Editor’s Notice: This text relies on Dorota Shortell’s presentation at RoboBusiness 2025. Keep tuned for extra post-show protection and insights from this yr’s occasion.
With the quantity of consideration given to robotics, humanoids, and bodily AI, there are numerous new entrants and startups within the area. They usually have nice, even industry-changing concepts, however what’s going to it take to show a good suggestion into enterprise success? We all know that almost all of latest companies fail, so what did those that succeeded do to get there? Studying from each firms who’ve developed profitable robotics companies and in addition from those that have failed or needed to pivot, offers newer robotics firms insights on what actions they need to take to maximise their probabilities of constructing a sustainable enterprise.
Tapping into each the 20+ years’ of {hardware}, mechatronic merchandise, and automatic robotic programs expertise at Simplexity Product Improvement and interviews with leaders at over a dozen robotics firms, I’ve compiled these key classes discovered that I shared throughout my speak at RoboBusiness final week in Santa Clara, Calif. They will finest be categorized as falling into 5 most important classes:
- Product market match
- Funding
- Improvement course of
- Staff
- Scaling
I’ll dive into each in additional element, beginning with a quote to set the stage.
1. Product market match
“Perceive crucial buyer issues first and construct new expertise second. Constructing a brand new robotic ought to solely come after you have got conviction that it’ll remedy an issue value fixing. In any other case, you threat constructing one thing fascinating, however in the end ineffective.”
– Christopher Carlson, govt vice chairman, analysis, company Improvement, and Intuitive Ventures
Carlson and I went to graduate faculty collectively at Stanford and over the previous 12+ years he’s had a really profitable profession at surgical robotic maker Intuitive. Intuitive has been a robotics chief for 30 years, so studying what they did within the early years and the way they develop robots now’s one thing that aspiring robotics firms might attempt to emulate. Christopher actually emphasised how product market match is without doubt one of the key distinguishing elements between success and failure, additionally echoed by fairly just a few of the opposite robotics leaders who I interviewed. The teachings underneath this class are:
Construct your organization round what folks will purchase: If you happen to solely take away one studying, it’s to be laser targeted on growing an answer for a important buyer want versus specializing in constructing a robotic. The businesses who needed to do a tough pivot or didn’t make it out there most frequently cited that they have been too targeted on constructing cool robotic expertise and never spending sufficient time understanding buyer wants. The recommendation right here is to construct your organization round understanding your consumer, not simply on fascinating technological advances. A easy answer that solves a important want is a lot better than a classy answer that’s solely a “good to have” for potential purchasers.
Use a quick suggestions cycle – ideate, validate with buyer suggestions, iterate on the design: When you perceive what the important want is that your organization will probably be addressing, then it’s time to collect concepts for the best way to remedy it and get as a lot suggestions from prospects as you may previous to constructing {hardware}. This will probably be restricted as most prospects might want to see/strive what you might be providing, however doing preliminary interviews helps slender down the issue and outline a product structure that’s extra possible to achieve success.
Dusty Robotics did this by interviewing purchasers for a number of months previous to constructing their robotic. Then you must construct {hardware}, collect extra suggestions from prospects, and hold iterating on the design, in quick cycles. Don’t be in stealth mode. Construct in public because you don’t have a number of pictures on purpose. It’s important to know there’s a marketplace for what you might be constructing once you go on the market.
Safe a beachhead consumer and co-develop with them: Corporations who have been profitable at specializing in the consumer mentioned that co-development and having shut collaboration was important. Quite than making an attempt to promote a accomplished robotic right into a consumer website, they’d have their engineers on the consumer websites working alongside the consumer to hone the expertise. This was most frequently achieved by having a service enterprise mannequin moderately than a product mannequin.
For instance, Dusty Robotics provided its robotic as a service first, the place they’d print the development traces on the brand new development previous to making an attempt to promote the robotic. This allowed them to find unspoken buyer wants reminiscent of that the burden of the robotic wanted to be mild sufficient for an individual to hold from ground to ground and to determine the best way to account for winds current in open development. Additionally they didn’t want the robotic to be good as they’d deliver one other robotic to the client website as a spare in case the primary one had any points.
