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ROS Goss
ROS Goss is powered by the team at Dwight & Company — a specialized sales and marketing agency that lives at the intersection of automation, robotics, and storytelling. We work with everyone from massive integrators to stealth startups, helping them grow with the right strategy and messaging.
So why a podcast? Honestly, we never planned on doing this. But after years in the industry, we kept hearing incredible stories — not just about technology, but about the people behind it. And we realized those stories needed a place to be told.
ROS Goss is where we share the human side of a very automated industry. We’ll talk about innovation and thought leadership, but also mentorship, customer success, and the relationships that make this industry tick. We’re sitting down with some of the most inspiring voices in automation to have real, honest conversations — the kind we don’t always make time for, but really should.
This isn’t just about robotics and automation. It’s about the people building it and we want you to meet them.
ROS Goss
The US Needs Robotics Companies Now More Than Ever
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What happens when you bring together the founders of a robotics innovation hub, mix in some entrepreneurial insight, and add a dash of real talk about America's technological future? You get a fascinating look behind the curtain of one of the world's premier robotics ecosystems.
Joyce Sidopoulos, co-founder and COO of MassRobotics, takes us back to 2015 when Boston's robotics community realized they needed more than occasional meetups – they needed a physical home where hardware startups could access shared resources and equipment. What began as a Massachusetts-focused initiative quickly evolved into a global magnet.
The conversation shifts to how MassRobotics serves as a crucial bridge between startups and corporate partners. Marita McGinn, who leads MassRobotics' Accelerator Program, explains how the organization supports founders and facilitates meaningful connections. This founder-first mentality has created a tight-knit community where companies genuinely help each other grow.
Perhaps most compelling is their perspective on why robotics matters now more than ever. From healthcare worker shortages to dangerous industrial tasks, automation offers solutions to pressing problems while creating higher-value jobs. The 20 startups from their accelerator program have already created approximately 120 positions – powerful evidence against the myth that robots simply eliminate employment.
Want to understand how innovation ecosystems actually work? Listen now and discover why building bridges between startups and industry might be the key to America's competitive edge in the robotics revolution.
Introduction to MassRobotics Leadership
Speaker 1Hi everyone. I'm Mandy Dwight, founder and CEO of Dwight and Company, also host of Roskos, this podcast that you're listening to today. I'm joined today by some fantastic industry colleagues Joyce Sidopoulos, who is the co-founder and COO of MassRobotics, marita McGinn, who runs the Accelerator program here, as well as wearing many other hats here at MassRobotics to support the companies. Thank you so much for joining me today for the podcast. You know we sit down all the time and talk and we figured that today we would sit down and just kind of get some of these conversations on tape for everybody. So thanks again.
Speaker 2Thank you for having us, and your expertise and the talks that we do have are always very fruitful for us, so thank you.
Speaker 1Oh, no, no problem no problem, it's exciting.
Speaker 1Well, you know, it's funny, like I always come here and I'm talking to startups, I'm meeting with you guys, we're strategizing, we're talking about all the different ways that we can support the industry as colleagues coming together. And you know, I thought we'd sit down today and just really kind of talk about some of those things, especially where we have all of these different parts changing right now. And you know, it's our role in this industry to really support companies now more than ever. So you know, and that's something that I'll get to that in a bit, but that's something that we kind of were throwing around when we talked the other day and it was kind of the common theme was now more than ever.
Speaker 1But let's back up the truck. So, you know, mass robotics like we take for granted that mass robotics is like a thing that exists and it's kind of always been here and you know, but that's not true. Like it was an innovative idea and you know it's, it was the first of its kind, and I can say that as an outsider the first of its kind. But Joyce, you were here day zero. Tell me all of this stuff.
Speaker 2So really it.
Speaker 2It was you're saying the time is now, the time was then yeah so the, the cluster which was being run at mass tlc at the time um started. The cluster had been meeting for over a dozen years and tom ryden was one of the cluster co-chairs. I was working for mass tlc as the cluster manager and managing kind of hosting things every other month, a summit once a year, and it just between like 2010 and 2011,. 2012 to 2013,. It seemed like it was like a hockey stick people joining the cluster. So a group of us got together and we said the time is now.
Speaker 2We have to have our own space, our own meeting place, a way to help startups who need all of these very physical assets and very cost. It's cost prohibitive to not have a machine shop. Everything costs so much money. Hardware costs a lot of money. So how can we start something that is a gathering place where we all have these shared resources? So that kind of kicked it off and and then the cluster met many times within probably six months. How do we? How do we build this um? Who are the service providers? Who is going to pay for this? How are we? How are we going to get startups? And so, um, it kind of all came together within a year and it's a lot of work, but it does seem like it's always been here now I know I mean, and maybe that's like because I'm a boston person like you, guys are kind of just walking out the day.
