The Reason I Work in Hardware

Products can be beautiful on the inside, even if nobody will ever see it. Why a shattered iPod Touch screen led Nathan Ruttley into hardware design.

By Nathan Ruttley, CEO and Co-Founder·27 January 2026·1 min read

In 2007, I received the best gift a teenager could wish for: a 1st Gen iPod Touch. Two weeks later, I dropped it.

The screen didn't just crack; it shattered. I was mortified. Terrified of telling my parents, I bought a replacement screen online, and decided to fix it myself.

Looking back, that moment was a real turning point for me. I remember sitting hunched over that broken iPod, sweaty palms struggling to push a plastic pry tool between the chrome bezel and the glass. But slowly, the screen came free.

I expected to see a mess of wires and glue. Instead, I saw a masterpiece. The components were packed like perfectly interlocking Tetris pieces. The battery, the logic board, the tiny ribbon cables - it was dense, and it was deliberate.

That initial apprehension turned into awe. I realised that for the device to look that simple on the outside, it had to be incredibly complex on the inside.

I fixed that iPod, and over the next decade I fixed hundreds more, running two repair businesses. But I never forgot that first look inside the chassis.

That moment is why I work in hardware today. I learned early that true quality isn't just about the material choice, the CMF, the UI - it's about knowing that the design is just as beautiful on the inside, where (almost) no one will ever see it.