spring has sprung in tx

and FluxWorks is a bit late to bloom this season. We came into Q1 calling our shot: less designing, more building. That part held. What we didn’t expect? Just how much work “low-scale manufacturing” still demands. Turns out, execution has a way of humbling even the best-laid plans.

This is the FluxWorks Powertrain newsletter, which chronicles our mission-driven, core-value-guided company's journey to commercialization. If you’re new (or missed Powertrain #005), welcome aboard. Please keep your arms and legs inside the (power)train at all times.

what does fluxworks do?

We are building the future of the robotic supply chain. 🛠️🇺🇸

Our Celestial Gear™is reimagining robotics and automation from the ground up. Celestial Gear™ is the platform technology, and 2026 is about penetrating the market with the flagship product lines built on this technology, the CG- series gear. Later, the CGM- series actuator (a CG- series gear w/ motor + encoder) will drop.

Learn more about our core technologies here. Links to follow our socials in footer.

2026 financial metrics

Off to a quietly strong start: revenue ▲ while spending ▼ w.r.t. forecasts… even with manufacturing keeping things interesting.

▲Revenue (Q1 YoY): $858k vs. $527k

▲Net Burn (Q1 YoY): $210k vs. $125k

Bonus win: Chloe (my hot wife) came in under budget ($500 all-in) for the mural seen living behind our “disagree with the CEO” Core Value #1 confetti moment.

learnings since last time

Core values don’t “roll out,” they root. And apparently, that takes about a year++. It wasn’t until early March that Kyle (Director of Ops) said, “yeah, this is finally clicking” (paraphrased). Which…checks out. Our Mission Sprints (Customer Success, Clarity, Repeatability) launched with Magikarp using Splash effects when Gyarados firing Hyper Beam outcomes were the target. But repetition, reinforcement, and some awkward early reps is observably getting the team to row in the same direction now.

We hit a manufacturing wall: inner rotor went 0/15, while the outer rotor kept moving (and not popping like a Pillsbury can of biscuits). Same tech, different outcomes; 🥐 image in "What is freaking me out" below.

That (and lots of questions) made it clear: this wasn’t a tech problem. Rather, it was an operating problem.I stayed out of fix-it mode and challenged our leadership to question more. After observing fuzzy ownership + knee-jerk decision making frequently within engineering, I claim responsibility for not anchoring how we work (core values) and what we work on (mission) sooner and with greater clarity.

Lastly, a mad fresh unlock since Powertrain #002, intros still open doors, but seeing the product closes the sale. That insight turned into a new mantra (Attraction Moves Us) and expect future marketing to follow suit.

team🧑‍🔧

Trending up! With a little turbulence.

Two of three recent hires are already raising the bar across engineering and ops. One miss... we made the call at 90 days and are backfilling.

But there was a good signal. That same day as the dismissal, the whole team grabbed lunch together, unprompted, unpaid, just for the fun of it.

what i feel good about

We slowed the pipeline on purpose (see Powertrain #005) to focus on execution... and it was the right call.

Site selection is heating up. Texas vs. Virginia, and even Texas vs. Texas 🫨. The competition’s real enough that the state pulled us in to meet directly with incentive decision-makers. The finger guns make more sense if you remember #003.

And on the scoreboard: FluxWorks took home the SBA Houston District SBIR/STTR Innovation Recipient of the Yearaward. Gears are so in.

what is freaking me out

We felt the scaling pressure back in Powertrain #004, and it hasn’t let up.We’ve leaned into senior hires and faster paths to scale… but without manufacturing fully unlocked, that spend doesn’t convert like it should.The market is pulling (loudly), but we’re still wiring up the system to meet the demand; for this reason, we don't need customer intros at this time. See example inner rotor failure below. And, in case you aren't picking up what I am putting down, magnets physically touching other magnets makes for a bad mechanical gear, not a contactless magnetic gear. ⚙️⚙️🙅

what's next

Same headline as Powertrain #005: execute. Q2 is about delivering on pilots.

1. Fix manufacturing
Lock the inner rotor path, keep pushing outer rotor validation, and get to the first clean, repeatable CG-builds that actually ship. This is the moment where we make sales to the targets in the CPG automation industry first targeted back in #001.

2. Resource the constraint
Land manufacturing leadership, bring in the right partners, and align future capital (raising late '26) to unlock 2-1 nondilutive fund match to catalyze production.

Next update goal:
Ship product and build the team that keeps shipping it. The aim is to operate like Goofy below but with American dynamism zeal.

what we need help with

1. Manufacturing Lead (🚨#1 priority)
We need a killer Manufacturing Engineer Lead to own process dev, DFM/DFA, and production readiness for the CG-series. This is the highest-leverage hire in the company right now.

2. Manufacturing Partners

Looking to boost throughput without nuking quality. If you’ve got ties to Rockford, IL (aka gear country), we’re listening.

3. SkillBridge / Military Talent Pipeline
We pushed here, but no hits yet. Posting’s live, candidates were a no.If you know how to unlock this channel, we’d love an intro for a supply chain/buyer guy or gal.

CGM06LETD-XX-XX actuator design integrating the CG070201B-FNXCXX-XX-XX (our gear), ENBC0018XEN (encoder), LSANTSFDIS2-XX-XX (Lodestar™ torque estimation system), and our MR0601CL-AHAB motor. This CGM- will be a product later in 2027 along with other CGM- series actuators after CG- series launch this year.

gratitude (to those who made the year possible)

Building isn’t a solo sport! Shoutout to a few folks made Flux Work (ha) in Q1:

• Rachel Sliger (DCS Corp): kept the contractual ducks in formation and made it fun.
• Troy Johnson (BAE Systems): stayed in the arena with us, pushing through the stakeholder complexity.
• Al White (Advisor): steady voice, especially when things get loud.

Praxis crew (builders and book dealers):
Austin Browning (pic below), Yohanes Frezgi, Joah Spearman, Glenn Bean, and Birgitt Boschitsch especially, thanks all of you for the shared notes, shared questions, and shared mission.

Praxis mentors:

• Ben Bohannon: for pushing on core value legends and mission flywheels.
• Matt Gore: for chaotic good synergy + what’s coming next on website.

• Brad Harrison, Cody Huggins, Kellie Pias, Nate George, Jonas Miller: intros, support, humor, and a shared love for hard, excellent work.
• Paul D'Amato, Meagan Malm, Dale Grogan, Kalina Foster (Michigan Capital Network): thoughtful partnership post-close + clutch intros.
• Noah Fons & Andrew Busker: Houston site selection heroes and helpers. I’ve never seen CenterPoint (or any utility) move like that.
• Christine Gabriel & Morris Chen: hands-on site selection support.
• Aaron Demerson & Ross Guieb: doors opened and long-game support... especially in March.
• Ope Amosu, Moji Karimi, Tara Karimi, Mario Maggio: Houston founder welcome committee. Network, generosity, the works.

FluxWorks exists because people ask hard questions, and because you all let me hear the hard answers.

And for those who are wondering, "did y'all buy a cowboy hat at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo?" (aka nobody)... yes, we did buy cowboy hats. 🤠

Bryton

FluxWorks, 1026 Outpost Dr, Ste B1, Conroe, Texas 77304, United States, 979.431.0990

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