Speaker 1Oh hey, it's mass robotics. You know they've always been here, so what year was that?
Speaker 2remind me again so we actually incorporated in 2015, but it was a couple years before we got funding and got our um, you know, got the space and, uh, people were lining up actually to to move in. So when we first opened up, it was only it was less than six months and we had 18 companies here and we said, oh my gosh, we're going to run out of space soon. And then we were able to secure this second floor and by the time we moved down here, we already had over 30 companies. So what kind of started as a Massachusetts, a place for people coming out of universities and starting companies to come to. To.
Speaker 2Now it's pretty much global A third of our companies are not from the United States, they're from overseas, and another third are from other parts of the United States. So really only a third of our companies are now from Massachusetts. So it kind of just happened.
Speaker 1it was a, the time was right yeah, and for me this neighborhood is very nostalgic because you know all the robotics, so so for those of you that don't know, this is a section of South which all the robotics companies came early and just started here. Now it's a little bit cost prohibitive and you help the companies still stay here by providing them a place. But this every time I walk through this neighborhood. It's so special because all these robotics.
Speaker 2You were there with Rethink, I was there. Yeah, some old friends back there in the lab that I know they may be red, but yeah, you're right.
Speaker 1And before that, aldebaran Robotics. You have a now when you walk in the front door. So I mean this is such a special place. And then, marita, I mean you joined to, for, like, the interesting thing is, you joined for another sector of growth, so tell me a little bit about that.
Speaker 3Yeah, well, before I get into that, I want to mention how I met Joyce.
Speaker 1Oh, yes, and the power? This is true, roscos, right here.
Speaker 3No, this is like we might as well get into some nice gossip. Yes, I met Joyce like six or seven years ago when I was running a Techstars Air Force program. So I was running an accelerator which we'll get to in a minute which is kind of my gig here at Vast Robotics. But Joyce was a mentor and I met her and Tom and I just always was like wow, those two are just amazing and just really. You could tell like I kind of latched onto this term founder first pretty early in my career and I just think Tom and Joyce just exemplify what it means to be founder first. And yeah, I just wanted to mention that because you're talking about the beginning days and I remember the ribbon cutting of the second floor and I was working at Techstars at the time and it's just really cool.
Speaker 3I always knew I wanted to work with you and it's just awesome that we're here.
Speaker 2My story for her is when we were looking for an accelerator director at home. I have this taped list of people I want to work with. I'm picturing like the spider webs and her name was on the list. So when Tom's like you know we might get this funding for this accelerator, I'm like I know the person. I went to my thing. I put a little check next to it.
Speaker 3Yeah, no-transcript are some of just the. They're just really unique. They require different things, but they also are sort of just built differently. There's no sort of like ego, which we'll get into later too, but anyways, I'm sort of going all over the place. But here's the why I'm here at Masterbotics.
Speaker 3So I built our accelerator program. It was a two-year long program that was funded by the state of Massachusetts Really unique. Most accelerator programs are pretty expensive. They take like six to 8% equity in participating companies. It is a lot when you're thinking about like an exit plan for a startup, like and that's founders equity, so it's really precious.
Origins of MassRobotics
Speaker 3But this program was really unique. We was equity free and we actually funded each startup with one hundred thousand dollars from the state of Massachusetts. And the entire premise of our accelerator was three months long in person, 10 companies a year was to really help mold these technical founders into being awesome salespeople. I mean shameless plug to Mandy she came in and did sessions with both of our cohorts to really talk about the importance of following up, the importance of relationship building. You know, like building a company is not a transactional experience and I'm happy that we had your guidance for our startups for that. So yeah, that's what I've been sort of up to at Master Robotics. I'm really passionate about helping technical founders get out of their own way when it comes to engineering and over-engineering in many ways, and I think we do a good job with that at MassRobotics.
Speaker 1Yeah, I mean we talked. You know, joyce, you mentioned there, you know you had 18 companies and 30 companies. I mean, what type of companies are part of the MassRobotics ecosystem?
Speaker 2So that's a great question. Really, we have companies that are, so robotics is really going to disrupt all industries. So we have companies here. We do have a no competition policy, so all of our companies over 100, do not compete. So that just tells you that there's 100 companies here working on things that don't compete with each other. So they're covering industries from. You know. Manufacturing, defense and logistics are really the top three, and those are the top three that have been funded, but in a close second is healthcare, agriculture and construction, and those are really starting to get adopted. So those are the kind of the next three.
