Puppet Robotics

This is Second Opinion, a newsletter created by Hustle Fund, where we weigh in (with our second opinion) and give tactical advice on founder situations.

Hippo Campus is now open!

Tired of working from home, where your only coworker is a dead houseplant? Check out our new space Hippo Campus! We have great wifi, bottomless coffee, soundproof phone booths, meeting rooms, and more.

But the real reason to show up is the people (and hippos?). Members get access to a community of early-stage founders plus a rotating calendar of events.

Learn more about our memberships here.

Today’s Edition

Nobody wants to scrape asbestos out of old buildings by hand. It's dangerous work, the kind with workers' comp rates 5x higher than any other trade.

So why not send in a robot instead?

✨Today's episode: how to sell hardware before it works, and survive the ick of showing an embarrassing prototype.

In this episode, Elizabeth Yen, Hustle Fund GP, talks with Meredith and Gabe of Puppet Robotics, who are building robots for construction's most hazardous job: ripping asbestos and lead paint out of old buildings.

Show up before you have anything: Gabe cold-called and visited job sites on day one, months before the robot was more than a hacky prototype. The goal wasn't to sell, it was to learn what people wanted.

Swallow your ego: That early prototype was rough and probably going to break. Gabe's advice: show it anyway. You're testing the interaction, not whether someone will buy today.

Sell the pain, not the tech: Robots didn't get people on the phone. Safety did. Once Gabe led with safety, contractors started taking his calls, some even pitching their own use cases before he explained the product.

Here's the episode:

Want a second opinion on your deck?

If you want your deck reviewed and featured in Second Opinion, fill out this form.

Or drop a link to your deck in the video comments and then we’ll will reply there.

 PS: Trying to create the perfect pitch deck? This is for you.