Construction Robots and Working with Unions

In this episode, Audrow Nash speaks to Maria Telleria, who is a co–founder and the CTO of Canvas. Canvas makes a drywall finishing robot and is based in the Bay Area. In this interview, Maria talks about Canvas’s drywall finishing robot, how Canvas works with unions, Canvas’s business model, and about her career path.

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EPISODE LINKS:
– Canvas’s website: https://www.canvas.build/}
– Maria’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariatelleria/}

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OUTLINE:
– (0:00:00) Start
– (0:01:57) Introducing Maria and Canvas
– (0:08:00) How the robot works with tapers
– (0:12:57) Becoming drywall experts
– (0:20:24) Challenges of spraying
– (0:27:52) Labor shortages
– (0:33:15) Challenges of sanding
– (0:39:07) Mapping the construction site
– (0:41:08) Picking your hard challenge
– (0:43:12) How Canvas is funded
– (0:52:55) Building for IPO
– (0:58:15) Working with Unions
– (1:07:25) Addressing misconceptions about robotics
– (1:09:19) Future of Canvas
– (1:11:34) Getting the robot to the construction site
– (1:14:42) Reporting the work done
– (1:17:38) Maria’s career path
– (1:23:21) Challenges coming from academia to starting a startup
– (1:29:04) Leadership experience
– (1:31:22) Advice to a 20 year old
– (1:33:21) Future of robotics
– (1:35:18) Links and contact info

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