List of Interviewees
Introduction. Adventure and Risks of Startups: Trailhead
Chapter 1. Customer Discovery + Product Market Fit: Planning
Kiva Systems: Early Market Validation
Founder Insights: Yannis Ieropoulos, Microbial Fuel Cells
Chapter 2. Team Culture Drives Innovation: Base Camp
iRobot’s Product Evolution
Founder Insights: Samatha Lee, Autonomous Vehicles Monitoring
Chapter 3. The Five Rules for Starting an Automation Company: Gear
Battlefield Lessons: Plus One Robotics and Eclipse Ventures
Founder Insights: Dor Skuler and Tom Stevens, AI Healthcare Companions
Chapter 4. Ready to Sell: Hiking
The Tenacity of CivRobotics
Founder Insights: Jerry Sgobbo, Underwater Drones
Chapter 5. Business Model and Partners: Climbing
Clearpath Robotics: Putting Customers First
Rodney Brooks: Setting Expectations from the Onset
Founder Workshop: Atle Timenes, Automating Warehouse Pallets
Chapter 6: Capital Partners: Wildlife
Diligent Robotics: Hard Tech Fundraising Boot Camp
Daniel Theobald of Vecna Robotics Cautions: Read the Fine Print
From GM to Amazon to Yamaha: Corporate Venture Secrets
Accelerators + Incubators
Founder Insights: F. Javier Diez, Amphibian Robots
Chapter 7. Government as an Investor and Customer: Flora and Fauna
Col. Mahaney on Working with the Military and Accessing Battlefield Feedback
Dr. Henrik Christensen: A Roadmap for US Robotics
Founder Insights: John Ha, Robot Waiters
Chapter 8. Scaling Up Growth Mountain: Summiting
Recalculating Customer Lifetime Value on the Farm
Founder Insights: Hailey Nichols, Sensor Fusion
Chapter 9. Exit Opportunities: Rappelling
iRobot’s Initial Public Offering
Nauticus Robotics: Understanding SPAC Math
Corporate M&A: Case Studies
Clearpath Sells to Rockwell Automation
Other Exit Opportunities
Founder Insights: Robot Venture Factory
Chapter 10. Be Humble and Careful Out There: Field Notes
Appendix: Lexicon Of Startup, Robot, + AI Terms
Biography
Oliver Mitchell is a partner at ff Venture Capital, where he leads investments in robotics, artificial intelligence, drones, industrial automation, and climate tech while building strategic alliances with limited partners and corporate venture groups. A seasoned investor, Oliver boasts a proven track record of successful exits, including two IPOs (Novocure and Ekso Bionics), a $1.4 billion private equity sale of TripleLift, and high returns from recent transactions, including the acquisition of Scite.ai by Research Solutions (RSSS) and CardFlight’s growth equity round led by WestView Capital Partners. He currently serves on the boards of CivRobotics, Cambrian Robotics, and Paraspot AI, leveraging his deep tech expertise to scale transformative companies. Previously, he built and exited ventures such as Holmes Protection, AmeriCash, and RobotGalaxy, a national STEM-focused brand. As an Adjunct Professor at Sy Syms School of Business and the author of A Startup Field Guide in the Age of Robots and AI, he continues to shape innovation, sharing insights on his blog as the "Robot Rabbi.”
“With humility, wit, and deep expertise, Oliver Michell updates timeless entrepreneurial wisdom for the age of AI and robotics. His Startup Field Guide blends gripping personal stories and famous case studies with actionable advice. It feels like you’re stepping into Professor Mitchell’s mentoring sessions with students and founders, as he inspires and equips them to conquer the challenges of building innovative businesses.”