Speaker 2And then machine learning. Well, almost all of them use machine learning and AI and physical AI. So the big hype on AI it's something that most of our robotics companies have been using For a long time. For a long time, right, right, but now it's just getting better and faster and easier to get the data you need, and so that's also why robotics is accelerating. But our companies are everything from a professor that's spinning out of a university that's looking to hire his first hire to people from industry who see a problem that they know they can solve with robotics and they want to have a place to kind of build that. So the age ranges from, you know, 23 or 22. I think we had a 20-year-old once, right.
Speaker 2Yeah, we did have the accelerator. Yeah, they're drinking it for happy hours.
Speaker 2So we had, you know, they go from 20 to, oh my gosh, probably 80 or 75 to 80. And they start and their companies, from a really early stage, were building their first prototype, to those who are figuring out how to go to manufacturing and production. So it's really a wide range which makes for awesome conversations in the kitchen and at happy hour and they're all helping each other because they're all you know. This guy's been there, that guy hasn't. Yet you know all of them. How did you hire? What type of people do you hire? Sometimes they share employees, so that's happened a couple of times. We have seen that a couple of times.
Speaker 3yeah, and and in regards to the kind of stage of when does a company come to master robotics, the right time is when they have a physical prototype and they want to build and iterate on that prototype. So our our facilities behind us are just full of robotics tooling. We've got about 30 different robot arms. We have a cnc, a full machine shop. So all the startups working in this space are actively building on their prototype. The vast majority of the startups from a stage perspective are in that seed range and then we help them with first customers, first funding. The latest stage company that we have at Masterbotics is a Series B startup. Oh wow. So it really runs the gamut. And right now're we're sitting right at 100 residents, which is that is wild have we hit?
Speaker 2I mean, we're like always teetering I'll tell you we probably have, because in the last couple of weeks it seems like we get four inquiries a week on. You know, can we join master robotics? What you know, this is what we're looking for. Can you provide us this, this and this? And a lot of times it's connections to industry, its connections to VCS, it's connections to talent, its access to the machine shop.
Speaker 2So those are kind of like the top four yeah but it's crazy like every time I open up my email there's an inquiry about a new startup that's come from somewhere. Sometimes they're Massachusetts, but we just had a conversation with someone from India in a healthcare startup they're they wow, they're coming from all over.
Speaker 1Yeah, so that speaks to your value. Like you know, when I meet with people, you know I say to them well, what is the value of your product? And you explain some of that to me, like what do you think about that, marita? What else, what are the other value propositions?
Speaker 3So I used to think and I've spent quite a bit of time in these sort of like entrepreneur support, organization kind of work and I do think that master robotics has a next level, like connectivity and like really tightness of a community. So I almost don't want to say like our unique value is this phenomenal community that we've built, because it's almost like an intangible thing. But I actually do think that is what it is. We do a ton of one-to-one connections for our startups and, to Joyce's perspective, like all of these companies help each other and oftentimes the makeup of our founders here they like tend to be, you know, they're really analytical, they're technical, they're not super extroverted and like sometimes they need a little bit of a push.
Speaker 3So when they're around like-minded people, it's like you see these beautiful friendships being made Everyone. Like I've never been in a work organization like this where people stop and have lunch together and it's not just our team, it's all of our startups. It's amazing. So I think, like the fact here's another thing like when I first met you like everyone wants to help master robotics. I think because we're a non-profit, I like there's it's like a, it's like a blanket of like okay, we're good, you can help us, because we're not here to get anything from you, right, right, we're only here to help our companies that we work with, and we have such high quality companies Like you should want to be a part of what we do.
Speaker 2We do get a lot of inbound people just wanting to come in and help.
Speaker 1Oh, that's awesome hey.
Speaker 2I have this kind of expertise. I'd love to come in and help the startups. Can I host office hours?
Speaker 3Our pool of mentors is crazy good it's incredible Like we have people who have, you know, had big exits in the Boston robotics scene, who by no stretch of the imagination, need to be like giving back to companies, but they do and they're really engaged and, like I am just as someone who's built mentor communities before like it's just, it's extremely impressive and I feel like our breadth of sort of connectivity across the ecosystem is really strong.
Speaker 1Yeah, I mean. So there are companies that live within Mass, robotics that live and work here every day, there are mentors who give their time back, but then we have the third component, really, which is corporate partners.
Speaker 2Right.
Speaker 1So tell me a little bit about that program because, honestly, you are a nonprofit yet you need to have the corporate partners to really support the ecosystem. So, corporate partners, what is it that's interesting to them about mass robotics, you know? Tell me about that.
Building the Accelerator Program
Speaker 2Yeah, I'd say the corporate partners are very. Each one is so unique. They all are looking for something a little different, and what makes it really work is working with them to find out what is it you really need to get out All of them. Of course, funding is amazing because and they are they are really. The majority of our funding comes from our corporate sponsors, so that helps us pay the bills here and operate right. But we want them to feel like they're really valuable for us too, and they are, so we have you know.
