We decided today to share a little with our readers by presenting here the two key people behind the RobotShop company.
RobotShop.com has existed for several years and is the leader in selling domestic robots and professional on the Internet.
Feedback on lessons learned from the founders, Mario Tremblay and Sandra Fradet who agreed to share more with us during a cross-interview.
Mario and Sandra, you’re the heads at RobotShop.com, a leader in robotics e-commerce on the internet. Can you tell us how it all began? When did the idea popped in your head?
Mario – I am a former combat engineer for the Canadian Armed Forces. I remember in 1996 during a humanitarian mission in former Yugoslavia, we were removing mines and we had no robots to help us do our work. It was extremely dangerous. The intelligence of advanced explosive mines advanced faster than our tools and I thought that robots could help with this work. I left the army to study technology and robotics and I envisioned a lot of projects. However, while building my small robots at home in the early 2000s, I soon realized that there was no website dedicated where you could order everything needed to build a robot. I had to order a little here and a little there from different countries. Then I saw RobotShop, robotics at your service, as a place where all robotics enthusiasts would find all the equipment they needed to build their robotic applications. I kept that in my mind while I persisted in developing a robot lawn mower (RobotKut) for the mass market, but resources quickly ran out. In 2002, Sandra and I decided to launch distribution via the Internet. We got a personal loan from the bank to buy our first inventory. I contacted my good friend Jacques Michel from JNP Software who built the first version of our e-commerce site. The first day the website went online, we made our first sales. This decision has forever changed the destiny of RobotShop.
Sandra, you worked before in the pharmaceutical field. Then one day you decided to drop everything and join Mario. Was it a difficult choice? How was the transition?
Sandra- From the moment we decided to launch our first website, I have always been involved in the company and worked there part time, evenings and weekends. In January 2005, I decided to quit my job and work full time at RobotShop. I must admit that it was a difficult decision since at that time RobotShop was not as strong as it is today. However, I knew that if we both devoted our full-time, we could go very far and the challenge was very interesting. It proved to be an excellent decision. The transition was very well done. We have separated the tasks and have worked together to grow the company. We are a very good team because we complement each other.
What is your major role now in RobotShop?
Sandra- I oversee all operations related to sales, purchasing and logistics. I make sure that everything works properly and in an optimized manner. I am responsible for ensuring that we are able to meet demand. I also manage the company’s finances.
But still, I think my most important role is at the decision level of the company. Mario and I must agree for any important decision and my scientific training has given me the critical and rational thinking which is complementary to Mario’s creative vision and scope. When we agree on a decision, it is likely that this it is the good one.
Mario, you are the CEO of RobotShop Distribution Inc. Can you tell us about your training and your interest in robotics?
Mario – In College I studied automation and robotics after I left the army. I’m an engineer in automation and process optimization, a graduate of the Ecole de Technologie Superieure in Montreal. I now believe that robotics is the unification of all passions, all sciences and all knowledge. Absolutely, all roads lead to robotics. Robotics helps us better understand the physical world in which we live.
Imagine a simple little robotic arm designed to pick up a small rock; there is power – battery management, electronics – electrical signals, mechanics and equipment, software intelligence and communication protocols. It starts to get crowded. But still, if you calculate the forces that are applied on the arm when it picks up the rock and in order to choose the motors – it starts to go into math calculations and fundamental science with the laws of Newtown, taking into account earth’s gravity (for a robot that goes to Mars, the calculations will be different) etc. Now imagine building a humanoid that walks toward you to serve your meal; not only there is all the hardware, but there is also artificial intelligence allowing the robot to understand its environment, to remain in balance and to make good decisions. We are talking about the study of human brain and neural networks. We are talking about the study of materials to create artificial skin.
That’s why I am passionate about robotics. Because it brings together a coherent amalgam of knowledge and techniques accumulated over time. It improves our quality of life and makes sure that amputees can walk again. The robot can go where it’s too dangerous, like to clear an explosive mine. It can entertain me or protect me. When you invent a robot to make a specific task, you work to understand and solve a specific problem, and this makes you think continually about innovation and solutions, about positive thoughts. You always look to improve; to me, robotics is positive because it rejects negative inertia. Robotics only accepts positive development.
It is easy to understand why robotics is increasingly used in schools to train the creative spirit of our youth to meet the challenges of tomorrow. We know that many challenges lie ahead
Were the beginnings of RobotShop difficult? Where did you set up shop?
