Founder of AVA Labs. Sixteen years shipping hardware. Based in Delaware, Ohio.
Randy has spent sixteen-plus years working on hardware across robotics, medical devices, IoT, sensor systems, and embedded firmware. The assignment is usually "figure this out first" — the kind of work where no one has written the answer down yet.
In 2023 he founded AVA Labs to bring that same pattern-recognition to founders directly. Not as a contract shop. Not as a consultancy. As the one-engineer technical partner most first-time hardware founders don't realize they're missing until a project has already gone sideways.
He keeps the practice deliberately small — two or three active clients at any time, then a waitlist. That's the only way this kind of work stays honest.
Not every hardware problem is in scope — these are the areas where Randy has real reps.
No consulting-speak. No hedging. If something is a bad idea, Randy will tell you on the call — and tell you why. If something is a great idea and you're underselling it, same deal. You'll always know where you stand.
Every engagement includes the reasoning, not just the deliverable. You'll finish knowing why the calls were made, so the next decision is yours to make.
Your money is your money. Randy treats the budget like it's his. Flat fees, written SOWs, Friday hours logs — because the alternative is how first-time founders get burned.
Randy is also president of Launchpad Academy, a separate nonprofit doing STEM enrichment for gifted children. It's not a service AVA Labs offers — it's where Randy spends his Saturdays.
It's mentioned here because it's useful context. The way Randy teaches as he works with founders isn't a sales pitch; it's the same muscle he's been exercising in the other half of his week for years.
Book a Clarity Call. If your project isn't a fit for AVA Labs, Randy will tell you that on the call — and point you somewhere that is. Either way, you walk away with a written roadmap.
