This week, the SphereCast team speaks with Kris Rupay, Executive Vice President Engineering at aero hygenx. Through a combination of robotics and medical-grade ultraviolet light, Kris’s company is making pandemic-era travel safer. aero hygenx’s product, aptly named RAY, is a robot that moves throughout transportation cabins, sanitizing surrounding areas using UVC light — a technology proven to neutralize COVID-19 and its variants.
Typically, businesses are born by way of identifying a problem to solve. Kris and his team sought to tackle a huge problem — making travel safe once again, during a global pandemic. Per its website, aero hygenx is a company “inspired by the need to bring consumer confidence back to travel.” And through extremely innovative technology, it is accomplishing its goal. On the podcast, Kris lays out his company’s short but impactful journey, recaps any lessons learned along the way, and discusses what constitutes a good team.
Noteworthy Quotes:
"Never stop learning... You learn a lot at school, but it never stops. Continue learning every day. Try to read. Try to grow. If you're in your career and you realize that you've stopped learning, it's probably time to move on."
"Our biggest challenge is getting innovation out there and driving adoption. Getting folks to think in a different way. Once that happens, it opens everything up."
"It's important to surround yourself with the right folks — to build the right team... It's really all about bringing the right people together."
"Emails are so distracting... I had a colleague that once told me, 'If someone really needs you, they'll pick up the phone and call you.'"
"We were able to build a business around a pandemic. We created a business where working from home is the norm."
"When hiring, more than anything, it's personality that makes such a difference. Finding the person that you will connect with. That will relate with your team and work well with others."
Bullet List of Resources –
Kris Rupay
aero hygenx