Survival Tips for New Startup Entrepreneurs | Keshav Chintamani | TEDxRWTHAachen
Summary
TLDRThe speaker, a robotics enthusiast turned entrepreneur, shares the challenges and insights of starting a robotics company. Despite the high failure rate in the industry, they found inspiration in simplifying the complex robot market. After facing initial rejections, they discovered a practical application for their robot in factories, emphasizing the importance of identifying real customer needs. The speaker advises on the necessity of prototyping without external funding and highlights the value of patience, persistence, and the unexpected support from a passionate team in the startup journey.
Takeaways
- π Starting a startup with a great idea and team can seem straightforward, but success is not guaranteed, especially in complex fields like robotics.
- π€ Robotics is likened to a complex technology puzzle where many components must align for a successful solution.
- π‘ Despite the fear of failure, the speaker took the leap to start a robotics company, highlighting the importance of taking risks in entrepreneurship.
- π Visiting robotics fairs and engaging with industry professionals helped the speaker identify real-world problems that could be solved with robotics.
- π The speaker emphasizes the importance of understanding customer needs and finding a 'aha' moment where a solution meets a specific problem.
- π‘ The initial idea of universal robots was met with skepticism due to its complexity, leading to a lesson on the need for practical and affordable solutions.
- π Prototyping is crucial to validate ideas and convince both yourself and customers of feasibility, but it can be a challenging process.
- π° Instead of seeking external funding for prototyping, the speaker suggests earning money through other means to invest in your own project, ensuring commitment and focus.
- π Persistence and patience are key in the startup journey, as is the gradual building of a team that shares your passion and vision.
- π The speaker's company has made progress, gaining acceptance into a top startup accelerator program, demonstrating that perseverance can lead to opportunities and success.
Q & A
What is the general perception of starting a startup in the world of robotics according to the speaker?
-The speaker suggests that the perception is that starting a robotics startup is easy, requiring only a great idea, a great team, and funding from unseen investors to be on the path to success.
What does the speaker find exciting about entrepreneurship in robotics?
-The speaker finds excitement in taking an idea, turning it into a product, and selling it in the market, making it useful for others.
Why do some robotic startups fail despite having great ideas and funding?
-Robotic startups may fail because they might not have a complete solution that addresses practical business environment concerns such as safety, liability, and returns on investment.
What did the speaker do eight months ago that was significant to their entrepreneurial journey?
-The speaker quit their job, drove a hundred kilometers to a city called Kortrijk in Belgium, and started a robotics company.
What was the speaker's initial idea for their robotics company?
-The initial idea was to create universal robots that could work together seamlessly, like a team, to perform various tasks, such as moving boxes or lifting heavy loads.
What was the first lesson the speaker learned from their startup experience?
-The first lesson was realizing that having a great idea is not enough; the idea must also be practical, affordable, and meet a real need in the market.
What is the importance of the 'aha moment' in the context of the speaker's startup journey?
-The 'aha moment' is crucial because it represents the discovery of a real problem that the customer needs to solve, which the speaker's robot can address.
Why does the speaker advise against seeking investment money for prototyping?
-The speaker advises against it because using one's own money to build a prototype ensures that the creator is fully invested in the project and is more likely to build the right prototype the first time.
What is the speaker's advice on how to fund the initial stages of a startup?
-The speaker suggests working for someone else, writing software, or building websites to earn money, which can then be used to fund the startup's prototype.
What qualities does the speaker emphasize are necessary for success in a startup business?
-The speaker emphasizes the importance of patience and persistence in the startup business.
What recent achievement did the speaker's startup receive, and what does it mean for the future of the company?
-The startup was accepted into one of Europe's top startup accelerator programs, which will provide support to help the company move forward and potentially achieve success.
Outlines
π€ The Challenges and Realities of Robotics Startups
The speaker begins by highlighting the misconception that starting a company is easy, especially in the robotics field. They express their passion for robotics and entrepreneurship but also the fear and reality of high failure rates in the industry. The speaker emphasizes the complexity of creating a successful robotics startup, likening it to solving a complex jigsaw puzzle where technology, safety, liability, and financial factors must align. They share their personal story of leaving a job to start a robotics company in Belgium, facing initial challenges such as lack of team and resources, and the struggle to develop a prototype. The speaker sets the stage for sharing lessons learned from their entrepreneurial journey.