Speaker 2I'll give you an example of Mitsubishi. So they came in and they looked in our lab and they didn't see any Mitsubishi arms. They saw some competitor arms. So they said how do we get our arms in there so that the startups will use them? Become a partner. We'll help you promote your arm. We'll get you in front of manufacturing companies. We'll help you lead one of our signature series events. They actually have someone who sits in the lab a couple of times a week working on the arm, so that people who go into the lab and are using it, they have a helper right there, so they're in kind of working with the ecosystem. They also look into investing in some of the companies. So they have invested in a company or two here.
Speaker 2So that's another kind of thing for them. So they want to get their collaborative arm out in industry and be visible. You know others like I'm trying to think of another, the MITRE Corporation. They're very defense oriented and so they want to be able to bring their clients, who are the Army Air Force Navy.
Speaker 3They want to be able to bring them in here to kind of showcase autonomy and some of the drone technologies, and so it's a space for them to kind of showcase innovation that's happening in boston yeah, I mean, I think the way that we view ourselves in the ecosystem from um, we're sort of like we're the bridge between corporate and startup we can speak startup and we can speak corporate and oftentimes they're misaligned on, you know, timelines or expectations or like scope of work, and I think we do a really good job of helping those large corporates learn how to work with startups in a meaningful way. A nice example is with Chewy which we all get.
Speaker 3I'm a Chewy customer for my dog. We got Mandy over here, so Chewy is awesome. And they came to us because they needed help figuring out a solution that robotics could really play a huge role in. So they did a challenge and we helped find a flurry of startups that they could work with. And they ended up working with one of our companies that's a resident of MassRobotics and that's become a a real poc. I think a lot of times in corporate innovation, startups can kind of get stuck with innovation teams or marketing teams and really the benefit of for a startup is they want your business yeah and they want to be able to figure out, like can I build a really strong relationship with a corporate that could become a real customer of ours?
Speaker 3I think I like to see us as a bridge between those two entities, so we bring everyone to the table and set expectations and set the playing field.
Speaker 2Yeah, yeah. And another thing that corporates like is if they have a prototype coming out and they want it tested.
Speaker 1Oh, that's interesting.
Speaker 2So we did that with one of our corporate partners. Early on they provided us some LIDARs and they just wanted it to go to some startups and some universities to see how they would use it and get their feedback. So they got that feedback before they actually made it a full product. So that was kind of interesting.
Speaker 3I mean, all these corporates are like. At the top of this discussion you were like the time is now so like these startups need help, but also these large corporates need help in figuring out like what is their robotics and ai strategy yeah, and oftentimes these startups already have like the whole build it versus buy it.
Speaker 1We are big believers of you should go buy it and work with startups yeah, I mean I companies say to me all the time like we're gonna do robotics and I'm like great, I'm like add some time onto the timeline for that, because you could, you know, build the wheel yourself or buy the wheel and iterate and support a company that's doing that. So you, you probably see that all the time. Yeah, we encourage it.
Speaker 3Yeah we do and I think you know I think if there's someone listening to this podcast thinking like, okay, how could I work with Masterbotics? Like we do everything really bespoke, so all of our programming is really built to match corporate sponsors, kpis, what are they actually looking to accomplish? We are a nonprofit, so I think it's like it's a really nice feeling to think you know you're donating your time or your money or whatever, but we need to make sure that this is like a net benefit to your organization too, not just for the startup.
Speaker 1Yeah, you know. It's so a couple things. You know we always you know we have a prep call before we come into these. So, so on the prep call, you know, you said something interesting to me which, as a startup, former startup person, it was a feel good Cause you were like this is not a dog and pony show.
Speaker 1Oh yeah, like this is real and like I got the sense that you keep startups safe and you make sure that the pilot purgatory doesn't happen. Oh yeah, so corporate sponsor gets what they need by setting KPIs that work for everybody, and I was just like, wow, I'm like we need mass robotics for those types of programs.
Speaker 2Yeah, we do really try to understand what they need, and I think that's one of the beauties of what we do. We're not looking to get money out of the startups, we're not looking to get any equity in them, we just want to see them be successful. So I always describe Mass Robotics as a family right. You get your kids when they're young, you kind of nurture them, you teach them how to be out in the real world and at some point they raise money and they hire people and they have to leave series b.
Speaker 2Bye kids, and it's, it's a little sad when they sometimes we're ready for them to go, but sometimes but you know what we all always they they always come back for thanksgiving, for for a demo day to mentor a startup.
Speaker 3That's a great point, you know, it's so nice I know one of our first residents was real time robotics oh, wow and they have since come back. They mentor our teams. They are just such a supportive organization. So while they're not working in the halls of master robotics anymore, they still greatly give back.