Noam Wasserman, Dean of the Sy Syms School of Business at Yeshiva University, and bestselling author of The Founder’s Dilemmas and Life Is a Startup
“Anyone interested in building a company in robotics should read Oliver Mitchell’s A Startup Field Guide. The wisdom of many founders is collected and summarized in a useful and digestible form. He shows how to build a business model canvas and populate it – getting an understanding of products, customers, financing, and many of the pitfalls to avoid. The many examples of companies that have been built with different cultures and vastly different pieces of the market can help further inspire a founder to move ahead with their own ideas. An excellent read.”
Howard Morgan, Chair and General Partner of B Capital, and one of the pioneers of early-stage investing and the internet
“With engaging writing and real-life anecdotes, this book offers readers a powerful guide to navigating the challenges and opportunities of building a business. Oliver Mitchell will give you proven strategies that will work for you ‘In the Age of Robots and AI’. This book is for you, if you are looking to turn your entrepreneurial dreams into reality or scale your existing venture.”
Mark Finkel, Professor of Entrepreneurship, Sy Syms School of Business, Yeshiva University, and Founder, RightAnswers
"This book is a comprehensive guide for aspiring entrepreneurs, providing practical insights into overcoming the challenges of building and scaling successful startups in the robotics and AI industry. Drawing from interviews with industry experts who share firsthand experiences from real-world ventures, the author distills invaluable lessons from both their successes and failures. I wholeheartedly recommend this book to my students and colleagues involved in robotics research and education as an exceptional resource for guiding their entrepreneurial pursuits."
Katsuo Kurabayashi, Professor and Chair, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, NYU Tandon School of Engineering
“In this informative field guide, Oliver Mitchell shares his observations as an investor, as well as tales from across the robotics ecosystem and tips on how startups can stay on track. Mitchell surveys the numerous pitfalls facing innovators and entrepreneurs, and his workbook exercises at the end of each chapter challenge readers to apply what they've learned. Mitchell has spoken with many, if not most, of the leading robotics founders of the past two decades. Their candid recollections of their efforts, missteps, and ultimately successes are a must-read for anyone who wants to know how the industry really works. Robotics might be more collaborative than other areas of technology, but it's still very competitive as businesses try to solve some of today's hardest problems. I'd heartily recommend this guidebook to any startup, regardless of how far it has gotten in its journey from concept to commercialization!”
Eugene Demaitre, Editorial Director, Robotics, WTWH Media
“Oliver Mitchell is among the world’s leading thinkers about robots and robotics. He is also one of the world’s leading visionaries about how humans think about robots, invest in robotics, and build robotics companies. In this book, he has taken all he learned over decades of work in this field, and adapted his vast knowledge base to the Brave New World at the intersection of Robots, Humanoids, and Artificial Intelligence. The reader gets to be the beneficiary of Oliver’s creation of a new knowledge ecosystem. Quick—read this before the robots do!”
Dan Burstein, New York Times bestselling author of 15 nonfiction books, and Managing Partner and Co-Founder, Millennium Technology Value Partners, a New York City-based venture capital firm
“Recent developments in AI and robotics have taken us closer than ever before to the vision of a society run by machines with little human intervention. In this book, Oliver Mitchell draws on his pioneering experiences—as a founder, management consultant, venture capitalist and teacher—to provide a step-by-step guide for navigating the challenging journey of launching and scaling a startup with these disruptive technologies. Oliver presents many case studies, practical rules, and questions for self-assessment throughout and encouraging readers to think critically about their startup ideas, adapt strategies, and build sustainable businesses. Those interested in the future of entrepreneurship, technology, or business will not regret picking up this book. While Oliver likens building a startup to a mountain expedition, reading his book is a breeze.”
Deepak Hegde, Seymour Milstein Professor of Strategy, Stern School of Business, New York University, USA
“In A Startup Field Guide, Oliver distills the wisdom, vision, and practical strategies that have made him an influential voice in the industry. This book is a great resource, offering a clear and compelling guide for founders and investors alike. Having seen firsthand the transformative potential of robotics, I can confidently say this is the definitive guidebook for navigating and thriving in this rapidly evolving space.”
Fady Saad, General Partner of Cybernetix Ventures
