First Builders
The First Builders Podcast from The Council dives into the stories of those who go first—founders, funders, and early operators who helped build category-defining companies before they were household names. Hosted by General Partner Amber Illig and Partner Rachel Tsui, each episode brings a candid, practical conversation with someone who has helped shape companies before there was a playbook.
First Builders
The Assembly Economy: Filip Aronshtein on Trust, Manufacturing Systems, and Reindustrialization
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In this episode of First Builders, hosts Amber Illig and Rachel Tsui sit down with Filip Aronshtein, Founder and CEO of Dirac, to unpack what it takes to create software for the physical world and why assembly, not just design or production, is the missing layer in modern manufacturing.
Fil shares his path from neuroscience labs and defense research into entrepreneurship, including work on brain computer interfaces, radar systems, and classified hardware programs. He reflects on why he has consistently gravitated toward technically demanding problems, how an early healthcare hardware venture shaped his views on responsibility and risk, and what is at stake if the West continues to lose hands on manufacturing expertise.
At Dirac, Filip is developing an automated work instruction and assembly platform that translates CAD designs into executable, shop floor ready workflows. The conversation explores the realities of shipping software into hardware first industries, earning credibility with legacy manufacturers, navigating long sales cycles, and designing systems that extend rather than disrupt existing infrastructure.
They also discuss leadership evolution, founder psychology, hiring for high agency, and why reshoring and reindustrialization must be cultural shifts as much as technical ones.
Topics covered include:
- Why assembly is the most underestimated constraint in manufacturing
- Insights from working across defense, healthcare, and industrial systems
- What high agency teams look like in practice
- Establishing trust in mission critical factory environments
- Bridging the gap between hardware timelines and software velocity
- Reindustrialization, reshoring, and restoring manufacturing capability
- When execution matters more than technical perfection
- The difference between elegant ideas and outcomes that scale
This episode is a deep dive into creating resilient systems for the physical economy and leading with conviction, discipline, and a long term view of impact.
FOLLOW FILIP ARONSHSTEIN
Website: https://www.diracinc.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/filip-aronshtein/
X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/filarons
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