Robotics Research Is The Next Big Thing A Startup Where Robots Are Born
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Hardware is the future. The sudden rise of companies around 3D printing and Internet of Things (IoT) in the world has proven that. Robotics is the next step. Sensing the opportunity Jasmeet Singh decided to step in in this futuristic world to make a mark in this industry.
Along with his brother, Manveet Singh, Singh founded JMoon Technologies Private Limited which runs RoboRium.com, JMoon L.A.B.S., JMoon MakerSpace and MakerMandi.com. Currently, he is working with a total team of 12 people.
Entrepreneur India caught up with Singh to understand more about this space and how and when did he decided to embark his entrepreneurial journey.
Taking the Plunge into Entrepreneurship
After my M.Sc., I felt I had only scratched the surface of the Robotics field and wanted to continue my studies with a Ph.D. in USA after which I planned to open up a company that would create robots for various environments. In December 2012, I applied to all universities with exceptional robotics programs, but because my research paper wasn't published in time, I did not get in.
I had been working as a freelancer for Dexter Industries (USA) since May 2012, till the results of Ph.D. application came and I decided to take a break after that, to think of what to do next. Within a few weeks, I figured out I still wanted to start my own company, where I could not only build robots, but also do research as I had planned, and started working towards that aim soon after.
Never one who could imagine being at a traditional 9-to-5 job, creating a company and being an entrepreneur came quite naturally to me.
Every Name Has a Story
The problems we were facing became our own personal moon-shots, which had to be conquered. And because of initials of the company's founders Jasmeet Singh and Manveet Singh, the company's name came to be JMoon.
Pooling in Funds
We have not yet raised any funding and have been bootstrapping since the beginning. We are now looking forward to raise money for expansion of our various verticals which will go towards increasing inventory and growing our team and operations.
We have had to pivot and tweak our various verticals plenty of time to see which idea works and which does not, since most of what we have done had not been attempted before. We have had to make small changes in our models to find the right fit for us and over the past 2 years have almost perfected the models for all our verticals and are now ready to look for external investments.
Keeping its Team in High Spirits
The team of product testers is always excited when new products come in. Instead of testing products by working with each one individually, we create projects by combining a few of them.
This helps in not only testing products but also create various applications, which we then make open-source for the world to experiment with. Several of these projects have been featured on websites of Atmel, hackster, hackaday, Steamcup and more. Anyone can approach any other member of the team to discuss the idea they have in mind and seek help. This creates an environment of open discussion.
We regularly organize pizza-parties for the team as well, where the topics of discussions are usually limited to the latest movies and TV shows by Marvel and DC comics.
A Moment of Pride
Our A-ha moments are never ending. Almost every 6 to 8 months, our team recognizes a problem that exists and does not have a proper solution yet. We start work on it immediately and learn to solve hurdles along the way with the constant help and feedback from the more than 1400 members of our community.
Overcoming Challenges
There are no small challenges. With finding the right team member to curating and finalizing the next workshop, we've learned to tackle all the challenges with patience and a bit of humor.
Eyeing Next- Future Plans
We will be expanding of our verticals at the same time, simultaneously growing our team and operations. We will also be introducing one more (final) vertical of our company which will be announced in mid- or end-2016.
Journey So Far
The journey from an introverted shy coder geek, to an outspoken CEO with excellent soft skills, would not have been possible without starting the company.
It has been the biggest teacher in itself, helping us learn from our mistakes, fixing the shortcomings and helping improve our strengths. Hard work and perseverance towards a goal always pay off.
