Boldly Go Podcast

In this episode of the Boldly Go Podcast, Axon co-founder Tom Smith shares the untold stories behind Taser’s early days. Alongside his brother Rick Smith, Tom reflects on the scrappy startup years—testing prototypes on themselves, chasing their first big break with Sharper Image, surviving near bankruptcy, and being forced to move production to Mexico after regulatory barriers made it impossible to operate as a U.S. company. The conversation dives into the wild risks, unconventional branding, and relentless perseverance that transformed an underdog startup into a global company reshaping modern policing. It’s a candid look at the chaos, grit, and mission-driven passion that fueled Axon’s journey from kitchen-table idea to world-changing technology.

What does it take to turn a struggling startup into a global force for public safety?

For Max Nerheim — Axon’s first electrical engineer — it started with a $20,000 fixed-price contract, a lab in a literal broom closet, and the guts to tell the founders their original design was “a piece of junk.”

In this episode of the Boldly Go Podcast, Rick Smith and Mike Wagers sit down with the man who holds more TASER patents than anyone on the planet. Max shares the untold “Wild West” history behind the M26 and X26 — from testing prototypes in his garage to out-innovating PhDs who thought they knew more.

You’ll hear the story of a parking-lot confrontation with a patent lawyer trying to shake the company down — and why TASER 7 remains one of Max’s favorite designs.

Oh — and since the statute of limitations has passed, you’ll also hear about a roadside encounter with a deer.

In this episode of the Boldly Go Podcast, Rick Smith and Mike Wagers sit down with Jason Droege, a key architect behind Axon’s transformation from a hardware-focused weapons company into a leading software, cloud, and AI platform. Jason reflects on the chaotic early days of Evidence.com, the cultural and technical challenges of scaling software inside a legacy organization, and pivotal moments that nearly derailed—or ultimately saved—the company. The conversation spans leadership under pressure, grit versus pedigree, lessons from Uber and founding Uber Eats, and Jason’s current role leading Scale AI, offering an insider’s perspective on where AI is headed, why talent matters more than ever, and how perseverance shapes enduring companies.

In this episode of the Boldly Go Podcast, Rick Smith and Mike Wagers sit down with Jason Droege, a key architect behind Axon’s transformation from a hardware-focused weapons company into a leading software, cloud, and AI platform. Jason reflects on the chaotic early days of Evidence.com, the cultural and technical challenges of scaling software inside a legacy organization, and pivotal moments that nearly derailed—or ultimately saved—the company. The conversation spans leadership under pressure, grit versus pedigree, lessons from Uber and founding Uber Eats, and Jason’s current role leading Scale AI, offering an insider’s perspective on where AI is headed, why talent matters more than ever, and how perseverance shapes enduring companies.

In this episode of Boldly Go, hosts Rick Smith and Mike Wagers sit down with Hadi Partovi—founder and CEO of Code.org, early investor in companies like Facebook, Uber, and Airbnb, and longtime Axon board member—for a wide-ranging conversation on technology, leadership, and values. Partovi shares how he helped steer Axon through pivotal moments: rescuing its early cloud strategy, rebuilding its software team, helping shape its ethical approach to AI, and even influencing the company’s name change from Taser to Axon. Along the way, the episode explores founder-led growth, talent culture, AI ethics, and the long-term bets that transformed Axon into a global public-safety technology leader.