Speaker 1And.
Speaker 3I think to your point, mandy. I've only been here for two years, so I'm not going to claim this, but Joyce and Tom have done just this. Amazing. You are totally right like we're super supportive of our startups, we're protective of them and we don't like what's the word? Yeah, I guess it's just dog and pony. We don't do that. We're really. It's real. Yeah, we like they're the busiest people. The startup founders that are working in this space are way busier than us and we really need to be protective of their time.
Speaker 2And give them legit opportunities Right right. So when we have someone who calls because they want to come in for a visit, they want to meet startups, well, we say so what's in it for the startup? Why would I have the startup stop what they're doing to do a demo for you? What are you offering them? Is it a possible funding? Is it possible? Or it's just that you're interested in learning for yourself? Because if that's the case, come to our block party we do that once a year.
Speaker 1That's called industrial tourism.
Speaker 2Exactly, exactly so we, we really protect them from people who are trying to come in and just learn from them. You know you really have to, like you said, protect their time. They are so. They are so busy so that between that and salespeople who want to come in and sell to them, we're very protective of them for that too. So we will set up, you know, office hours for people and that kind of thing. So if startups want to come, they can. But we never, you know, and some of them don't know they want to come, so we have to kind of leave them.
Speaker 3Just like them, just like a kid, right? No well, that is like to the bridge thing, like a lot of the startups like we had. Let me try to think of a good example. I mean it's kind of funny in the accelerator it's absolutely everything is mandatory yeah, so like you can't not show up to something.
Speaker 3It's mandatory. But when we host some of our our like office hours for our startups, we kind of do have to convince them that it's super valuable. Yeah, and we, and we remind them we're like hey, we're not going to have you do anything that's not worth your time, right, so you might as well do this, you know.
Speaker 2Yeah, and I think they trust us that we're not going to, we're not going to ask them to sit through something if we don't think they're going to get something out of it. So there's value. They know we have their backs yeah, that.
Value of MassRobotics Ecosystem
Speaker 1And you know one other thing, and and this is something that I think is really important that came of our planning call, and I can't remember if it was you, joyce, you Marita, but somebody said the US needs robotics now more than ever, and I was like, oh yeah, that's so true, but why have I not thought of it like that? So talk to me about how you're thinking about that and why.
Speaker 2So there's lots of topics.
Speaker 1I'll just start why don't I start with. This could be like two hours, I'll do warehouse automation.
Speaker 2I'll start with healthcare, then.
Speaker 1Sounds good to me.
Speaker 2I have a daughter who's a nurse and there's a shortage of nursing staff and they're doing a lot of things. That a robot, a robot could do so they're running to get the drugs, they're running to get clean towels. They're you know why not have a robot do that? There actually are robots doing that, but we need to figure out how to get them adopted sooner we need.
Speaker 2That brings us to a whole other topic that could be another hour, which is standards you know, standards around those robots in public places, um, and you know safety on those robots that are in public places. So, um, you know, health care is just one industry and actually we have quite a few health care companies that are working on wheelchair automation, moving patients off of the bed onto a cot, which nurses have to do.
Speaker 2Now, right, you were just telling me your daughter was like she has to physically move patients and it's right and every time she has to move them back, she has to re-hook up all of their machines and it's it's a lot of work and they they have to actually call in another nurse to help them when they're doing a patient transfer or something like that. So that machine that we have here from able uh, innovations would be awesome yeah but now they they're in that.
Speaker 2you know fundraising, where they need money to be able to produce the robot, and there's that whole valley of death where you have a bunch of people who want what you're building. But now how do you get to manufacturing to build it? Yes so again, we try to help with that bridge.
Speaker 3Yeah, I mean so full transparency. I have been working within this robotics field for two years, that's it.
Speaker 1That means in dog years, that's seven years a year. Oh, oh, 14 years. So that's 14 years. Oh, thank God. Yeah, just so you know.
Speaker 3I'm legit. Well, I've spent a lot of time with startups 100 years.
Speaker 1So that's oh 100 years, I'm really old.
Speaker 3We don't years, but I I was, I'm, I've always been interested in robotics and I have I've. You know, it's like my downstairs neighbor gets so many Amazon packages. It's obscene. And when I really think about, like how do we get our stuff? Like, how do people living in the United States all over the country, like how do we actually get our things? And and, um, you know, amazon robotics is amazing because they support amazon and their wild uh, you know warehousing and and delivery logistics system. But what is it like? 80 of warehouses across the united states actually don't have any automation, and I think the the fact that that's a legitimate stat is pretty crazy. I think I love daydreaming about how robotics will be a part of our world. I don't really envision having a robot in my home do anything for me, but I do envision like a robot replacing a human worker on a you in the world of agriculture yeah weeding robots, like like there are, oh my gosh.
