Pebble founder says his new company is ‘not a startup’

Pebble founder Eric Migicovsky is relaunching his smartwatch company with a fundamentally different approach, emphasizing sustainability and profitability over rapid growth typical of startups. Unlike the original Pebble, which scaled quickly to around 180 employees and faced significant challenges such as overproduction and financial strain leading to layoffs and an eventual exit, the new company, Core Devices, operates with a small team of five and sells directly to consumers without outside funding. Migicovsky stresses that this reboot is not about creating a revolutionary new product but rather reviving an "old idea" with a focused, limited vision tailored to niche users like himself—tech enthusiasts who value a fun, casual smartwatch companion rather than a full smartphone replacement or fitness tracker. Key lessons from the original Pebble experience have shaped this new direction. Migicovsky acknowledges that overestimating demand and producing excess inventory caused financial difficulties, and that the company lost sight of its original vision by trying to expand into areas like health tracking. The new Pebble watches