I Raised $2.5M From Angel Investors To Build A Startup That Develops AI-Based Projects
I am a serial entrepreneur and technology executive with over 20 years of experience. Throughout my career I founded five startups, successfully exiting three of them. I am an expert in AI, product innovation, effective product management, and technology development, and can talk about the current state of AI and its future, automation and digitalization, product innovation, and robotics.
I founded a venture studio startup Docet TI that develops AI-based projects. Today, I focus on H2iM, a cutting-edge AI technology, with the primary objective of enabling the operation of autonomous vehicles.
The ability to bounce back from failures and setbacks with unrelenting optimism is vital.
It also has the potential to reduce inequalities in the distribution of labor. For instance, individuals who use wheelchairs or have limited mobility may have previously been unable to work in warehouse environments.
However, with the aid of robots, such individuals can now perform such tasks because the robots carry out most of the manual labor. In this scenario, the individual's primary responsibility is to monitor the process, ensuring the task is completed efficiently and without errors.
Additionally, we have explored the potential for H2iM to be employed in the sport of karting. As a result, we have created FASTA, the world's first mixed-reality racing competition that uses real electric race cars that can be remotely controlled over the internet. These vehicles possess some degree of autonomy, allowing them to cope with any possible loss of connection.
Our current success metric, as with any R&D laboratory, is the delivery of a prototype - creating a prototype that can be documented and can transition to commercialization, which is what we are doing now.
What's your backstory and how did you come up with the idea?
Throughout my career, I've been driven by a belief that people should be able to utilize their skills and expertise to achieve their full potential and not perform mundane tasks. When I was on the board of a production holding company, I saw the inside of the manufacturing process and how complex and costly it was to upgrade the machinery and equipment every time.
However, when we think of bringing full autonomy, it becomes an even bigger investment because we would need to replace every machine and mechanism with something more durable and powerful.
This led me to think that there could be a more cost-effective solution, like equipping the already existing machines with new software to make them autonomous within the space they exist.
This can be done using evolving approaches in machine learning such as simulation, synthetic data, and virtual reality. This is the quintessence of my experience.
This idea was brewing in my head for a long time, but I didn’t act on it until I was free from my corporate job and developing my consulting career. I was not intentionally looking to start a company, but then I met people who wanted to invest in AI projects, so I proposed my idea. I realize that at the time this idea sounded crazy, but they trusted me and were willing to take the risk, so we went on to build this project.
It's okay to make mistakes. An entrepreneur who hasn't messed up a single project in his life isn't worth very much.
Take us through the process of building the first version of your product.
In the field of robotics, especially when you are building a new product, the most important thing is investing in people and hardware. At least 60% of our money was invested in people and the rest was used to find the correct equipment.
The tedious part was finding the correct electronics that suited our purpose. First and foremost, to build our prototype, we purchased karting machines, which were just bare frames. We searched for and purchased various types of lidars, initially used Nvidia Orion computers, and purchased lidar cameras, testing and studying their compatibility and ability to function. We also purchased power steering amplifiers, assembled an actuator for the brake, and various electric motors, and conducted research on batteries. I didn't want our equipment to be custom-produced or come in small exclusive batches because then we would become dependent on one manufacturer. Instead, I wanted our software to be our competitive advantage.
So, we focused on finding accessible equipment from different manufacturers. Of course, this was a tedious process, so we had to hire a procurement team. They analyzed options on the market to find the most suitable and accessible hardware.
When working with robotics and hardware, it’s necessary to find a specific person to handle all the different processes, so we spent a lot of time and effort to find good and experienced specialists.
Our MVP was clear from the outset, but it was becoming more clear throughout the process. First, we had to make a prototype that worked. When that happened, it was clear that the application of this AI-powered software is very broad. It would help give autonomy to any special—purpose vehicle. We realized that we have the opportunity to partner with special-purpose equipment manufacturers to bring AI-powered autonomy to
customers who value speed, and simplicity of implementation at an economic price point.
However, we decided to focus on karting cars that could be controlled remotely and autonomously. We trained it in a virtual reality simulator, put the software on the actual car, and it worked.