Speaker 3Um, we always joyce and I take pictures of things when we're out and about. Um, the last picture I took, basically the pictures are um, should a robot be doing that? Uh, out in the wild and we saw a someone you know, like suspended from a skyscraper cleaning windows. It's like three people.
Speaker 1You posted about that, Joyce, didn't you?
Speaker 2So I posted about that a couple of years ago when we were setting up for Robo Boston.
Speaker 3It's just like really stuck with me.
Speaker 2We saw it in Atlanta.
Speaker 3We saw it again in Atlanta and like what the heck A robot should be doing that. So I don't know. I think I just like the united states it's. I feel it's one of the. It's the greatest country. I feel so proud to be here. I love, I love living here. I love the ingenuity of americans and and all the people who live here, and I think for us to really stay, stay ahead and continue tracking.
Speaker 2Yeah, we need to be doing much more in robotics but think about that, those, those three people we saw suspended. If that was a robot doing it, you'd still need a person to deploy it up above, you'd still need someone to be repair repairing it, you still need someone to develop it, to manufacture it. So actually, you're creating jobs by by creating jobs and also creating safety.
Speaker 2There you go, yeah and ag was another big one, right? So think about 150 years ago, like a huge portion of the population were in agriculture. Yeah, now you have lots of large machines that kind of do the the seeding and the weeding and all that. But if that could be automated you could use jones for spring, like I mean, I'm gonna pick on another startup that I'm obsessed with right now Blue Water Autonomy.
Speaker 3They're out of stealth so we can talk about them now. They are founded by one of our mentors in the mass robotics community and they are creating fully autonomous naval ships. That's awesome. They're completely unmanned naval ships. That's awesome. They're completely unmanned. I think I will probably screw up the quote, but I think it's like 120 feet long boats that are traveling the open ocean and, like our navy needs that right I agree so I just think, like robotics and physical, ai is gonna just have it.
Speaker 3I can't wait. I'm like excited to age to see what happens so the other.
Speaker 2The other one that I filmed was I was in the airplane looking out watching the baggage come off and watching like the four guys down below picking up the luggage, throwing it onto that little thing, that then someone's driving to go to where they have to be offloaded, but the the guys down there were just all goofing off and one's throwing them, the suitcase lands on the ground, scrapes and puts it in the thing. That can all be automated. And my kids are like why are you filming that? I said because a robot should be doing that oh nice, this is a linkedin post, kids.
Speaker 1No, I mean, it's interesting like getting into robots. Like you know, decades ago, right, it was always like a reporter was coming to see you and the question you did not want to have is this thing is taking jobs. And we were all, like you know, pr, trained to how, to you know. But I mean, I don't think you can. Even a reporter cannot even show up and say that anymore. What do you think?
Speaker 2I think robots are creating jobs. They're just they're higher value jobs. So now we have to think about how do we retrain people or youth to kind of go into those fields yeah because it's not flipping hamburgers. There's going to be a robot could easily do that, oh for sure, but maybe it's it's spending more times with the customers that are in there and being more of a human yeah right than doing it's like.
Speaker 3I've got a nice sample size of just our 20 startups from our accelerator they. There's just 20 of them, it's only we've been running this program for two years, so they're pretty, you know, young, still in their development, and they've already hired. I think it's 120 people.
Speaker 1Oh, wow.
Speaker 3Across those 20 startups. That's pretty, that's pretty legitimate, I'd say.
Speaker 1I mean, this is a cohort from this winter.
Speaker 2Yes, yeah, so two. So two cohorts.
Speaker 3Yeah, two cohorts. They've hired about 120 people.
Speaker 2That's a great stat.
Speaker 1Thank you Good job. Maria, that's a great program. It really is. I mean, if you think about what government, industry and academia need to do to ensure the us can maintain, you know, their good standing, like what do you guys think about that? What do we need here to make sure that we continue to excel?
Corporate Partnerships and Innovation
Speaker 2there's a couple things I mean, if you, if you look at some of the other countries korea, japan, like their governments are putting a lot of money into robotics and robotic centers and AI. So that's one area. I think another is policy and making sure that our senators and our you know, our policymakers are understanding what startups need and what is needed for the industry. A lot of times, you know, technology is way before a policy is made, and so how do we make sure that the politicians are educated and know kind of what won't stifle advancement? So you know, we are working on a couple of working groups that are kind of helping with that. One is actually next month. We're working with ASTm on should there be standards for um robots in public places?
Speaker 2yeah um, so how do we just start getting that ball rolling so that people start thinking about it? And and how does a car or a robot interact with a human so the human understands what the robot's doing? And what can the human do to make sure that the robot understands what it's doing and make that like a standard thing? Like we all understand a stoplight. When the stoplight is red, we know we have to stop right. When it's yellow, we should slow down, unless you're in Boston and you speed up.