π‘ Discovering the Market Need for Simplicity in Robotics
In this paragraph, the speaker recounts their experience at robotics fairs, feeling overwhelmed by the competition and the vast array of robots available. They describe a pivotal conversation with a friend from the logistics industry who expressed a desire for simplification in the robotic market. This leads to the speaker's first 'aha' moment, where they conceptualize a line of universal robots that can be easily combined and customized to meet various needs. However, upon presenting this idea to potential customers, they encounter skepticism due to the complexity and cost of the solution. The speaker learns the valuable lesson that a great idea alone is not enough; it must also be practical and address a clear market need.
π οΈ Prototyping and the Importance of Customer Feedback
The speaker discusses the process of prototyping, emphasizing its difficulty and the common pitfalls such as ordering incorrect parts and technical failures. They advise against seeking external investment for prototyping, instead suggesting self-funding through other work to ensure the prototype meets one's own standards. The speaker shares their realization that the real problems to solve are often right in front of them, and by asking the right questions, customers can reveal their needs. This leads to the second 'aha' moment, where they identify a specific task that their robot could automate in a factory, thus finding a practical application for their technology.
π Persistence, Patience, and the Power of a Passionate Team
In the final paragraph, the speaker reflects on the importance of patience and persistence in the startup world. They share a personal anecdote from childhood about building and flying model aircraft, drawing a parallel to the startup journey where persistence leads to success. The speaker also highlights the unexpected support and collaboration that emerged from individuals who shared their passion, forming a team and becoming a source of support. They conclude with the successful development of their first industrial robot, acceptance into a top startup accelerator program, and a motivational message that encourages trying, as it's the only way to know if one can succeed.
Mindmap
Keywords
π‘Startups
π‘Robotics
π‘Entrepreneurship
π‘Prototyping
π‘Investors
π‘Aha Moment
π‘Safety
π‘Liability
π‘Returns on Investment (ROI)
π‘Team
π‘Persistence
Highlights
Starting a company today seems easy with a great idea and team, but success is not guaranteed.
Robotics entrepreneurship is exciting but also terrifying due to the high failure rate of robotic startups.
Robotics is a complex technology that requires many components to work together for a successful solution.
Many robotic startups fail despite coming from top research labs and having substantial funding.
The speaker quit their job and started a robotics company in Core Trek, Belgium, despite being terrified and without a team.
Having a great idea is not enough; the idea must also be practical and meet a real need in the market.
The speaker's initial idea of universal robots was deemed too complex and expensive by potential customers.
Identifying a real problem that customers face is crucial for developing a successful product.
Prototyping is essential to convince both yourself and customers that your idea can be built.
Funding from investors is not always necessary for prototyping; using personal earnings can be more effective.
Patience and persistence are key in the startup business, as success often takes time.
The speaker's first industrial robot was developed based on a real problem identified in factories.
Three companies showed interest in the speaker's robot, indicating a potential market for the product.
The speaker's company was accepted into a top European startup accelerator program, signaling a promising future.
The importance of not giving up and trying, as success can only be achieved through action.