Don’t underestimate the challenges of expertise adoption: Whilst you hear that there could also be resistance to purchasers adopting new expertise, watch out to not be so enamored along with your concept that you simply brush that apart. BioMotum realized this later of their growth cycle. Whereas they knew that an early design with cables was tough for folks to grasp and placed on, they thought that the truth that folks would get such superior outcomes from utilizing their robotic ankle help machine that the way it regarded was not as essential. Solely later did they notice that the person expertise is important to success of the corporate since if folks don’t know the way or aren’t prepared to place it on, then the outcomes don’t matter. BioMotum’s CEO and co-founder, Ray Browning, said “it’s by no means in regards to the expertise – it’s about utilizing it.”
Simplify to solely important product options: It’s a giant mistake to attempt to get each potential characteristic into the primary launch of your product. Quite, you must be laser targeted on the only incarnation of your product that individuals will purchase. A course of that Camino Robotics, a developer of robotic help walkers for the aged, used is to jot down down all of the potential product options after which to have potential customers select which considered one of simply two options at a time they’d select. Additionally they had customers stroll by their day, which frequently revealed unmet wants. That helped slender down the listing to these options that have been important versus nice-to-have.
Additionally, one other firm, Civ Robotics, which is designing surveying robots for outside terrain, really useful having a price related to doing a pilot with a buyer moderately than doing it totally free. Persons are most severe when cash is concerned. Make certain the issue you might be fixing is essential sufficient to the client, even when it’s technologically simple. Attempt to get income as quick as potential.
2. Funding
“It’s robust to work with the entrepreneur that is aware of every little thing. Straightforward to speculate if they’ve an open mindset and know the place they might use assist”
– David Chessler, Chessler Holdings
Chessler is a profitable investor, nonetheless in about 22 working firms. He’s invested tens of thousands and thousands in capital through the years and is at the moment working a program referred to as HUSTLE on entrepreneurship in College of South Florida, which incubates pupil concepts.
It all the time prices extra and takes longer than you suppose: A standard cause firms fail is that they run out of cash or can’t safe their subsequent spherical of funding previous to working out of money. New entrepreneurs are sometimes stunned by how a lot further prices the enterprise finally ends up having past what was modeled of their first marketing strategy. In any case, you’re inventing one thing new and disruptive that the market hasn’t seen earlier than, so you may’t have an ideal prediction of how a lot it is going to price. What you may have although is estimates based mostly on earlier related initiatives which mentors and corporations who’ve beforehand introduced merchandise to market can assist estimate. Pay attention and be taught and add contingencies to your funds for the unknown areas that would take longer than you suppose. It’s additionally simpler to lift more cash if in case you have chosen your buyers properly and they’re prepared to maintain investing in you for future rounds.
Develop a sustainable enterprise mannequin: Will you generate income by promoting your product or promoting a service that your product can do? What number of do you must promote to breakeven? What are the continuing prices when you do begin promoting them (guarantee, continued growth, success, stock, and so forth)? How a lot money will you want for up-front stock prices? How will tariffs and provide chain disruptions have an effect on your prices and timelines? What phrases will you supply your purchasers? How will opponents react to your providing? What pricing pressures will you see? What are purchasers truly going to pay versus what they are saying they might pay? These are simply among the questions you ought to be answering. What founders additionally generally don’t notice is that the enterprise mannequin will possible reshape the structure of your product. So getting that functionality inside your organization early on is important to constructing the services or products providing that can permit your organization to flourish for years.
Select buyers properly: It’s tempting to take the primary time period sheet that’s provided to you however bear in mind that you’re interviewing for a long-term relationship. One of many robotics startups that I interviewed commented that it could have been far more useful if their buyers had automation, {hardware}, and manufacturing experience. It was all the time a problem to elucidate these components of the enterprise they usually didn’t have significant connections to leverage to assist the entrepreneur of their enterprise.
An investor that I talked with additionally mirrored that sentiment from the opposite perspective. If he doesn’t have the power to stack the deck in his and the entrepreneur’s favor by introducing them to key purchasers or huge gamers out there, then he doesn’t really feel his cash will create a sufficiently big influence to speculate. Your main buyers will possible even have a seat in your board of administrators so make certain they will make introductions for you in your area and, in flip, make certain to be clear with them in your progress.
What buyers search for:
- Is it disruptive?
- What’s the market dimension of the chance?
- Can we (the buyers) add worth?
- Is the staff there to execute?
- How lengthy will it take to get to implementation?
