Ask HN: How will a hardware company survive in 2023?

This tweet had me wondering[1], what is the goldilocks model for a lightly funded or bootstrapped hardware company in 2023?

I'm thinking about purpose built gadgets such as smart home tech, fitness accessories, etc.

The early 2010's model: 1. Get funded 2. Acquire users & scale 3. Support this hardware with companion software 4. Exit before server costs outweigh your hardware margin

This does not seem feasible in today's climate, however users still expect free software.

It seems like most hard-tech is coming from large companies with compute to spare or Chinese manufacturers with no consideration of software quality/security.

What is the long term and sustainable way to operate an indie(ish) hardware company?

[1]:https://twitter.com/HipCityReg/status/1707414839608463760/photo/1