Jun 5, 2019 · 49m · y-combinator
Simone Giertz on Her Robots and Returning to Work After Brain Surgery · Y Combinator
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In this Y Combinator podcast episode, creator and inventor Simone Giertz discusses her journey from building viral 'shitty robots' to designing physical products, while sharing lessons learned from overcoming creator burnout and surviving brain surgery.
How this conversation actually went
Every chapter scored 0–10 on four independent dynamics. Hover any point for the reasoning behind the score. How this is scored →
The partners as informed peer 2.2 Guest teaching 2.2 Guest disagreement 1.0 The partners pushing back 1.0
speaking balance: gold is the partners, purple is the guest (3 minute bins)
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 6:06 Correcting the assumption about personal vlogging
Simone gently pushes back against Craig's premise that creator content must reveal private life details, clarifying that one can focus purely on external interests like plants.
Hardest push from the partners ▶ 39:55 Clarifying motivation versus burnout risksCraig challenges the notion of easy work by noting that deep passion is often the sole driver required to push through difficult milestones.
Biggest teaching moment ▶ 38:08 Deconstructing guilt around easy and enjoyable workSimone educates the host on how societal programming teaches people to undervalue skills that come naturally while glorifying painful labor.
The partners hold their own ▶ 10:52 Framing West Coast earnestness versus East Coast cynicismCraig demonstrates cultural observation by contextualizing Simone's anxiety about self-help products within broader regional cultural attitudes.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
| Chapter | Topic | The partners as informed peer | Guest teaching | Guest disagreement | The partners pushing back | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Origin of the Queen of Shitty Robots Title | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | Craig introduces Simone's moniker and prompts her about her transition to full-time YouTube work. Simone explains how the title originated on Reddit and describes her rapid rise following the toothbrush helmet project in a collaborative, humorous exchange. | |
| Setting Content Boundaries and Preventing Creative Burnout | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | Craig asks about avoiding burnout and sustaining passion. Simone explains the importance of not committing to a rigid upload schedule and expanding beyond single-format gimmick videos. | |
| Future Planning and Diversifying the Business Model | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | Craig inquires about long-term planning and business models for creators. Simone outlines the vulnerability of relying solely on one platform and shares how speaking gigs and physical product design provide diversification. | |
| Overcoming the Fear of Failure in Hardware Manufacturing | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | Craig contrasts East Coast skepticism with West Coast earnestness when discussing lifestyle products. Simone elaborates on the emotional vulnerability of shipping a serious product instead of hiding behind comedic failure. | |
| How the Every Day Calendar Promotes Consistency | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | Simone details the concept and origin of the Every Day Calendar as a physical commitment device for meditation. Craig asks about managing the simultaneous demands of product manufacturing and content creation. | |
| Evolving Ideas From Problem-Solving to Curiosity | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | Craig asks about Simone's ideation process, noting a GIF-first marketing instinct. Simone explains her shift from solving struggles with absurdity to pursuing genuine curiosities without strict utility. | |
| Navigating Brain Surgery and Choosing Openness Online | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | Craig asks about public health vlogging after Simone shares the anniversary of her brain surgery. Simone explains how sharing her medical journey gave her agency and connected her with others who underwent the same procedure. | |
| Returning to Work After Treatment and Asking for Support | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | Craig asks about returning to work and lessons learned after extended time off. Simone shares how asking for practical help and accepting community care proved crucial during her recovery. | |
| Perspective Shifts on Mortality and Depending on Loved Ones | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | Craig asks how confronting mortality altered her outlook on work and relationships. Simone explains how her diagnosis granted her permission to step away from expectations and abandon the shitty robot niche. | |
| Managing Current Work Challenges and Creative Motivation | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | Craig and Simone discuss overcoming creative funks and cultural misconceptions about work. Simone critiques the societal bias that equates productivity solely with painful, difficult labor rather than enjoyable play. | |
| Redefining Personal Discipline Through Health and Self-Care | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | Craig asks about daily routines and work discipline. Simone explains that her discipline has shifted away from rigid work hours toward prioritizing baseline health habits like sleep, meditation, and exercise. | |
| Audience Questions on Imposter Syndrome and Favorite Robots | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | Craig facilitates rapid-fire audience questions touching on imposter syndrome, favourite builds, parental guidance, and creative boredom. Simone emphasizes the creative utility of boredom and setting boundaries around algorithm demands. |
Statements from this episode (18)
Giertz: Highly visible, ego-driven jobs require deliberate effort to stay grounded
“It's kind of hard to have, or you're trying to find a balance of having a job that does have a lot of ego in it, but at the same time, like, not letting it make you an asshole.”