Attempt inventive advertising and marketing to preserve money: When you obtain funding, you wish to stretch it so far as potential. There are two nice examples of this that emerged from the interviews. The primary is from Clayton Wooden, former CEO of Picnic Works, the place moderately than getting a sales space at CES, which prices tens of 1000’s of {dollars}, they acquired a spot within the space the place meals was served to exhibit their pizza making robotic. They ended up on three “better of CES” lists in January 2020 with out incurring the conventional expense that will take.
One other instance is from Aadeel Akhtar, CEO and founder at PSYONIC, who has invented and developed a complicated bionic arm. Quite than paying for tradeshow cubicles, he walks round reveals holding a dwell demo of his arm. He additionally will get in contact with YouTube influencers to characteristic the arm doing inventive duties like bottle methods and flaming board breaking. Every of these movies ended up getting 2 to 4 million views, primarily totally free.
Paint the longer term moderately than explaining your product: One of many serial entrepreneurs whom I interviewed has been fairly profitable at elevating cash at a number of startups that he’s led through the years. I requested him what his secret is to having the ability to increase cash repeatedly. He mentioned that it’s all about storytelling, not explaining the product that you’ve got. You’re not promoting the product you have got nor the place you’re at. You’re promoting what your product can allow sooner or later. How will your robotic assist tackle profound labor shortages or deliver higher instruments which might be easy to make use of that can prolong the capability of the labor? Paint an image that your buyers can see and really feel.
3. Improvement course of
“Early on it’s exhausting to get significant buyer suggestions about your concept with out constructing it. Make one thing fast & soiled to be taught from the client as early as potential. Nonetheless, for those who construct one thing too prototype-y at a later stage, the client might reject it.”
– Philipp Herget, co-founder, Dusty Robotics
Dusty Robotics’ autonomous cell robotic prints development drawings straight on the flooring of latest buildings. Dusty Robotics has been round since 2018 and raised over $69 million in funding.
Use off-the-shelf {hardware} and open-source software program to your MVP: The robotics firms who’ve been profitable discovered intelligent and fast methods of making prototypes to indicate potential purchasers rapidly. They cited utilizing off-the-shelf growth kits, open-source software program, and parts of merchandise already available on the market to get a prototype that works nicely sufficient to begin gathering real-world knowledge and buyer suggestions. Solely invent what you want. Civ Robotics is an effective instance of this who was in a position to begin testing early variations of their land surveying robotic inside 4 months.
Embrace necessities, Gantt charts, and product course of rigor on the proper stage: There was a particular correlation between these firms who had formally written down their necessities after which adopted a structured product growth course of and their success. The businesses who struggled essentially the most did the design in an ad-hoc method. Whereas this may be acceptable at first once you’re in experimentation mode (Part 0 Exploration within the course of chart beneath), it was inefficient and detrimental to success in the course of the core growth phases. Creating {hardware} is completely different than software program. One of many feedback I heard was that they need to have gone sluggish to go quick. Slowing down, writing down necessities, planning, and following a confirmed growth course of for {hardware} saves time in the long term because you don’t find yourself redoing as a lot work. Under is an instance of the product growth course of we use at Simplexity.
Create testbeds to check key performance in parallel: One of many different errors that much less skilled firms make when growing {hardware} is to construct all the product abruptly after which take a look at it. Subsystem testbeds allow you to take a look at and iterate on the difficult subsystems with out the distraction of interactions with different subsystems which can have their very own points. The extra skilled firms interviewed construct testbeds to dial in efficiency of a subsystem. For instance, you may take the motor meeting mounted on a bench and take a look at the top effector independently, permitting the engineering staff engaged on the tremendous construction to run in parallel. Don’t attempt to do the important thing science/invention concurrently whereas making an attempt to develop the product. Determine key dangerous core expertise gadgets first and de-risk them on nicely managed testbeds.
Use digital twins and simulations: Digital twins or simulation can considerably pace up your growth cycles. For instance, you may simulate the dynamics of movement in seconds in a simulation versus doing it in {hardware} which might take days. However ultimate testing and debugging are all the time achieved on the {hardware}.
Don’t begin the FDA course of too quickly for regulated merchandise: Just a few of the businesses I interviewed had robotics merchandise that have been additionally medical in nature and controlled by the FDA. One warning they’d was to not begin the FDA course of too early. When you present your design to the FDA, then there may be resistance in altering it, which might not be finest for the product. When growing a product, you have got 3 unknowns:
- Desirability: does your product fulfill an unmet want out there?