Sandra -The beginning was not that difficult. Surely, it required a lot of work but it all went well. At first, RobotShop was situated in our apartment in Ville Saint-Laurent. All the rooms in our apartment were used to store products. The orders were prepared on our kitchen table and we would often walk them over to our neighborhood post office. After about a year, it was clear that we had to move to a larger space. So we bought a house and the basement was devoted exclusively to RobotShop operations. What seemed big to us at the beginning was quickly filled. The other floors of the house also served as storage. Since we were running out of space and we needed employees, we moved to a commercial place in Boisbriand. First we only rented the first floor. When the second floor tenants left the following year, we took the opportunity to double our space. Initially, our offices were bigger than our needs. Today however, our office is almost full and we expect to move next year. The next headquarters must have a 15.000 to 20.000 square foot area.
When did sales really take off? Did it happened gradually over time or was there a trigger (or a date, year)?
Sandra- Sales were made gradually over the years. We started to sell on the first day when the site was launched and sales have been growing steadily ever since. We are experiencing a 60-70% growth rate per year. Initially, 60% is not much, but today we see that things are starting to go extremely fast. It is very exciting and encouraging!
RobotShop is a Canadian company and an example in e-commerce. Do you feel small compared to large American or European commercial sites (pure players)? And compared to the competition?
Mario – Absolutely not. We watch closely the e-commerce technologies used by the top 100 e-commerce companies. We are building on what they do and want to do it even better. What you see at www.robotshop.com is only the front of a pacesetting web intelligence. Behind the scenes we have an in-house team of programmers and partners working on the next generation of our e-commerce platform.
Remember that we are first and foremost robotics professionals. We’re integration masters and we work with the latest technologies. You know our philosophy is always to improve, innovate, and optimize. We build our web platform as we build a robot and the task of that intelligent robot is to serve our customers and ensure that our customers find the products they’re looking for, and at the right price and the right time. This is important because our customers also have a mission to accomplish and robots to build; you know what I’m talking about, all these robots that will help us live better tomorrow. We listen to our customers and all the requested improvements are recorded and evaluated. It may take some time before this takes hold, because we want to do things right and we must also manage priorities.
In the e-commerce field, in general robotics like RobotShop, our competitors are far behind and this gap will get even wider. Be sure that we’re looking at what they do and watching them closely.
In which markets and which countries is RobotShop present? What are its goals?
Sandra- RobotShop is headquartered in Canada, but we are an international company via the Internet and our warehouses in the United States and soon in Europe. We ship internationally from the very beginning and our strategy is simple: improve service to our international customers by improving and optimizing our logistics.
We want to make RobotShop the world’s leading source on technology for domestic and professional robotics. It is the mission of the company and everyone working in this direction.
You are active on several fronts at the same time in your communication and online marketing strategies (website store, blogs, forums, accounts twitter, facebook, adwords, etc.). Have you learned all this “from scratch” and do you think more companies should follow your internet model?
Mario – Sandra and I did not go to school for e-commerce. We started by buying a book on Amazon and we learned by trial and error.
Over time, we always read up on the subject and we stay informed. Today, our web intelligence unit watches closely what the leaders are doing and we try to establish what is good in our own way, depending on the resources that we have, and always with our thoughts directed towards optimization and effectiveness. We don’t listen to those who make themselves pass for web marketing experts. Everyone charges $ 120 per hour in this field but very few are really worth it. We do business with the best and Vincent, you’re a good example for blog and web marketing. We hire the right people for each task, some things are managed internally and others externally. We are advised by the best in the industry and ensure that our technology is very advanced.
I can’t say that RobotShop is a model for all e-commerce since each business has its peculiarities. However, we have some success, then yes, there is some good stuff that others can use.
Some people think that the tomorrow’s robotics market is going to explode and create a revolution like the one created by computers. Do you share this view?
Mario – It’s clear. Today robotics is everywhere; it comes out of factories and reaches all areas. Soon, all systems and processes will be redesigned, improved and optimized. In future years, all home and professional environments will be transformed and robots will take many shapes.
The vision of “a robot in every home” is coming soon.
In its ultimate form, we’re not just talking about creating beings in our image to help us build a better world. We’re also talking about improving humans themselves, who are so fragile, to make them stronger, smarter, and live longer. We’re talking about “improved” and cyborg human beings, we’re talking about a new superior species where technology and biology will be one.
You’re right to talk about a revolution. Robotics is the field and industry that with the advancement of genetics and nanotechnology, will forever transform the world as we know it.
Mario and Sandra, thank you for this interview.