Transcripts
so how many of you follow the world of
startups it seems so easy to start up a
company today right all you need is a
great idea a great team and you're gonna
get lots of money from people you've
never seen before okay and you're gonna
be on your way to success it's really
that easy or is it
I love robotics and I love building
robots I also love entrepreneurship
because there's something very exciting
about taking an idea making it a product
and selling it in the market and making
it useful for somebody that's really
exciting
so as the robotics entrepreneur but when
I wake up in the morning to news like
this robotic startups don't succeed it's
terrifying it's horrible please don't
treat this by the way don't treat this
it might say so don't treat it then
there are enough articles like this on
the internet and to be very honest
there's a lot of truth to them in fact
in the past 20 years there have been
hundreds of robotic startups that have
appeared and they've disappeared just as
quickly and some of these startups have
come from some of the top robotics
research labs with hundreds of millions
of dollars of funding and they have
still failed and so let's think about
this for a minute why is this your
robotics is like a complex technology
jigsaw puzzle a lot of things have to
come together to make a good solution
you know in the laboratory we can put
together motors sensors electronics Laer
it with artificial intelligence and
algorithms and we can make these robots
drive around the world sense the world
and even act on the world but when you
take that same robot and put it into a
business environment a factory or a
warehouse suddenly your robot is getting
asked all sorts of strange questions
safety liability returns on investment
and if your puzzle isn't complete
everything's gonna fall apart and your
robotic startup is going down and makes
robotics a very dangerous idea for a
start-up so eight months ago I decided
to quit my job and I drove a hundred
kilometers to a city called core Trek in
the southwest of Belgium and I created a
robotics company there some people don't
take their own advice
right but I did and I was terrified
I'd be very honest with you I was
extremely scared because I didn't have a
team I was all by myself I was alone I
had an idea of what I wanted to do but
it wasn't perfect really it wasn't
perfect and I was building a prototype
of a robot at home when it was sitting
on my desk and it wasn't going anywhere
it was just sitting there and it wasn't
becoming bigger or smaller because I
didn't have the tools or the machinery
to actually make the system a really
high quality product and I was
struggling look I'm not an Elan musk
neither am i or Steve Jobs okay but I'm
actually very happy to be standing here
eight months later because I think I'm
still alive still surviving and and I
thought I'd share four lessons that I
learned in the past eight months with
you and I hope you can use them in your
own startup journey in your own projects
they don't have to be robotics I think
they can apply to anything I hope you
find them useful so let's start with the
big idea they're all talking about ideas
all the time and I know all of us have
these big bulbs in our head of these
lightbulbs and they keep flashing right
all the time and I know all of you guys
here have had a great idea and you've
gone running to the internet to see if
someone has done it already right I know
all of you have done it and you're so
disappointed because ninety nine out of
a hundred times someone has done it
before you all right what can we do
today everything seems to be solved
already there are no more great ideas
necessary right and I struggled with
this question in robotics
because there were two problems first
everything seems to be solved in
robotics there's nothing to be done
anymore and the other problem was the
people we designed these robots for we
never see their working in a factory or
a warehouse somewhere in outer space an
astronaut how do we know what they want
we don't meet them we don't even work in
the same place as they do I was
struggling with this question
so I started visiting a lot of Robotics
fairs to see what was going on in the
market just to see what people are
selling and I would see things like this
small robots big robots
I would even see huge robots that can
carry an entire aircraft from one part
of the factory to another and I said oh
my gosh
how am I gonna beat these guys it's
impossible so I was so frustrated last
year and I contacted a friend of mine
from the logistics industry and I said
hey you know I'm very struggling to find
an idea here can you help me out what is
your problems and factories what do you
guys need and he said you know keV when
I go to the to the market to buy a robot
I get very confused because I see all
these different robots can you simplify
it is there a way we can make it easier
for us to buy robots I said hang on for
a few weeks I'm gonna come back I think
I have something for you and I came back
with my first great idea he shoves
universal robots
all you had to do was buy one of Kaos
robots and it'll drive around and do
things for you
and if you needed more work if he wasn't
enough no problem just buy one more of
case shoves robots and they'll work
together perfectly like friends like a
team and they'll drive around you can
put a robot arm on one robot and a box
on the other robot and they'll work
perfectly and if you ended up with a
huge box or 800 kilogram box no problem
just buy two more of Kaos robots and
they'll all drive together lift the ball
and happily drive away anywhere anytime
what a brilliant idea it was so simple
and classic and clean and I was so
excited by this idea I said man I'm
going to be super rich I looked up look
up my address book and I said oh I have
three companies in my list and I'm going
to go and validate and test this idea
with them and I was very surprised you