Giertz: Became a full-time creator four months after first robot video
“The first project I had that kind of went viral was the toothbrush helmet, which is a skateboard helmet, has a robot arm, and the forehead kind of like a unicorn horn. And a toothbrush at the end of it, and it brushes my teeth. Yeah. And that was the first, li…”
Giertz: Refusing strict YouTube upload schedules protects creator longevity and flexibility
“Part of that was never committing to an uploading schedule, which a lot of YouTubers have, where it's like, I make videos every week, or every two weeks, or every day, and I was like, no, I don't want to put myself in that position, because, like, who knows, l…”
Giertz: Structuring content around personal interests prevents running out of ideas
“Like that my YouTube channel is more like a journal of personal interest than a specific topic, because then you can like, how are you going to run out of things then? Like anything that you're interested in, you can make content about.”
Giertz: Relying on a single platform makes a business brittle
“It's really brittle to kind of put all your eggs into one platform basket. Because like, who knows what's going to happen with YouTube in two years, it might not be a thing or like something changes.”
Giertz: Diversifying her business beyond YouTube into public speaking and product design
“I've just been trying to find many legs to, or all these different legs to stand on business wise. And a part of that is like, I give a lot of talks and like that, which is, has been great. And that's kind of standalone. I mean, YouTube helps support that. Lik…”
Giertz: Hardware development and product manufacturing are inherently painful
“Hardware development and product design is really painful. Manufacturing is painful”
Giertz: Building 'shitty robots' was armor against being mocked in robotics
“Building shitty robots was this like way of approaching a very intimidating field, which is robotics that I was really interested in, but I haven't gone to school for. And I was like, oh, if I only try to build shitty things and nobody can like make a joke on …”
Giertz: The Every Day Calendar was built to sustain daily meditation
“I used it for meditation. So that was why I built it initially because I was starting to like feel kind of burnout and I had, yeah, just some bad projects that I was in and I was like, okay, I need to find ways to support myself. And I committed to meditating …”
Giertz: Running a product company is less stressful than social media
“From the way that we've structured the company, it's been less of a headache and the, like the content social media side is more stressful.”
Giertz: Established audiences do not disappear when creators take time off
“In the beginning, you, when you start kind of building your platforms online, it just felt like if I didn't constantly feed this fire that I've like really worked my ass off to start, it would go out. And you realize, and now, like, because if I had some healt…”
Cannon: Tech employees suffer intense, unnecessary risk aversion despite safety nets
“Like I've noticed like a pretty intense risk aversion among a lot of tech employees because they're like, oh, I'm in a sweet spot right now. Not realizing that they could leave and go join another big tech company if their thing never worked out.”
Giertz: Creative Focus Shifted From 'Shitty Robots' to Curiosity-Driven Builds
“Now I'm not as much doing like problem solving shitty robots. It's more like the sentiment I'm more going for now is like any idea or project or thing I want to build where I'm like, huh, I wonder how that would like work out or what that would look like.”
Simone Giertz: Controlling your story prevents you from feeling like a victim
“It was this thing that was happening to me, and it was totally out of my control, but I could kind of feel like I could control how I could tell the story, and how I could, like, tell people what was happening, and I, there was just something that was very emp…”
Simone Giertz: Pivoting from signature robot format slowed channel growth
“It's definitely been at the detriment of, like, the growth of my YouTube channel and everything like that”
Giertz: Peak productivity comes from fun, easy work rather than painful struggle
“If something comes easy to you, and you think it's fun then that's probably what you're best at, and, but at the same time, we have this, like, I've noticed for myself, at least, and that I've heard from a lot of other people, do you have this, like, programmi…”
Giertz: Burnout is much easier when you are deeply passionate about work
“I feel like it's in some way easier to burn out when it's something you're really excited about and care for”
Giertz: In fields with endless work, standard hours preserve life balance
“Like if you could work, if you're in a field where you could work 24 hours a day and still not get done, that means you could just as well work eight hours a day and just get a little bit less done, but have a good life on the side.”