I've never scaled production, but having done hardware prototyping this sounds right to me. You can make some pretty clever thing with off-the-shelf components

I've never scaled production, but having done hardware prototyping this sounds right to me. You can make some pretty clever thing with off-the-shelf components from DigiKey or Mouser, a soldering iron and a 3D printer. You scale 3d printing a bit with a partner like Xometry. Or even ordering custom fabricated plastic or metal. The team I had to build was primarily software with enough hardware knowledge to make things happen. The biggest gap was hiring an industrial designer who could do the details drawings of how to fit all the components and make sure the external dimensions fit the usage and had some style. We even managed to wrangle UL certification for a few things we built which is onerous and costly, but surprisingly not too complicated.