oday's guest wanted to move from tech to manufacturing.

Which, as Caleb Standafer jokes, was the opposite direction of many of his peers.

But pivoting his career into manufacturing wouldn't happen overnight.

‍Caleb had taken a class from Noah Wasserman in business school where the concept of experience vs. risk had left an impression.

Essentially, there are some domains where you can drop out and start a business — say, building an app — but other domains where your prospects are far dimmer without some real industry experience. Manufacturing is like that.

So Caleb laid the groundwork for his search over years, working in manufacturing.

And he ultimately made it all happen, from gaining experience, to searching part time over five years, to acquiring and now owning a metal machining business.

Springfield Tool & Die had $5m in revenue when Caleb bought it in July 2024.

In his first calendar year of ownership, 2025, he pushed the business to $7m in revenue and grew headcount from 17 to the mid-20s.

We learn how he did that, and we get a lay of the land for the diverse and vast world of metal manufacturing.

‍We also hear Caleb address customer concentration; one of the business's customers represents over 70% of revenue.

‍Here he is, Caleb Standafer, owner of Springfield Tool & Die.