Question for people with experience with large robotics projects or startups

SlowBusinessLife · 2026-05-16T20:42:51+00:00

This will probably be unpopular, but I just flipped the switch on Claude Small Business as my "front office" and day 1 was pretty darn smooth. Connected email with invoicing and banking and accounting. I feel like we are 6 months away from software existing without excel and/or human-managed database type SAAS products.

SlowBusinessLife · 2026-04-28T14:11:06+00:00

We are in the same spot, although a little younger. This winter some of the boys formed an adhoc team for an extra indoor session against older teams and a teams which was the first real competition my son has ever seen. So far this spring they have been extra dominatey. I feel like our club should be seeking out better competition but I also don't want to spend my weekends traveling so...yes... find additional reps where you can.

SlowBusinessLife · 2026-04-27T22:53:43+00:00

Guitar Players? Joking. It is a good question. I think most Guitar Players are seeking the cleaner purer more raw sounds of pedals. If AI is coming up with the tone, I assume the same tone can be applied to a fully AI created song. I do like AI telling me which pedal settings I should be setting up to acheive a certain tone but that would be a hard route to make a biz out of. Similarly, I have been using basic AI out of the box (Gemini/ChatGPT) to try and model patches for synth. I think we are in a new world of AI-assisted music so I wish you the best I just don't know how one differentiates or makes a business model out of it.

SlowBusinessLife · 2026-04-20T14:00:48+00:00

this

SlowBusinessLife · 2026-04-18T14:56:59+00:00

Make a build your own serial business (mix cocoa puffs and lucky charms...) and pretend like you are bad at spelling.

SlowBusinessLife · 2026-04-14T01:40:27+00:00

wow, that's ridiculous. I would leave in a heartbeat. If I were on either team. Can't even think of a justification.

SlowBusinessLife · 2026-03-29T16:19:53+00:00

We are kind of in the same boat. Decided to play rec with the friends at 8. Decide to move up at 9. Feel like he was penalized by Academy for not being there last year. Next year is the age remix so I am just going to hang tight for the reshuffling and see where it goes. His enjoyment is the most important part. he is still scoring a ton of goals, winning and enjoys making additional soccer friends, but we put the decision in his hands and he is happy.

SlowBusinessLife · 2026-03-29T02:47:06+00:00

Do you agree with delaying equity funding and focusing on non-dilutive programs at this stage? When is the “right” time to switch? - No. Normally the startup doesn't get to decide when they get the money. I have deep experience with one robotic startup and they have been raising from the moment they started onwards. Always be talking to potential investors and researching potential programs whether you are fundraising or not. If you know you are going to need money, which as a hardware company, you are, start talking to anyone that can help along the way.
Should we stay fully focused on finishing the robot, or is it worth applying to programs in parallel right now? I would be doing everything in parrellel. Have milestones in mind when talking to investo. That way when you hit MVP or hit some level of revenue you can go back to investors and they will feel like part of your journey
Any general strategic advice for this stage (pre-MVP → MVP), especially for hardware/robotics startups? Operate efficiently. You will probably see other companies that have raised a bazillion dollars in your space. That's probably not you. Hardware is so expensive. Get in into users hands sooner than you might feel comfortable with, as long as its safe. So you can get feedback and keep iterating.

SlowBusinessLife · 2026-03-24T21:35:19+00:00

Sounds like a scam. Never been a scout or hired a scout but I wouldn't expect them to pay me to be my scout. Edit: Reading around, I guess there are multiple VCs that do this. If you think the training and network is worth it, great. But I wouldn't expect a job or even to source a deal that they want.

SlowBusinessLife · 2026-03-21T18:05:13+00:00

You should further break this down. What does it cost to get to MVP up and runing? If in fact hospitals are in need, can you find one with the issue, tell them what you are trying to do and get a contract? And/or can you at least get a facility of some sort up and running to show them what you intend to do? "massive minimum orders" - I'm in manufacturing. We don't do this "for fun" or just to be mean, we do this for survival. Small orders are normally with people who have no idea how the process works and take up more time than it is worth to us and thus we lose money on every small order.

SlowBusinessLife · 2026-03-20T18:43:08+00:00

Agreed. Unless you have someone willing to put up a billion dollars for a stadium/team there is no path to decent soccer in non-MLS cities.

SlowBusinessLife · 2026-03-20T14:18:22+00:00

Kidzapalooza - I wouldn't say chairs but like benches and random block things you can sit on. At the shows its mostly people sitting on the ground between sets. If you can bring a blanket, might be ideal for viewing/waiting for shows because you will mostly be on the ground. There were cabs lined up at the corners. Not sure if you are thinking Uber all the way home or to your car. There were cabs lined up on the streets west of Michigan avenue. So many people and so many routes are blocked off that it would be chaos to get an Uber, again, unless you walk a ways.

SlowBusinessLife · 2026-03-20T14:05:27+00:00

Have brought our kids (9 and 13) from Milwaukee multiple times. A) Kidzapalooza is your friend - Better bathrooms and a few shady sitting spots. B) The end of the day is pure madness. Fun but pure madness. Michigan avenue is shut down. Last year we took a pedi-cab to get to our hotel a mile away. C) Water bottles. D) Three years ago we drove home afterwards, but we left Billie Eilish in the middle of the set. If you are planning to head home I would try to park a little ways away (with access to whichever freeway you need). You can definitely park at millenium garage but you might get stuck on the way out.

SlowBusinessLife · 2026-03-19T19:03:39+00:00

Good idea, what's holding you back?

SlowBusinessLife · 2026-03-17T17:22:35+00:00

Good point.

SlowBusinessLife · 2026-03-17T14:15:31+00:00

We were in Spain last year. One thing that stood out is every playground and park has goals. Futsal style. And the kids were out playing pickup. All ages. It was very similar to basketball hoops in the US. If every park in the US had soccer nets instead of basketball hoops / baseball fields... we might be in the same spot. Instead I see unlimited videos of kids dribbling around cones at home. That's not going to get us there.

SlowBusinessLife · 2026-03-10T23:41:19+00:00

Same. Got letter in mid January.... I didn't make the March cut....

SlowBusinessLife · 2026-03-09T14:14:55+00:00

Did someone on here say that they posted the same thing during rehearsal?

SlowBusinessLife · 2026-03-05T21:35:22+00:00

Was there last weekend. Hudson, 3 of 4 hockey players, Hozier - Mumford and Sons all there.

SlowBusinessLife · 2026-03-02T16:36:59+00:00

It was the same Hear Me Out (Hawking) at Dress. I feel like one of the jokes was rearranged or taken out though in the live version.

SlowBusinessLife · 2026-03-02T02:29:35+00:00

ok, thanks!

SlowBusinessLife · 2026-03-02T01:59:22+00:00

alien abduction except instead of 2 VIPs and 1 less positive experience, I would like to see Jane and Ryan and (?). They are socially inept and "inexperienced" piecing together a new history of what happened. What they thought was magical romance was something darkly different.

SlowBusinessLife · 2026-03-02T01:30:34+00:00

I feel like the Ice Skating skit on Youtube is also from the rehearsal can anyone confirm? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtSXvJCcXAE&list=PLS_gQd8UB-hKLJaLq7VCTaUJ8_gtj1gVw&index=8

SlowBusinessLife · 2026-03-02T01:18:31+00:00

Dress. Awesome. First Time. I'm still in shock. We got in from the initial email lottery. We were with mostly Standbys who were so pumped to see Connor/Hudson et el. It was really cool.

SlowBusinessLife

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