Humans Who Build

Shreya Bakliwal

Learn Practical Tips About Company Building from the Top Leaders in Business & Technology.

  1. 3D AGO

    Saman Farid, Founder, Formic, on RaaS, Scaling from 0-150 Factories, Customer Service for Robotics.

    In our first episode, we discussed that 98% of factories in the US are small and medium-sized businesses. But what does it actually take to deploy robots across these factories? It is not only about the technology, but also about financing, deployment, integration, maintenance, updates, and continuous optimization that ultimately drive robotics adoption. Formic Technologies is building exactly this infrastructure through its RaaS (Robotics as a Service) model. For customers, it is essentially an on-demand robotic workforce that can show up and perform production tasks with guaranteed performance and uptime. Formic has deployed robots across ~150 factories in the US. In 2025, the company built the largest independent robot fleet in the country and surpassed 500,000 production hours, moving 468 million pounds of product with 99.3% system uptime. The company has raised capital from Blackhorn Ventures, Mitsubishi HC Capital America, Lux Capital, FJ Labs, and Initialized Capital, among others. Formic’s Founder and CEO, Saman Farid, recently hosted us at their new facility in Oakland, CA, where we recorded the latest episode of Humans Who Build. Before founding Formic, Saman invested in ~40 robotics companies at Baidu Ventures and Comet Labs. He has also recently launched Robots for America, a coalition focused on accelerating robotics adoption across American manufacturing. In this episode, we learn: How Formic’s scaling process changed from 0–10, 10–50, and 50–150 factory deployments?How Formic built customer success and sales teams, and how that changed with scale?RaaS: Pricing model, various risks associated for the RaaS seller, and how to underwrite them?What robotics founders consistently underestimate when deploying solutions in real factories?Why innovation centers at large OEMs can become a major distraction for startups?Why startups should be cautious about relying on system integrators for early distribution? #robotics #america #manufacturing #ai #roi #integration If you enjoyed the episode, please like and subscribe to the podcast. Our episodes provide actionable insights for industrial automation founders and operators looking to scale their companies, powered by world-class builders.

    53 min

  2. APR 30

    Edward Mehr, CEO, Machina Labs, on Scaling Advanced Manufacturing Factories, Working w/ the DOW.

    Manufacturing is not new to the US. It has been a core foundation of its economic rise. But the way we think about manufacturing is undergoing a structural shift. While traditional assembly-line production models optimized for low-mix, high-volume output (e.g., automotive) continue to exist, evolving customer and business needs are driving increasing importance of high-mix, low-volume production environments. For example, in a Blue Yonder 2024 survey, 92% of respondents were willing to pay extra for personalized vehicle features - a clear signal of rising demand for customization. Further, global military expenditure reached ~$2.89tn in 2025, its highest level as a share of GDP since 2009. At the same time, the US Department of War has proposed ~$3.3bn toward additive manufacturing-related initiatives, reflecting a growing focus on faster, more flexible production systems for complex, program-specific components. Machina Labs serves these requirements. Founded in 2019, Machina Labs operates intelligent, software-defined factories that manufacture complex metal structures for defense, aerospace, and mobility. In February 2026, it raised $124mm from Woven Capital (Toyota’s growth-stage venture arm), Lockheed Martin Ventures, Balerion Space Ventures, and Strategic Development Fund (SDF), and announced a joint venture with SDF focused on producing advanced metal structures in the region. In the latest episode of Humans Who Build with Edward Mehr, Co-founder & CEO of Machina Labs, we discuss the following themes, among others: What it takes to build and scale factories in high-mix environments?How to work with the US Department of War?Capital formation and partnerships when building in hardware. How entrepreneurship makes you more grateful? Please watch and share any feedback or questions from your journey of building an industrial automation company. We’ll bring in world-class operators and founders to answer them! #defense #mobility #departmentofwar #manufacturing #customparts

    57 min

  3. APR 11

    Adi Prasad, CEO, Matter, on OEM Decision-Making for New Tech Solutions, Autonomous Factories, Physical AI.

    Technological innovation in industrial automation is strong. But technology alone is not enough, especially when looking to scale your solutions at some of the most sophisticated OEMs in the world. As Adi Prasad puts it, manufacturing is a systems problem! With over a decade of OEM wisdom, in the most recent episode of Humans Who Build, Adi answers the most common questions that industrial automation founders have: What mechanisms and stakeholders inside enterprise OEMs evaluate and decide on new automation solutions?How to think about building automation products - around specific processes or broader systems?When does automation actually make things worse in factories?How tightly coupled are tooling and automation - can one be changed without the other?How do manufacturing environments differ across Apple, Tesla, and Rivian? What does Adi think about his former boss, RJ Scaringe's new startup, Mind Robotics? :) Adi has been on the manufacturing teams of some of the most significant OEMs of the world, leading the launch of Tesla’s Model 3 battery-enclosure lines, Apple’s iPhone battery ramp, and three Rivian module lines. He also briefly worked with Travis Kalanick at CloudKitchens. After 2 years at HBS, he co-founded Matter, along with his former colleagues and friends including Charly Mwangi, Aish Varadhan, and Aditya Ranjan. At Matter, they are building America's autonomous manufacturing infrastructure, the software, hardware, and factory network focused on complex electromechanical products. Please enjoy the episode. If you liked it, and want to learn more about the industrial automation space, please like and subscribe. :) #factories #manufacturing #tesla #systems #artificialintelligence

    51 min

  4. MAR 25

    Alex Huckstepp, Co-Founder, Uptool, on AI Software for Small Manufacturers, Selling Into Factories.