- Feasibility: are you able to technically obtain the unmet want?
- Viability: is what you are promoting mannequin viable sufficient to be aggressive out there?
To learn extra about these unknowns, take a look at Christopher Carlson’s article on a Sustainable Product Framework.
Within the early stage, you wish to bounce between assumptions on these three actually quick. Solely upon getting confirmed that it’s a good suggestion, then you definately transfer to a extra commonplace part gate course of that goes into the regulatory framework. Corporations who had FDA regulated merchandise cited how tough it was to make the pivot to the product that will be wanted to achieve success out there since they already had medical trial knowledge with their preliminary design.
4. Staff
“Teamwork and management are complicated character traits which might be usually referenced by many individuals however are broadly ailing outlined regardless of the mountain of books and obtainable lessons.”
– George Linscott, previously of Visicon Applied sciences
Linscott turned a commodity enterprise right into a extremely profitable product line. He grew the corporate right into a worthwhile entity with over 100 staff after which had a really profitable exit.
Founders, keep humble: As cited within the Investor part above, it’s acceptable, and even most well-liked, to confess that you simply don’t know every little thing as a founder. It’s a lot simpler to put money into founders who’ve an open mindset and know the place they will use assist. In fact, you must be assured and enthusiastic about your concept, however to not the purpose of getting a giant ego. Startups who’ve technically succesful leaders who’re additionally humble and worth their staff are essentially the most profitable.
Search a robust technical co-founder with {hardware} growth expertise: One of many firms who shut down said that they have been lacking a robust technical co-founder with {hardware} growth expertise. Having the correct management internally, who understands the best way to develop merchandise was a key differentiator. You want somebody in your staff who understands the nuances between completely different time constants of growing mechanical and electrical {hardware} versus software program and the best way to optimize the interaction between them. It also needs to be famous that firms have been profitable in outsourcing their engineering growth to product growth corporations like Simplexity and even impartial contractors, however having somebody internally who helps drive the structure and imaginative and prescient for the product could be very useful.
Rent the correct folks: When asking firms about their failure areas, a standard pattern famous was the issue of hiring and generally hiring the improper particular person. This was often because of hiring too quick, however even with the most effective interview course of, with sufficient progress, just a few dangerous hires can sneak in. Crimson flags to look out for are folks with big egos, who’re poisonous, and who will not be coachable. You wish to rent folks with a progress mindset who’re prepared to be taught. That mentioned, you additionally wish to rent essentially the most skilled folks which you could afford. Though new school graduates are tremendous good and value much less in wage, the errors they will make because of lack of expertise can price the businesses greater than if they’d simply employed a extra senior particular person. One particular person additionally famous to rent people who find themselves “cussed ” sufficient to completely end a product. Comply with-through and tenacity are important in a difficult setting like a startup.
Develop your management & administration expertise: Being a founder and a very good supervisor are two completely different talent units. You could be a nice technologist, however not essentially an ideal CEO. Whereas it’s definitely potential for one particular person to do each successfully, management and administration enhance with coaching, teaching, and observe. If your organization is profitable, then your staff will develop and you must determine the best way to develop and encourage them in a constructive vogue (or rent somebody who can). These delicate expertise can generally be dismissed by gifted technical founders, but the leaders who’ve a long time of expertise commented that these expertise are what permit an organization to flourish and proceed hiring wonderful staff.
Search a number of mentors: You’d be stunned by how many individuals are prepared to present freely of their time to assist. Most people who find themselves profitable additionally wish to see others have success and are prepared to offer recommendation and mentorship when requested. It was additionally famous by one of many entrepreneurs that they benefited from completely different mentors for various levels of their firm. Your organization and your journey will hold evolving, so hold looking for mentors who proceed to problem your mind-set and who’re good on the subsequent portion of what you are promoting. At first chances are you’ll want somebody who is nice at getting funding, however then later chances are you’ll want somebody who has efficiently scaled into excessive quantity manufacturing.
5. Scaling
“Scaling is the toughest half, not engineering.”
– Matt Frost, senior {hardware} supervisor, Amazon Robotics
Frost works on Amazon Robotics’ Vulcan bin choosing robotic. They’ve deployed Alpha programs and are actually scaling up.
