Berberian's Blog

Lucky Number 7 - Orbotix

Well it is official - I’m now the CEO of Orbotix (formerly Gearbox) - my 7th company.

Gearbox is a 2010 Boulder Techstars’ “graduate” that I had the incredible opportunity to mentor over the summer. Ian and Adam, the two founders, impressed me so much with their passion and talent that I just found it impossible to stop thinking about their business. We spent a lot of hours over the summer working with each other to focus and refine their idea and during that time we developed a great chemistry. I was honored when they asked me to join their team and today we’re happy to announce that we closed our Series A investment lead by Brad Feld of the Foundry Group.

The idea is simple: we are reinventing the ball. Sounds crazy - so let me explain (mom it is OK if you don’t get it - I tend to make more money on ideas you don’t get).

We all walk around with these incredibly powerful computers in our hands - smartphones like the iPhone and Android. Right now they really only serve as a connection to the virtual world - that is they don’t really control much of the the things we interact with on a day to day basis (actually nothing for most of us). But it seems inevitable that soon - very soon - we’ll be able to control all sorts of things around us. Some things will be common like unlocking doors, changing the channel on the TV and starting cars - but other things - not yet invented, will change our world because we can now separate the compute intensive functions from the physical device. On top of that, the two way communication capabilities will allow us to create inexpensive devices that simply didn’t exist in the past. Think about it - even the most sophisticated remote controls are only one way devices - they send a command and something happens. You change the channel but the remote doesn’t know the channel has changed - it doesn’t even know if it is connected to the TV.

Great so what does all this have to do with balls? Well over the summer Ian and Adam started thinking that simply making your phone a remote control isn’t really a killer app. Most of the apps on the iPhone and Android are games and entertainment - it seems any new device that leverages this powerful computer in your hands will most likely be something that gives the user a new entertainment experience. So they came up with an idea that couldn’t exist before today - they decided to make a robotic ball that is not only controlled by the phone - but now it becomes the object in n number of new games and applications.

It is more than a ball - it is an entertainment platform. We are building an API that lets any app developer control our robotic ball based on what software is running on the phone. Drive the ball through a maze that shows up on your phone but takes place on your living room floor. Then battle your friend by playing a game of sumo on a table top. Play with your cat and have her chase the ball around the house while you control everything from your sofa.

Sounds simple and it should - but it is actually very hard to make on many levels. Basically if we can build and control a ball we can control almost anything.

So we’re just getting going. Checkout our website and blog for progress and follow us on twitter @orbotix.

Now we’re rolling (be prepared for a lot more bad ball jokes).

Mentor and Mentee

At some point in my life - not sure when - I became a mentor. It sounds much more authoritative and accomplished than it is - basically I share my experiences and from that offer suggestions.

For the past few months I’ve been mentoring some of the founders at a couple of Techstars companies. I’ve actually mentored companies every year since Techstars started and invested in several of them. On top of that I’ve mentored folks in non business situations ranging from a school principal to a priest on financial matters.

Now that Techstars Boulder is over for the summer, I started reflecting about all the various mentor/mentee relationships I’ve had over the years.

So what makes a good mentee from a mentor perspective?

Well for one it is not to take my advice without careful consideration. In fact I’d be really bummed if a mentee did everything I suggested. What I really want is for the teams to engage in a dialog that forces them to think about their business.

Making a suggestion or offering advice is an invitation to explore a different angle - it may be a dead end - but it may lead to something better or offer a path to solve a problem.

So here is what I like from mentees and what I try to do with my mentors:

• Regular meetings with mentors - mentees must take the initiative to set a schedule
• Regular updates on the status of the company
• Follow up on things discussed - typically this means researching something, talking to someone or getting more info regarding a critical assumption
• Engage in a dialog about advice - the mentee should be able to explain why they differ or agree. Can the mentee take the advice and make it his/her decision or are they simply trying to please?
• Resolution of conflicting advice - mentees seek to drive consensus amongst advisors - or consensus amongst teammates
• An attitude of wanting to be coached
• An understanding of the market - as a mentor I might rely on the mentee’s knowledge of the market to help guide my suggestions - a good mentor doesn’t need to be an expert on the market (it helps) but rather has similar experiences dealing with the mentee’s challenges

Here is what doesn’t work:

• Not following through on items discussed - wanting to make decisions without data, experience or conviction
• Not willing to defend decisions
• Unpredictable communications
• Argumentative behavior - this shows a lack of desire to be coached
• Inability to accept reality - holding onto ideas in spite of evidence to the contrary
• Unrealistic expectations regarding the market
• Fairytale expectations of sales or the ability to build something in an unrealistic amount of time
• Lack of talent - trying to do something so far beyond the team’s capabilities
• No passion

I’ve experienced each of the items listed above - both good and bad in the past. Mentors are here to help. Mentees you get what you put into the relationship.

One last thought, many of my friends are mentors for young companies and NEVER have I heard one of them say, “Those dudes at XYZ just keep bothering me and asking for advice.” If you have a mentor and you like them - use them. Chances are they are more willing to help than you are willing to ask.