Robo-UV: Deepjyoti's Nath entrepreneurial story PL

Summary

Inspired by the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, a doctor’s sister co-founded a company to create an affordable robot for hospital disinfection. After learning everything about robotics from scratch, the team developed a solution to combat hospital-acquired infections using UVC lights on an autonomous robot. Their goal was to make advanced disinfection technology accessible to public hospitals, which often can't afford expensive solutions. Despite facing failures in previous startups, the co-founders' persistence and innovative thinking led to a successful prototype and investment, showcasing the power of resilience in entrepreneurship.

Takeaways

• 😀 The speaker's sister, a doctor in London, suffered from severe COVID-19 symptoms early in the pandemic, which prompted the speaker to take action.
• 😀 The pandemic highlighted the issue of hospital-acquired infections, with over 9 million cases and 100,000 deaths annually in Europe alone.
• 😀 Hospital-acquired infections are a major problem, but the solutions, such as disinfection robots, are often too expensive for public hospitals to afford.
• 😀 The speaker and their co-founder decided to create an affordable disinfection robot to make these solutions accessible to a wider range of hospitals.
• 😀 The innovation behind their product is not in the technology itself, but in making it affordable and accessible for public institutions.
• 😀 The robot uses UVC lights, which have been used for over 50 years to disable viruses and bacteria, to disinfect hospital spaces autonomously.
• 😀 The robot can disinfect rooms much faster than human workers—disinfecting surgery rooms in less than 10 minutes compared to the traditional 1.5 hours.
• 😀 The speaker and co-founder started with no prior knowledge of robotics, learning everything they could from books and online resources to build their first prototype.
• 😀 Within a year, they developed a working prototype, won an award, and secured investment from major European venture capitalists.
• 😀 The speaker's entrepreneurial journey was driven by necessity and a desire to solve problems. Despite previous startup failures, they persisted and found success.
• 😀 The speaker defines entrepreneurship as the drive to challenge existing systems, improve the world, and be willing to sacrifice to achieve impactful goals.

Q & A

Why did the speaker's sister's experience with COVID-19 lead to the creation of the robot?

The speaker's sister, who is a doctor in London, became critically ill with COVID-19, which highlighted the need for better solutions to prevent hospital-acquired infections. This motivated the speaker to find a way to help combat infections in healthcare settings.

What was the main challenge with existing hospital infection control solutions?

The main challenge was the high cost of infection control solutions like disinfection robots, which were out of reach for public hospitals. These robots could cost as much as 60,000 euros each, making them inaccessible for most institutions.

What is the innovation behind the disinfection robot?

The innovation is not in the technology itself (UV-C light for disinfection), but in making it affordable and accessible for public hospitals. The robot uses UV-C lights to disinfect areas autonomously, significantly improving the speed and efficiency of the process.

How does the robot work to disinfect hospitals?

The robot navigates autonomously through the hospital, using UV-C lights to disinfect rooms after a patient has checked out and before the next patient arrives. It can disinfect rooms much faster than human efforts, taking only 10 minutes compared to over an hour for traditional cleaning methods.

What makes this disinfection robot different from others in the market?

The robot's design is different because its creators did not have prior experience with robotics. This lack of preconceptions led to a unique and more affordable approach, making it easier to manufacture compared to competitors' robots.

What was the speaker's background before starting this venture?

Before starting the venture, the speaker worked as a software engineer at another company. They balanced their work routine by splitting time between their day job and developing the robot at night.

How did the speaker and their co-founder get started with building robots?

The speaker and their co-founder had no prior knowledge of robotics. They began by researching on Google, reading books, and learning everything about robotics. Their first prototype was created within three months.

What was the speaker's motivation for entering the field of robotics and entrepreneurship?

The speaker was motivated by the desire to solve real-world problems, particularly the issues in healthcare. They believed they could make a positive impact by developing a more affordable solution for hospital infections.

How did the speaker and their team finance the project initially?

The project was initially self-funded, with the speaker working two jobs to support the development of the robot. They received their first funding in November from Think Bigger Capital, allowing them to pay themselves a minimal salary and focus on the venture full-time.

What lessons did the speaker learn from their previous startup failures?

From their previous startup failures, the speaker learned that failure is part of the entrepreneurial journey. They emphasized the importance of learning from mistakes and not repeating them, acknowledging that challenging established industries often involves setbacks.