Speaker 1I was going to say I'm like you know what city this is, joyce, right?
Speaker 3But we all know that right, and it's a standard. It's a standard. How do we do something like that in the interface between robots and humans who are in public spaces like airports and hospitals and restaurants and the streets? I love all of that. I'm looking forward to the meeting next month. I think another aspect is just the lab-to-market sort of commercialization pipeline. So we have some of the most amazing universities here in Boston in the US, of course, but in Boston alone, like we've. How many do we have you always like this one?
Speaker 2Oh my gosh, there's, I think, 65 within a 30 mile radius of Boston.
Speaker 3Yeah, 65 universities there's people traveling all over the world, like we have the best and brightest minds in the world that come to Boston to build and develop. And if we're able to help sorry, there's a bug flying next to me, it's the summer that's right. If we're able to help really evangelize entrepreneurship and make it a little less scary for folks, I think that's a really nice win. And make it a little less scary for folks, I think that's a really nice win, even this past week. So one of my former bosses and mentors in my life does a lot of work around SBIR reform and right now I'm supporting a bill to make Sibbers really different. So there's going to be a special SBIR.
Speaker 3And for those who are listening, who don't really know this, it's non-dilutive work with the government. So you're building dual use technologies. Ideally, you have a defense use case, but you also have a commercial use case and it's non-dilutive and you get it's. It's pretty attractive and there should be more paths to entry for people who have this amazing technology but might not envision themselves having the grueling life of an entrepreneur. Right, and I think if our government can help provide grant opportunities, funding opportunities for researchers to just explore and develop like is it. Is there a commercial path here for whatever I'm building? We don't want all of our technology to stay in the lab.
Speaker 1We want it to be commercialized. Yeah, I mean, I think that's very interesting, right? Because when you're in it, when you're the founder of a company, you're in it and you have blinders on and you're sitting here and you're just going as fast as you can. So I think it's so important that you can be here as kind of that outside voice, kind of seeing all the things and kind of bringing in that expertise.
Speaker 2Yeah, back to the SBIR thing. When we see so, our startups typically won't even think about looking at those opportunities, and so when we see something come in, we actually will direct a specific one to a specific startup and say, okay, move that blinder, look this way, this is something that you're already doing.
Speaker 3Right.
Speaker 2So why not?
Speaker 3Yeah, and it's so, so challenging for robotics companies to raise money. Like Mandy, you have so much expertise. It's hard, it's really difficult, and if you can go after non-dilutive programming or working with the government I mean also like the U S, like the military of the U? S government could they're one of. They could with the government. I mean also like the US, like the military of the US government they could be the biggest customer you ever have, and if you're already building something for a commercial application, you might as well get some customer traction with the government. I think the way that like Sibbers should be thought of is like the biggest seed investor in the country, because they have, like I don't know, I remember a couple of years ago it was like literally a billion dollars that they have to deploy on an annual basis, and I think SBIR is a really cool way for startups to think about how to get going.
Speaker 1Yeah, I mean, and so I'm going to kind of start to close us down a little bit, because I could sit here and talk to you guys forever because these are, but you know, just need a few margaritas, oh yeah, yeah, you should catch us on on some of the other days.
Speaker 1Maybe we'll film that next time. I mean, so I always love sitting down with you guys because you love what you do and it is so evident in every single conversation that we have together. So I mean, in your perspective, what has been the most rewarding thing for you guys? And you're probably like, well, there's a list, but yeah, yeah, you know what again I go back to.
Speaker 2It's like a family. So when, when our startups are successful, we feel like if we had a small part in their journey, if we made one introduction, help them find one higher, like we feel, think about it, you're so proud of them, right? You're so proud of your kids when they move out. You're proud of your startups when they move out. So when they're successful, we're successful. The blue from a, from a startup who's successful. And they'll say I remember back when blah, blah, blah and you introduced me or you shared that sbir with me, that that helped launch my technology, or that you know we also got one recently of someone who had to shut down um and the, the note that he sent us. Actually, colleen and I were both in tears.
Speaker 1I think I talked to you that day, right, it was beautiful.
Speaker 2It was like you guys are like family to me. My next startup I will come you, you, you got me to where I, where I am. I just have to be with my family now. So it was a you know, it was a special case, but just yeah, there's so many nice emails that we get from people. It's, it's really rewarding that's super rewarding.
Why the US Needs Robotics Now
Speaker 3Yeah, I mean, like I just really believe in entrepreneurs. I just think entrepreneurs are the people who are going to help us, like, entrepreneurs are the ones that are doing the work now that we will benefit from years to come. I had kind of a funny. I've been working with startups for 10 years. I became a bit of a work nihilist for a couple of years.