know these companies actually called me
to their factories and I went and I
presented these exact same slides and he
looked at me and they said Keesha
this is a very interesting idea it's
very advanced it's very high-tech it's
almost like science fiction it's amazing
but you're a single guy can you build
all of this and what's more difficult
for us to understand is we don't have
any robots in our factory right now and
you're asking us to use four robots at
the same time I don't think it's gonna
work and that was my first lesson I
realized that you might have a great
idea but maybe nobody needs it because
it might be too complex it might be too
expensive or it just might be
impractical but you know what was very
interesting at that same moment that
same very moment that same person would
look at me and say what case you have
hang on a second
do we really need all these crazy robots
no we don't need it
take one robot just one come with me I'm
going to show you something
and they would take me to a part of the
factory where there's somebody moving
boxes you know from one location to
another putting it here then moving it
here putting it here and they would say
look this guy is one of our most
specialized workers he is supposed to be
building high quality products for our
factory but he's wasting his time moving
boxes can your robot solve this aha
yes Eureka because you've suddenly
discovered a problem that your customer
needs you found it an aha moment because
that customer doesn't like your crazy
idea but he has a real problem and he
knows you can solve it and when you get
this 1/2 moment and you go to these
companies with these kind of crazy ideas
you're gonna get a lot more and when you
go to these companies you're gonna see a
transversal set of industry-wide
problems that your company can solve and
that was my second lesson I learned that
the problems that we are trying to solve
are right in front of us but if you ask
your customers the right questions they
will give it you so as soon as you get
this 1/2 moment it's absolutely
imperative to start prototyping it and
there's two reasons why you have to do
that first you have to convince yourself
that you can build it and the second
thing you have to do is you have to
convince your customers that you can
actually build that aha moment but
prototyping isn't easy you know it's
horrible you're gonna order the wrong
parts you're gonna burn electronics and
you're going to be sitting there back
branch like this working and it's really
difficult but there seems to be a
tendency for people to go looking for
money from investors just to prototype I
don't think you need to do that I have
another idea work for somebody write
some software for a company build a
website for your friends and make money
from there sell yourself and use that
money to build your prototype because
it's your money you'll build the right
prototype the first time around and that
was my third lesson you know all of this
reminds me of when I was 12 years old
that's me by the way and that was 25
years ago that was a long time ago and
now you know how old I am
you know when I grew up in India we
didn't have the internet we didn't how
hard we nose and we didn't have
raspberry pies like you guys have today
all these young guys have today right
and at that time I used to love flying
mortal aircraft really simple aircraft
wooden aircraft with a propeller and an
elastic band and I used to find the
plans for these from some old magazines
that my uncle used to collect from the
1960s I still have them by the way and
this aircraft would never fly however
hard I tried they would always fall on
their face all the time and every day I
would come back from school excited to
fly this aircraft because after a lot of
twisting and tweaking twisting and
tweaking one day this plane would just
take off in the air and it would last
only for five seconds but it felt so
good because something that you've built
is actually working and something else
I've learned in the past eight months
is to be in the startup business you
need to be very patient and you need to
be persistent that's extremely important
and the best part about this whole thing
with the startups you might have started
off without a team but suddenly you have
a number of people who are working
around you and some of these people
you've never seen before you've never
worked with them before but they share
the same passion for what you're doing
and they want to work with you they want
to make you succeed because they love
what you do and they become your team
and your family too you know they become
your team because they see you're doing
all of these crazy things and they want
to push you forward they want to make
you succeed too and that's the beauty of
this past eight months so I learned
these four lessons and we ended up with
this guy he's our first industrial robot
and we're very excited we're very
excited about the future because three
companies have told us that they like
our aha moment they want to see us doing
something
and we've built this robot and we think
the future is bright and I'm extremely
proud to share with you today that just
yesterday I got a call that we've been
accepted into one of Europe's top
startup accelerator programs just
yesterday and I think with their support
we can go forward and be successful so I
just like to wrap up by saying if you
don't try you will never know if you're
going to succeed or not
[Applause]
Browse More Related Video
Why Donβt We Have Better Robots Yet? | Ken Goldberg | TED
David Rusenko - How To Find Product Market Fit
FLL SuperPowered Judging Session Presentation - Robot Design - Lazer Robotics
FIGURE 01 AI Robot Update w/ OpenAI + Microsoft Shocks Tech World (THEMIS HUMANOID DEMO)
OpenAI's Newest AI Humanoid Robot - Figure 02 - Just Stunned the Robotics World!
λ²€μ²κΈ°μ κ°μ μ μ μΈμ μ€μ²λ¦¬λ μ€νΌμΉ [λ©κ°μ‘΄ν΄λΌμ°λμ£Ό μ΄μ£Όμ λν]
5.0 / 5 (0 votes)