Disney-inspired droid → chore-doing variant
Companion Robots
- Prototypes shipped · $250K pre-seed raised · discontinued
- Co-founder · Hardware build · User research
A two-phase exploration of personal companion robots, starting from a Disney-inspired droid and ending with a deliberate decision to discontinue.
Phase one: droid robots, 2023. Personal companion robots for the home: a Pokémon for everyone. Vision, navigation, and audio capabilities. Built and shipped a working prototype. Targeted at companion-to-children, support-for-elderly, and home-manager use cases. Raised $250K pre-seed on the back of the prototype and the early discovery work.
Phase two: companion + chore variant, 2024. Asked a sharper question: would utility and character compound? Explored combining the companion personality with a chore-doing robot vacuum. Ran user research with 100+ current robot vacuum owners: workflows, pain points, willingness to pay.
The kill decision. The market preferred a quiet, reliable utility over a personable one; the premium for companionship did not justify the additional cost or compromise in cleaning performance. Synthesized the research into a deliberate decision to discontinue rather than push through.