Speaker 1I remember you telling me that and I started laughing because I so don't see it Like I've been doing it for a couple of years. Well, no, I'm definitely not like that anymore.
Speaker 3So, but I really was like wow, but I was in this cycle of like getting these jobs where I was like kind of and I had great positions, but it was like like I was always selling something. I was always like trying to get something from a startup instead of just being there to be like an unbiased help. And I really appreciate this, this position in this organization, because, like we're, we're we're just here to be a friend, yeah, and also we're breaking down like pretty legit barriers. Um, I think our master robotics team comes with really diverse experiences. Um, you know, tom ridden was a led sales at irobot, built his own robotics company, sold that this is his retirement job.
Speaker 2I guess don't tell that's a whole another story. Okay, we'll save that for later.
Speaker 3But you know, when Joyce has this crazy crazy background and in myself, like I have a, I have a great startup just startup connections in general, and I think all of us bring something different to the table. But like, yeah, I believe in entrepreneurs. I used to think I wanted to be one and then I saw just how much work it is.
Speaker 2So saw just how much work it is, you know so. So with you, this is back to how rewarding it is. So, yeah, sometimes she's sitting at her desk behind me and I'll hear like a little like oh, oh my god, like what is that? And you're like oh my gosh bird bot just got this, this po, or blah, blah, blah.
Speaker 3Like yeah, you get so excited yes, speaking of bird bot, bird bot is a startup, that is. You know them yeah, they do robotic um, they're like a robotic kitchen in a box and they do flash fried food. Going back to the SBIR thing, they are going after an SBIR Really Like a chicken nugget machine. So like when in doubt look into working with the government. But yeah, I think we're just so lucky to have people like yourself, like Katie, who were involved in Masterbotics Yep.
Speaker 1Katie behind the camera, everybody.
Speaker 3Yeah, I mean, like Katie, like it's just such a great ecosystem of people and I also think everyone's so just real Down to earth, Just very nice. It's just been. It's so. It's so refreshing, because I really was such a work nihilist. I was like I'm here for my paycheck and I really was like that for a couple years and I actually took a big break and I said what do I actually want to be doing? I want to return to what I really care about, which is helping founders. They're the most important people, yeah.
Speaker 1I agree, I agree. Well, before we close, I do have something for you both, oh.
Speaker 2We already got presents. We already got presents.
Speaker 1Well, this is something that.
Speaker 2Here's the margaritas. Oh God.
Speaker 1I wish I thought about it. I was like I knew you had a meeting at 5 o'clock today and I was like I can't get them drunk. So you know when I think about you guys, oh my gosh. Here's something that and Joyce, go ahead and read that to us, Read it, oh sorry.
Speaker 3She's got to get her reading glasses.
Speaker 2It ain't easy being a badass.
Speaker 1Wow, it is not easy, no, but it is fun. Love it. Oh my gosh, but there was a need in the industry. Oh, this is so cool.
Speaker 2I mean 2015 you said, we need this thing and you haven't given up.
Speaker 1You've grown it, you know, you've worked with industry colleagues, all these things, um, and then you know, fast forward to two years ago. Right, what year was that? 2023? Yeah, 2023. Marita is on Joyce's board, oh my gosh. And she says here, hold my tiara.
Speaker 3Oh my gosh. And just gets going. Wow, mandy, hold my tiara. Oh my gosh, this is absolutely incredible. And now I hold hers. Yeah, wow, thank you so much.
Speaker 1And this is a woman-led brand that makes trophies to empower other women, and you know your women in the industry, you know, and fantastic colleagues of mine.
Speaker 3This is amazing well, thanks for giving back to us. Yes, you really appreciate it all you guys both do yeah, no, you two are rocking it and I feel really privileged and lucky to have these awesome relationships yeah, this network is awesome and, honestly, when I call you with a crazy idea, like hey, you want to be on this podcast.
Speaker 2Thank you for not hanging up the phone and and you know honestly, when we call you and say listen, we need margaritas, we have something to talk about which we literally did I walk right?
Speaker 1over. It was supposed to be coffee and next thing you know you're having a margarita but you get more creative when you have margaritas.
Speaker 2Yeah, I think I think so too. That's what you think, joyce.
Speaker 1Actually, I think we had a pretty good plan, oh man.
Speaker 2Yeah, so thank you so much for having us. No, thank you, joyce Adopolis, sharing our story. Read them again.
Speaker 1Thank you so much for joining today.
Speaker 3Thanks, mandy, and.
Speaker 1Mandy, dwight, dwight and Company. Host of Roscos. I hope that you enjoyed us, but we'll be back for more episodes, because this was really fun, awesome, thank you. Thanks, mandy, thanks guys.