It’s simpler to go from zero to prototype than from prototype to manufacturing: Even with preliminary success, companies underestimate the trouble it takes from constructing tens of items to a whole bunch/1000’s. Design for manufacturing, meeting, service, take a look at, and security together with creating correctly dimensioned GD&T manufacturing drawings, writing work directions, qualifying manufacturing companions, and different New Product Introduction (NPI) actions take quite a lot of time and value. One firm mentioned that the prototyping stage over 3 years price lower than 1 yr of making an attempt to get to manufacturing ramp. The design shouldn’t be full with the proof-of-concept prototype. That’s when the actual work begins. One other one mentioned that the money hit for ramping up stock was a lot larger than they anticipated. These are the varieties of prices that may sink an organization and trigger them to fail at scale, even after they’ve splendidly useful prototypes and a very good market match.
Plan for & take a look at your product: Planning for testing your product ought to be began firstly of your growth as you write down the necessities. If it’s a real requirement, then there ought to be a means of testing it to verify that the robotic will meet it. This generally means placing in design options to make testing simpler, reminiscent of take a look at factors on a customized PCBA design. Ensure you have a plan for the way you’ll take a look at particular person subsystems after which your whole product coming off the manufacturing line early within the design course of, not as an afterthought. Linscott said that constructing testbeds in cooperation with their prospects helped them keep away from most main points when doing acceptance testing. One other suggestion from a profitable robotics firm was to do extremely accelerated life testing. Overload the system and over-cycle it to seek out the failure factors early.
Automate for manufacturing: As you scale into larger volumes, you wish to search for methods to automate or a minimum of semi-automate the manufacturing of your robotic. Semi-automated manufacturing could also be an ideal match for prime amount sub assemblies that require off-the-shelf choose and place, gluing or fastening applied sciences. Take into account customized automation if essential to manufacture your product and punctiliously analyze the fee profit in all scaling phases.
Tariffs & multi-sourcing: Within the latest political local weather, a number of of the businesses interviewed associated that tariffs grew to become unpredictable. They needed to have a method for multi-sourcing their product manufacturing in several geographic areas. This isn’t easy to arrange appropriately, so working with a agency who can assist you qualify contract producers and have a design and manufacturing package deal prepared handy off to them for quoting is important. If you happen to need assistance, Simplexity does do that as a part of our NPI course of. A warning right here is to be cautious of contract producers who’re prepared to do the design work for “free”. They achieve this with the stipulation that you should have them do all of the manufacturing to your product and because you didn’t pay for the design, you don’t personal it. It’s then very tough to maneuver to a different producer or have a number of ones since then you must pay somebody to reverse engineer your product to get the design package deal you must get a number of quotes.
Search the flywheel impact: After getting efficiently scaled into quantity, search for flywheel results of making a robotic system that may be utilized to a couple of buyer want. For instance, Intuitive was in a position to leverage the core mechatronic drive that they used for one software after which standardized it as a core functionality for different adjoining functions. Their system that would reliably lower, sew, and retract created a flywheel impact as soon as it was leveraged into functions past laparoscopy. This success allowed them to draw nice technologists, retain them, after which make higher merchandise. Success breeds success.
Conclusion
I’m grateful that over a dozen firms have been prepared to have a candid dialog with me about their failures and successes. Whereas I had hypothesized that firms who confirmed their prototypes to potential purchasers sooner can be extra profitable, there was not a direct correlation. Even the businesses who in the end needed to shut their doorways confirmed their expertise early and acquired suggestions. The important thing differentiator was those who have been in a position to get income early from purchasers. Those that had prospects prepared to pay whereas nonetheless in growth and co-develop with them have been those with continued success. I encourage you to be taught from all these classes, be fanatical about understanding your prospects’ ache factors, construct a robust staff, and observe a confirmed course of that can assist you obtain your targets. And for those who want engineering assist alongside the way in which, Simplexity is right here for you.
Concerning the Creator
Dorota Shortell is the CEO of Simplexity Product Improvement, an engineering design agency specializing within the design of {hardware}, robotics, and mechatronics. Dorota holds a BSME from Loyola Marymount College, earned her MSME at Stanford College underneath an NSF Fellowship, and has accomplished the Government Management Program at Stanford’s Graduate Faculty of Enterprise.
She is a US patent holder and has over 20 years of latest product growth expertise. She was acknowledged by the Portland Enterprise Journal as a Forty underneath 40 Award winner and an Government to Watch.
