Tomorrow Lab

Background, Beliefs, and Approach

Founded in 2010, Tomorrow Lab® is a hardware innovation studio that works with entrepreneurs big and small to invent new products. We have a unique focus on prototyping new hardware technology and turning those prototypes into market-ready, manufacturable products.

The products we develop for our clients give startups the solid foundation necessary to grow their new venture, and allow established companies to explore new market opportunities. Together with our network of rapid and mass fabrication partners; we design, develop, and deliver scalable technology hardware products that fulfill the revolutionary visions of our clients. In addition to our education and experience, we are Apple MFi certified developers.

From industrial design and mechanical engineering, to electrical engineering and firmware development, Tomorrow Lab specializes in physical technology products because we believe physical things create a deeper potential for change than just software or web products alone. We embrace the word ‘invention’ and obsessively prototype inside and outside of our client work. Continually prototyping allows us to author the future and develop useful technical knowledge which can work its way into client projects. You can see some of our in-house work in our Design Lab.

NYC Studio

Staff

Theodore Ullrich - Partner
Interaction Design & Electrical Engineering
ted@tomorrow-lab.com

As the founder of Tomorrow Lab, Ted regularly speaks on the role of design studios as invention centers and the application of science and design to entrepreneurial ventures to create new technology products. Ted holds a Masters of Industrial Design from Georgia Tech, a Bachelors of Inventive Design Engineering from Purdue University, and has taught design studio courses at Georgia Tech, Drexel University, the School of Visual Arts, and the Copenhagen Institute of Interaction Design.

Pepin Gelardi - Partner
Innovation Strategy & Industrial Design
pepin@tomorrow-lab.com

Pepin Gelardi works at the intersection of purpose and possibility, exploring the role of entrepreneurship and technology in solving future-facing problems. As a Partner at Tomorrow Lab®, Pepin leads the Industrial Design and Mechanical Engineering teams to invent and develop new, impactful hardware products. After hours, Pepin teaches workshops in design, aspires to become a Pasta Scientist, and creates site-specific art with his wife Teresa.

Shelby Thompson
Business & Marketing Manager
shelby@tomorrow-lab.com

Shelby’s expertise, while different from a traditional engineer, comes from over a decade of diverse professional experience ranging from project management, to copywriting, editing, and research, and development of marketing strategies. She has a knack for cultivating a creative energy at Tomorrow Lab, and leads marketing, social media, and the website. Shelby is a member of the International Women's Leadership Association.

Jesse Pliner
Project Strategist
jesse@tomorrow-lab.com

Jesse is an experienced start-up founder and entrepreneur. Jesse founded Prong, a consumer electronics startup focused on mobile power and held the position of CEO at Prong until the company sold in 2017. Prior to founding Prong, Jesse spent six years in the Finance and Media industries working for companies including Bear Stearns, Yahoo, and AOL. Jesse joined Tomorrow Lab in 2017 as a Project Strategist where he works closely with new product development.

Joe Gonzalez
Industrial Designer
joe@tomorrow-lab.com

Born and raised in New York, Joe received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Product Design from Parsons School of Design. He began his career at Tomorrow Lab as an intern and transitioned to Junior Designer. His work is inspired by the ability of beautiful, functional products to simplify people's lives. His desire to constantly be creating has also lead him to explore photography.

Tan Tran
Product Design Engineer - Mechanical
tan@tomorrow-lab.com

Born in Vietnam, Tan grew up in North Carolina and earned his BS in Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering from NC State University. He later graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a MS in Integrated Product Design. After post-graduation backpacking trips to Europe and Southeast Asia, Tan joined Tomorrow Lab as a Product Design Engineer. On the weekends, he explores NYC and builds toys for kids and cats.

Dorian Fernandez
Product Design Engineer - Electrical
dorian@tomorrow-lab.com

With an electrical and computer engineering degree from the University of Florida, Dorian started his career working at Texas Instruments. There he gained invaluable experience developing a wide variety of customer products as a Factory & Field Applications Engineer. With that experience and a desire to be more hands on with the product development process, he joined Tomorrow Lab in 2016. In his spare time Dorian enjoys exploring NYC, playing tennis, and automating his apartment.

Jingwen Zhu
Product Design Engineer - Electrical
jingwen@tomorrow-lab.com

Originally from Nanjing, China, Jingwen moved to NYC and received her Master’s degree from New York University's Interactive Telecommunications Program (ITP) in 2016. Her passion for technology, fashion and crafting led her to join Tomorrow Lab as Junior Electrical Engineer. In her spare time, she either teaches fashion technology workshops or knits at home.

Fabrication Partners

Tomorrow Lab has established relationships with trusted fabricators, factories, and product assembly houses located in multiple Chinese cities: Ningbo, Hong Kong, and Shenzhen. Together with these partners, we offer painless entry into timely, high-quality, affordable, and scalable product manufacturing and assembly programs.

is a longstanding partner of Tomorrow Lab. NexPCB provides painless and scalable entry into China-based manufacturing and assembly. We rely on NexPCB's Founder, Thunder, and his team to provide quality products, thorough communication, and end-to-end services to Tomorrow Lab's clients. Below are facility photos from NexPCB's factories.