Describe the process of launching the business.
Docet TI is a venture studio startup that focuses on developing its AI-based projects. We received $2.5 million from angel investors at launch, a majority of which was used to recruit the best team and source ideal hardware.
We are primarily focused on growing our internal projects, investing long-term in champions whose potential we believe in or companies in which we want to have a role. We explore and observe what university labs are doing, we see where early-stage investment structures are being put, and look at markets and analyze, brainstorm product ideas, and see if the technologies are ready to do it and if there is a market for it before proceeding.
We launched in July 2021 after finalizing our prototype. It was a hard process because the pandemic forced us to pause our processes for a while. Since the relaunch, we are working hard on developing H2iM and doing something that hasn’t been attempted before - a real remote racing championship. To support this initiative, we have initiated a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo.
Since launch, what has worked to attract and retain customers?
As I said earlier, Docet TI is a venture studio that develops its AI-based projects on our resources. We came up with the idea behind our projects, validated it, and developed it with a core team. Now we are focusing on applying our technology to race karts first. In the future, we are teaming up with different partners from the manufacturing and logistics field to broaden the scope of our technology.
How are you doing today and what does the future look like?
Today, we are focusing on using our technology in karting. We are putting the software on basic karting cars and making them autonomous. As a result, we have created FASTA, the world's first mixed-reality racing competition using real electric race cars that can be remotely controlled over the internet. These vehicles possess some degree of autonomy, allowing them to cope with any possible loss of connection.
Our technology has broad applications across various industries that require efficient transportation of goods. By implementing this technology, a reduction in personnel requirements of up to 10 times is achievable while maintaining output levels. So, in the future, we are planning on applying H2iM in different fields like manufacturing and logistics.
Through starting the business, have you learned anything particularly helpful or advantageous?
The biggest takeaway from starting a business is that finding the correct people is the key. Understanding how to work with different teams is crucial because most of the time, people do not act the way you want them to. I was very focused at first on my product team because I knew that this was the most important part at the initial stage.
However, I always overestimate how much time I have, which I had to learn the hard way. Startups develop at a fast pace, and you just cannot keep up with it on your own. I am learning that I need to delegate more and hire people with experience so that they can help me with managerial responsibilities.
What platform/tools do you use for your business?
Since we work with robots and software, we use a lot of different tools. The two that stand out most are Carla and SolidWorks. Carla is an open-source simulator for autonomous driving research. As an AI startup that is working on autonomous driving technology, we use Carla to simulate real-world scenarios and train AI algorithms in a safe and controlled environment.
Of course, we also use platforms to create detailed 3D models of our designs. This can help us visualize and iterate on designs before actually building them. Our software of choice is SolidWorks.
What have been the most influential books, podcasts, or other resources?
I cannot point out something specific, since I am always gathering information from everywhere. However, when it comes to drawing inspiration, I like to soak in everything that happens and pay attention to other people’s advice and learn from them. That’s what is valuable. At the end of the day, nothing inspires you more than seeing the results in real life.
Advice for other entrepreneurs who want to get started or are just starting out?
To be honest, entrepreneurship is a very hard path. You have to do it for the right reasons. So the first piece of advice would be: If you have the option of not being an entrepreneur, then don't. Often, a corporate career is more rewarding, financially speaking too.
However, if you have decided to be an entrepreneur, these three things are what will help you: knowledge, imagination, and persistence. The ability to bounce back from failures and setbacks with unrelenting optimism is vital.
In the fast-moving world of technology, there will be plenty of failures and missteps along the way, but those who can maintain a positive outlook and keep moving forward will be more likely to succeed in the long run. It's okay to make mistakes. An entrepreneur who hasn't messed up a single project in his life isn't worth very much.
Are you looking to hire for certain positions right now?
Currently, we are looking to hire:
- Chief Product Officer
- Head of Automotive Engineering
- Data Science Team Leader with a focus on generative models
Where can we go to learn more?
If you have any questions or comments, drop a comment below!
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