Robohub.org
 

Robot startup series #2: Bob Christopher

by
13 November 2012



share this:
The Two Year Itch

Bob Christopher was CEO of Ugobe, the company that made Pleo, the robot dinosaur, one of the first successful consumer robotics products. Greg Appelhof is the CEO of TRG, a global retail company specializing in emerging technologies.

Together they have written “The 2 Year Itch”, a paper advising hardware and robotics consumer technology companies on the finer points of surviving in the retail market.

In this video interview with Bob Christopher, the second in our robot startup series, he shares stories from the starting of Ugobe with Caleb Chung, and their first meetings with Greg Appelhof while they were doing stealth guerilla marketing at CES, the Consumer Electronics Show.

Bob talks about developing an understanding of your retail partners balanced against a clear understanding of your product and your company’s ‘dna’ or core principles. He explains the term, 2 year itch as more than just a critical period in company lifespan when poor inventory management can sink a successful product. It also represents the uneasy position of a consumer hardware company bookended between the costs of manufacturing and the revenue of retail.

You can download a copy of  The 2 Year Itch here.

Read more from our Startup Series.



tags: ,


Andra Keay is the Managing Director of Silicon Valley Robotics, founder of Women in Robotics and is a mentor, investor and advisor to startups, accelerators and think tanks, with a strong interest in commercializing socially positive robotics and AI.
Andra Keay is the Managing Director of Silicon Valley Robotics, founder of Women in Robotics and is a mentor, investor and advisor to startups, accelerators and think tanks, with a strong interest in commercializing socially positive robotics and AI.





Related posts :



Ranking the best humanoid robots of 2023

Is Rosie the Robot Maid from the Jetsons here yet? As more and more companies announce their work towards the affordable humanoid robot, I wanted to create a reference chart.
03 June 2023, by

Robot Talk Episode 51 – James Kell

In this week's episode of the Robot Talk podcast, host Claire Asher chatted to James Kell from Jacobs Engineering UK all about civil infrastructure, nuclear robotics and jet engine inspection.
02 June 2023, by

Automate 2023 recap and the receding horizon problem

“Thirty million developers” are the answer to driving billion-dollar robot startups, exclaimed Eliot Horowitz of Viam last week at Automate.
01 June 2023, by

We are pleased to announce our 3rd Reddit Robotics Showcase!

The 2021 and 2022 events showcased a multitude of fantastic projects from the r/Robotics Reddit community, as well as academia and industry. This year’s event features many wonderful robots including...
30 May 2023, by

European Robotics Forum 2023 was a success!

One of the highlights of the conference for us was our workshop "Supporting SMEs in Bringing Robotics Solutions to Market", where experts gave insights on how DIHs can create a greater impact for SMEs and facilitate a broad uptake and integration of robotics technologies in the industry.
28 May 2023, by

Helping robots handle fluids

Researchers create a new simulation tool for robots to manipulate complex fluids in a step toward helping them more effortlessly assist with daily tasks.
27 May 2023, by





©2021 - ROBOTS Association


 












©2021 - ROBOTS Association