable goods and software systems across healthcare, education, construction, security, and consumer electronics.

Trained as an industrial designer, he began his career in 1991 with hands-on design and engineering before moving into technology management, entrepreneurship, and strategic consulting. His consultancy, TheRoad, helps hardware companies transform into service-connected platforms.

Yoel has published over 120 bilingual articles on hardware product strategy, mentors product managers through programs including Google for Startups and Product League, and manages a dedicated Tangibles weekly digest covering IoT and connected hardware developments.

About This Site

The companion site extends the book with interactive tools, chapter references with archived links, and strategic frameworks that readers can apply to their own products. Registration is free.

Get started with the companion tools: