The Exchanges

Q As you see the prevalence and proliferation of humanoids in the home, in a care center, you know, like, what do you see your role? How do you anticipate contributing? To, to making the world a better place.

A Well, I want Abby, Abby's name to be synonymous to, you know, the, the, the home companion robot that everyone's going to be adopting in, in, in the next decade or so. Like I want, when people think about, um, I can, I can, I kind of compare it to like the Ford Model T. So I really, really love the story of the Ford Model T where it's because it was, it wasn't a luxury product. Like Henry Ford was looking to build a, a product that was accessible, um, for the general public. And as soon as he developed, developed the Ford Model T, along with like, you know, everything that happened with, um, You know, the production line and everything, but it's a suddenly in a, in a generation really quickly, you see the step change from people riding horses and carriages to then taking automobiles or cars as we call them today. And, um, and, and, and that's what I see with Abby. I want Abby's going to be that step change where people, um, you know, couldn't even have imagined providing the level of having the care and connections, um, today that, that she will one day be able to provide. Like we've had so many anecdotal stories from people who have Built real relationships with Abby where, um, you know, in their later stages of life where if Abby wasn't there, they'd be, you know, they'd just be on their own and having a, you know, having moments all by themselves. Like, um, you know, there's…

AI assessment note: “I want Abby, Abby's name to be synonymous to... the home companion robot”

Q Uh, totally makes sense. Um, any, I'm curious, anything so far that you, I know you mentioned before we started that you'd been here to the States before, but anything so far, uh, surprised you or, uh, anything you weren't expecting?

A Um, I'm a little bit desensitized to this now, but I was very, um, I think my first, my first trip down in San Francisco, I was like in a Waymo, which was really cool being in a self-driving car for the first time. But then, you know, I'm in this self-driving car that, you know, Google and everyone has spent like billions of dollars towards building, uh, going down a street where there's just like an insane amount of homelessness. And just, um, you know, I think that kind of, that disparity is very jarring. Um, Um, and I wasn't expecting it. I almost felt guilty that I could afford to take a Waymo while some people couldn't afford the cost of living in the city. Um, so that, yeah, that, that, that disparity in wealth was, um, yeah, it was quite overwhelming to see at this, and even, it is still now as well, it's, it's, it's overwhelming to see that, and, you know, to know that there are companies that are raising hundreds of millions, billions of dollars, and then we also, but for some, a large portion of society today, you can't, They don't have housing. Like, that just doesn't sound like, that doesn't sound right to me.

AI assessment note: “that disparity is very jarring. Um, Um, and I wasn't expecting it.”

Q And was that intentional from day one? Or was there an ahem where you realized this was a great approach?

A That was pretty intentional from day one. I think I was, you know, I, you know, as I was kind of going through, um, you know, my studies, and I was always really fascinated with the humanoid robotics industry, and when I was looking around at what people were building in the space, like, I'd realized no one was, no one was focusing on the personality. No one was focusing on this, like, kind of, like, like, this invisible layer of robotics. Like, people are always focusing on, is it, like, the binary mechanical utility of, did it pick up the box or did it not pick up the box? But when you look at, like, an action like that, like, there's also When it's in the real world, there's also these moments in between where the robot might have to knock on the door and might have to ask, like, could I please take this box? Could I, like, there's all these, like, nuances in an interaction in terms of how a robot actually behaves in a space, and no one, like, gave that really any thought at all. I think a lot of people are giving a lot of thought, a necessary thought, to, like, dexterity, autonomy, um, like, things that are, you know, for it, for the, for the robot to be able to perform the function, but, um, Nowhere near as much thought is given to how the robot actually shows up in a space. Um, and I think how the robot shows up is actually going to be more important than whether it can d…

AI assessment note: “That was pretty intentional from day one.”

Q important. I mean, I also imagine it's core to, core to, to Abby. Um, so what about, so what about the software component? Um, you know, I, I would imagine that in order to engage a patient, um, you're relying on artificial intelligence, but you have to train those models. What, what's the approach that you've taken? Uh, in order to, to build a product that's as human-like as possible.

A So we've prioritized speed and getting into market really, really quickly. And so what we've done on the software side is very similar to what we've done on the hardware side, where we started with using what's already available, like open source off the shelf, like really quickly. Um, and as we've kind of progressed through development and needed things to be more specific, then we start bringing that more in house and redesigning things. So, um, you know, like, like, like with Abby's electronics, like the first one we used all these off the shelf, like kind of like serial adapters, power supplies. Um, and they were all just kind of like daisy chained and like this mesh of electronics. Um, and then gradually we started building our own like PCBs. We started, you know, now building our own like batteries. We're doing a lot more in-house that are really designed for the specs that we need. Um, it's the same with the software. Like we, you know, we, we, I don't, we don't want to reinvent the wheel. There's so many people who are building like really awesome, like AI models and, um, different things that we, we use in Abbey. Um, but I think it's overall, I think the thing that we've done quite well is actually how we, um, Architect, like Abby's responses and her personality and kind of like her behaviors. So she has this behavior tree and in terms of which governs how she actually…

AI assessment note: “she has this behavior tree and in terms of which governs how she actually responds”

Q And, and today, how, how intimately involved with sales are you?

A Um, well, we've only just landed in the US, so very intimately involved here, um, and, um, but yeah, but back, I've hired an incredible, like, chief commercial officer here. He was actually probably, like, probably one of the turning points for Andromeda, like, a lot of people would probably say we hired him too early, um, and I'd say in theory I would agree on paper that's, that would, that statement seems true, but he just, like, Basically really, after, after I brought, so basically the first 100,000 in revenue from Andromeda was done by me, and then he kind of brought that up to a much, much higher number, and when he came on board, like, our sales function just completely changed, and so I don't want to, like, yeah, I don't want to underestimate, um, well, I don't want to understate the value of having someone who's really good at understanding the product and being able to present that to, you know, your target customers, like, no matter how early you are.

AI assessment note: “we've only just landed in the US, so very intimately involved here”

Q And what gave you the conviction to pull the trigger on, on a senior hire? Cause I presume he, or they were.

A Uh, well, I, I actually, and this is what I talk about, you know, there's parts of a business that's always luck. And I always refer, Brian's his name. I always say Brian was my luck in early stage Andromeda. Like he came to me. He, like, we knew each other from just like the start. He's a previous founder himself, like two times founder. And he, um, so he, he, we, we kind of just knew each other from the ecosystem. And he wanted to be part of the mission, and I was like, well, I can't afford you, and you're too senior, and everything's a mess, and I'm like, I don't know what's going to happen tomorrow, so like, I can't give you a job, and he just pitched himself again. He was like, I think I can add a lot of value. I know exactly what you're going through, and um, you know, so yes, it wasn't a strategic decision. It just more felt like a gut, like, It was like, I was worried, but because I did think on paper, like, this is too early, but something, I don't know, it was just that gut feeling that was like, it just felt also a little bit right, and so yeah, he came on board, and um, yeah, like I said, I call that luck. To me, that was, yeah, he was my luck.

AI assessment note: “it wasn't a strategic decision. It just more felt like a gut”

Q Can you unpack your experience? Like, prototypes, you know, just building, um, what's it like? And, you know, is there any, any, you know, uh, myths or misconceptions you can dispel for any aspiring, uh, you know, founders in the audience who, who want to, you know, incorporate hardware in, in, in what they're building?

A Yeah, definitely. I mean, even in the early days, like I did, like, I, I believe there will be a strong and large market, lucrative market for virtual companions, um, but, you know, from, from, particularly from, like, my experiences as well, you know, we know that one of the five love languages is physical touch, and so a lot of, like, the, the communication and the kind of, um, relationship that's built with Abby is not just what's being said verbally, but is, like, people are holding her hand, people are, Giving her a kiss on the cheek. People dress her up. They give her tutus. They give her bows. Um, and so it was, it was quite important. I recognized, particularly early on, it was really important that Abby was actually, uh, like, you know, a physical product. Um, and people also, I think people also don't realize that actually, like, you know, when, when Abby was just, like, even when she's turned off, like, people just anthropomorphized her, like, immediately. Like, before, you know, before we'd even, like, Started her, like, people will start having conversations with her, they start projecting what they think she's feeling, their interactions with her, um, but, um, yeah, so I think I, there's a huge value add in having her as a physical product. It comes with its own complexities and challenges and trade-offs, and I believe one day we will be building a, uh, like a dis…

AI assessment note: “I recognized, particularly early on, it was really important that Abby was actually, uh, like, you know, a physical product.”

Q Um, cashflow, obviously the lifeblood of the company. And so is that, is that mirror a large part of your, your go to market strategy?

A Yeah, we definitely like our first few customers were much smaller. Um, like, like there's a, there's an ideal, um, like first customer or at least for early adopters compared to like, I mean, I mean, what's the book like crossing the chasm? Like they talk about the different customers that you have at the, on the, uh, technological curve and like your early adopters, uh, like for us was definitely like smaller providers where, you know, it's maybe a family owned business or, you know, we could talk directly to the CEO where decisions could be made really fast. Um, and then, and then as we've kind of been in market a little bit longer, then it's about reaching customers of a slightly larger kind of scale where, you know, at enterprise levels, they do take months to close, um, these really big deals. But, um, yeah, but I guess, I guess it is, um, so, so yeah, so I guess it's exactly what you just described.

AI assessment note: “our first few customers were much smaller... where decisions could be made really fast”

Q And, and brilliant, by the way, what are, what are some of those complexities, uh, that, that you've run into, and, and without revealing any trade secrets, how have you solved them?

A Um, I'd say, you know, I guess a lot of people in the industry today are running towards, like, the flashiest demos, right? Um, and I think there's, there's a difference between what you see in a YouTube video versus what you build for a customer, and, and we, we, I actually, I recognized that really early on, and that was something I had to learn to explain to, like, my investors of, like, we could build the most awesome demo robot, um, but then we'd be taking, you Engineering resources and time away from building a product that is actually providing the value for our customers that we're promising. And so I really, really over indexed in the early days on prioritizing designing features, making Abby reliable, making sure she works in the environments that she's built for. And then I didn't actually prioritize the demos quite as much. And so that's probably not like a hardcore hardware technical challenge, but that was one of the kind of like more like social challenges that I'd noticed. Of building a hardware product because people assume the technical capability or the capability of a robot is dependent on the demo, but that's actually just not true at all. It's very much like, what is the robot built for? Who is it built for? And is it serving that purpose? And we know that we were doing that for our customers really well. Um, but when, when it came to doing live demos or p…

AI assessment note: “prioritizing designing features, making Abby reliable, making sure she works in the environments”

Q Fantastic. Um, you know, I, I know in healthcare, especially in the U.S., there's a big focus on outcomes. Uh, how, how do you measure the efficacy of evolution? So, you know, how do you, what are your thoughts? Like, how are you thinking about doing that at scale, or measuring that at scale?

A So we're literally just now starting both internal and external research, so, like, we're, we've just, um, formed our own internal, like, research teams that are, like, measuring the efficacy of Abby and, and, and to show people that she is having the kind of, like, impact and health benefits that, that we're promising that she's having, and we're also working with, like, universities across Australia and looking to have our first partnerships here in the U.S. as well to, to, to do those studies. Um, up until now, like, you know, being a startup, there's only, So you have, you always have so many spinning plates. I think what, what we've demonstrated from our customers, like, it's all been, there's just an unbelievable amount of anecdotal and observational evidence that Abby has just so much benefit for the residents that she's interacting with today. There are residents who are, you know, so much more socially engaged in the community. People are coming out of their rooms more. People are dancing with her more. They're more physically engaged. Um, this has all just been, like I said, they're just anecdotal from, from staff, but it's, it's, Just an unbelievable amount. And all of our customers today are like word of mouth because of these stories that we're hearing. So we know that the impact is there. And now, now, at this stage of the company, it's about capturing that and pu…

AI assessment note: “we're literally just now starting both internal and external research”

Q walk us through, you know, what we're going to experience in this, and so I'm, I'm, thank you for sharing. Um, with the audience. Um, so let's come back then to the distribution. All right. So fast forward today, um, you're starting to pick up momentum. Um, how, how are you thinking about, uh, without again, without revealing any trade secrets, how are you thinking about getting the word out?

A Um, so I've got an incredible team around me now. Like I've hired a phenomenal COO. Oh, hiring great COO changes so many things for you. Um, and, um, I've, you know, we've got a PR group that we're working with. We've, you know, as we mentioned just before we started recording, I've hired a marketing, uh, team as well. So I've, I've got an incredible team around me that's putting together a plan to make sure that we Uh, you know, reach the right channels and reach the right audiences that we need to, to be able to grow Andromeda sustainably. And, um, yeah, so I guess, I guess that that's kind of the, uh, the approach. I guess that's, that's the job of the CEO is to bring the right people, hire the right people for it, for the right functions, and they go execute it.

AI assessment note: “I've got an incredible team around me that's putting together a plan”

Q You, I'm, I'm curious, do you feel like you're at a point now where you anticipate troughs in the cycle and can, and take steps to mitigate it?

A Yeah, well, I think you have to expect that things aren't going to go right. Like, if things are going right all the time, you're probably not being audacious enough, or taking big enough goals, or setting big enough goals. Like, I mean, we even say this with our OKRs, like, if we're going to be getting, you know, a hundred percent on our OKRs every quarter, like, we need to set more ambitious goals. Like, you shouldn't be getting a hundred percent. Like, you should be, you should be setting goals that when you put it down on paper, like, you feel like it's, It makes you a bit uncomfortable, a bit queasy, a bit like, oh, I don't know if I'm going to do that. Like, that's definitely how I felt at the start of this year, where I was like, I don't know how we're going to do so many of the things we've set out to do, but we're going to give our best shot. Um, and yeah, and, and you have to expect that things aren't going to go right. You have to expect that things are going to go wrong. You'll be so disappointed if you expect things are going to go right all the time, because that's just not going to happen in startup world. Like, so many things out of your control happens as well. So, um, Yeah. Making sure that you're, you have the resilience and the grit to be able to push through, you know, any of the hurdles that kind of come your way. I know that's overstated, but it's so true…

AI assessment note: “I think you have to expect that things aren't going to go right.”