The work behind the perspective

Tony Fadell

iPod Inventor, iPhone Co-Creator, Nest Founder

  • Product design & development
  • Hardware engineering & manufacturing
  • Product management & roadmap decision-making
  • User experience (UX) & interaction design
  • Startup leadership & scaling
  • Innovation strategy & radical innovation
Explore

About Tony Fadell

Tony Fadell - Biography

Tony Fadell is an American engineer, entrepreneur, and inventor best known for leading the development of the first 18 generations of the iPod and the first three generations of the iPhone at Apple. He later founded Nest Labs, pioneering smart home devices like the Nest Learning Thermostat.

Tony Fadell's early career began as a hardware and software architect at General Magic, collaborating with major consumer electronics firms to develop personal handheld communicators. He later co-founded Fuse Systems, a tech startup focused on portable digital music players. In 2001, Fadell was recruited by Steve Jobs at Apple, where he oversaw the first 18 iterations of the iPod and the first three generations of the iPhone. Fadell left Apple in 2009 and founded Nest Labs in 2010, creating smart thermostats and pioneering the Internet of Things in homes. He served as CEO until 2016, when Google acquired Nest. Post-Nest, Fadell became principal of Future Shape, an investment and advisory firm coaching deep-tech startups.

Learn from Tony when you're...

  • Designing a new consumer hardware product
  • Building the product management function
  • Leading a small product team
  • Founding or scaling a startup
  • Negotiating manufacturing partners
  • Designing product experiences
  • Developing IoT, smart-home, or energy-saving products
  • Guidance on patent strategy

Latest verified reporting

Latest news involving Tony Fadell

The latest reporting, explained through the public history that shaped Tony Fadell’s story.

View the archive
Mentor framework guide

What can you ask about Tony Fadell's work?

In Get Mentors, Tony Fadell can hold one of the five seats on your Chat board. Ask Tony's seat or the whole board a question and receive perspectives grounded in published work, with every answer cited. Separately, one idea arrives each morning from mentors selected for your focus.

Best for these goals

  • ✓Product Design & Development
  • ✓Hardware Engineering & Manufacturing
  • ✓Product Management & Roadmap Decision Making
  • ✓User Experience (UX) & Interaction Design

Core frameworks

  • •You're either growing or you're dying - Persist through failure by adapting and betting on yourself again
  • •Put yourself where you’re uncomfortable every day - Seek daily challenges that create butterflies in your stomach
  • •Build products with purpose by solving real pain for real people
  • •Product Design & Development

Sample questions

  • “Which Tony framework applies to my current goal?”
  • “What would Tony's published work suggest I consider?”
  • “How does this Tony idea apply to my situation?”
  • “What blind spot would this mentor framework help me notice?”
AI mentor app guideWhat is an AI mentor app?Best mentorship apps7-day free trial on the annual plan and pricing

Ask about Tony's published frameworks, pressure-test a decision, or put the question to your whole board and see where the seats disagree.

Similar Mentors

More mentors like Tony Fadell

Give Tony Fadell a seat on your board

Ask this Chat board seat about Tony Fadell's published work. Daily Ideas are selected separately for your focus. 7-day free trial on the annual plan, or $7.99/month.

Take your seat