Arda’s co-founders Uriel Eisen and Kyle Henson recently joined the Disruptive Intelligence Podcast for “Episode 15: Revolutionizing Manufacturing: The Arda Approach.” 

‍About the Disruptive Intelligence Podcast

Disruptive Intelligence is the podcast where innovation meets impact. We sit down with the brightest minds shaping the future, tech leaders, visionary founders, bold CEOs, and AI pioneers, to uncover the ideas, strategies, and insights driving the next wave of disruption. From deep dives into emerging technologies to real talk on leadership and scaling, every episode delivers raw, actionable wisdom from the frontlines of innovation.

Whether you're a builder, thinker, or dreamer, tune in and get ahead of the curve.

Transcript Highlights:

Intro & Theme: Revolutionizing Manufacturing through Kanban and Digital Tools
00:00–4:00

Kyle Henson and Uriel Eisen, co-founders of Arda, discuss their journey to revolutionize manufacturing by leveraging Kanban principles, the Toyota Production System’s method of controlling inventory and production based on actual demand. They contrast physical Kanban cards with the inefficiencies of traditional inventory and ERP systems and introduce their digital solution, Arda, designed to simplify and automate inventory tracking and ordering.

Founders’ Background & Startup Origin
4:00–12:00

Uriel's background includes prototyping for aerospace and robotics and designing NASA space suits. He founded Austere Manufacturing, making high-performance buckles, where limited capacity and demand challenges led to adopting Kanban with simple physical cards. Kyle worked in B2B SaaS transaction advisory and learning challenges in manufacturing software. Their complementary skills and chance conversations sparked building a no-code tool to digitize Kanban cards and automate ordering.

Kanban Process & Arda’s Product Functionality
12:00–20:00

Kanban cards are physically placed within inventory to signal reorder points, keeping production closely tied to real-time demand to prevent overproduction. Arda’s platform automates generating and managing these cards digitally, synchronizes procurement and production, and provides real-time process visibility, areas where traditional ERPs fail due to complexity and poor shop floor adoption. The solution improves compliance by requiring only simple card movements by staff.

No-Code MVP to Custom Software Transition
20:00–32:00

Initially, Arda was built on no-code and low-code tools (like Airtable, Zapier) enabling quick iteration, validation, and customer acquisition without heavy upfront development. They reached $100K ARR before launching custom-built software. Transitioning to fully custom software involves replicating integrations, multi-tenant architecture for easier updates, and scaling beyond the limits of no-code platforms.

Customer Acquisition & Growth Strategies
32:00–42:00

Early customers came from Uriel’s podcast listeners, Instagram machinist community followers, and cold outreach including cold calling. This combination proved the product’s strong market fit, with customers reporting doubling of revenue by streamlining operations. The company is now systematizing marketing via content creation, SEO, free tools related to Kanban, and AI-driven email nurturing to scale demos and sales.

Impact on Manufacturing Efficiency & Revenue
42:00–50:00

Examples show how Arda reduces firefighting labor time wasted on last-minute parts procurement and disassembly of finished goods to harvest parts, freeing approximately 20% of labor. Freed labor focuses on innovation and new product launches, leading to significant revenue growth for clients, some expanding into aerospace contracts.

Company Vision & Team Culture
50:00–54:30

Founders emphasize building a collaborative, highly skilled team where everyone inspires continuous learning. Their mission centers on helping small manufacturers succeed by reducing operational burdens so founders can focus on their passions and growth rather than firefighting.

Advice for Entrepreneurs & Final Thoughts

54:30–58:00

They underscore the vital lesson that customer revenue validates product-market fit, not just expressions of interest. The founders encourage low-cost no-code experimentation to secure paid customers early. Their free tool to generate Kanban cards is offered to all manufacturers and office users. They emphasize the importance of proximity to real shop floor problems in software design for manufacturing.

Contacts and Resources
58:00–59:30

Listeners are directed to arda.cards website, Instagram, and LinkedIn for more information and tools to improve manufacturing workflows.