    98% of manufacturing firms in the US are small and high-mix businesses. Yet most conversations around industrial automation today are centered on robots and humanoids. What about automation for the businesses that actually make up the majority? Alex Huckstepp is building AI software to accelerate operations of exactly these businesses at his new company, Uptool. Its first product is an AI quoting software that ensures that machine and fabrication shops meet the demands of global hardware innovation. Uptool has raised $6M in seed funding from leading industrial tech and vertical AI investors including Khosla Ventures, Eclipse, Bessemer Venture Partners and Kleiner Perkins. Before Uptool, Alex spent over a decade leading sales & BD and GTM functions for some of the most important advanced manufacturing companies in the country including Stratasys, Carbon, ARRIS, and Machina Labs. Therefore, he understands what constitutes an effective sales strategy, whether you are starting from scratch or have scaled up to multiple millions of dollars in revenue. Our conversations with hard-tech and industrial automation founders consistently highlight that sales is one of the most difficult functions to get right. In our first episode of Humans Who Build with Alex, we break down how he has approached sales and GTM across his career. Details of the topics covered in this episode: The small and high-mix opportunity: Nature of these businesses and stakeholders, state of operations and the role of business automation, performance measurement.Key pillars of industrial sales and GTM strategy, including stakeholder dynamics and building early customer partnerships.Challenges in scaling from pilot to production: Customer or industry selection, problem definition, deployment complexity, and preparation for successful deployments.Hiring for industrial sales and maintaining a sales team's optimism and tenacity amidst long-sales cycles.Fundraising models for industrial companies: Venture vs bootstrapped, partnerships with CVCs.At Protean, we are building a community of executives across manufacturing operations, vendor management, and factory systems. This includes OEMs, system integrators, and a small group of founders, with the goal of making the process more informed and genuinely collaborative. What sales or GTM challenges are you facing in your company? Are you interested in connecting with OEM teams to better understand their requirements? Please DM us at info@protean.world.

    44 min

  5. 03/06/2025

    Erin Miles, Partner at Bridgewater Associates, on Building The Alpha Engine with Tech and Fundamentals.

    In an increasingly complex investment world impacted by advanced technology, global pandemics, and wars, it has become important to ground our processes in fundamentals, developed through an understanding of how the world works and rigorous stress-testing. Erin Miles, Partner and Member of the Operating Committee at Bridgewater Associates, is guiding her team to do exactly that! As Head of Alpha Engine, Erin shares responsibility for the strategy and oversight of the investment team behind Bridgewater’s flagship fund Pure Alpha. Erin joined Bridgewater right after her undergraduate studies in Neurobiology and Neurosciences at Harvard, having quickly realized that she did not want to run a science lab! :) In this episode of Women Who Build, we will learn the following: What is Bridgewater's Alpha Engine? 📈 Erin's Systematic approach to investing, management decisions, and life!Implementation of technology (of course, including AI) in investing.🌎 Macro: Long-term interest rates movement, China outlook, other emerging markets with growth potential, e.g., India.🧑‍💼👩‍💼 What makes a great investor in today's AI-first world? Listen and learn! If you liked this episode and want to hear more from us, subscribe to our channel and hit the notification bell to stay updated! #hedgefunds #technology #investing #obsession

    44 min

  6. 02/18/2025

    Loretta McCarthy, Co-CEO of Golden Seeds, on Building a Movement, Advice for Raising Angel Money.

    Very rarely you come across people who define their jobs as building a "movement." We have been lucky to call Loretta McCarthy, Co-CEO and Managing Partner, Golden Seeds, a guest at Women Who Build, as she is exactly that person. Golden Seeds is one of the largest and most active angel investment organizations in the US with ~300 angel investors and invests in early-stage women-led businesses. Loretta was previously Executive Vice President/Chief Marketing Officer at OppenheimerFunds and a marketing executive at American Express. Early in her career, she was an executive at the Dayton-Hudson Corporation (later Target Corp.). Ms. McCarthy has served as a board member of many organizations, both for-profit companies and not-for-profit organizations. In this episode, we discuss 3 main topics: Angel Investing: Building an investor consortium serving a common goal and evolution of angel investing in the past 2 decades. Key considerations for founders raising angel funds. The Great Wealth Transfer and its impact. Listen and learn! #investing #angelinvesting #technology #fundraising

    48 min

  7. 12/22/2024

    Former FARFETCH Chief Fashion Officer, Elizabeth von der Goltz, Shares Secrets of Luxury Fashion.

    How we dress defines our personality in the eyes of others, but most importantly, in our own eyes! Our Women Who Build guest today, Elizabeth von der Goltz, has been at the forefront of building global fashion companies that dress us. Known for her sharp ability to spot the brands we wear and identify lasting trends, Elizabeth has also leveraged her Sixth sense and her business acumen to drive strategy and manage the P&L of major fashion enterprises. Most recently serving as the Chief Fashion and Merchandising Officer at FARFETCH, Elizabeth has spent decades shaping the high-end retail landscape. She began her career as an Assistant Buyer at Barneys New York and quickly rose through the ranks at Bergdorf Goodman, where she played a pivotal role in modernizing the store’s offerings and boosting sales for top brands. Later, as the Global Buying Director at YOOX NET-A-PORTER and Chief Commercial Officer at MATCHESFASHION. In this episode, Elizabeth shares exclusive insights on: - What to build in fashion today: Brand vs a tech enabled solution. ⁠- What does it take to build a fashion company: Supply chain, distribution, designer, short-term vs long-term trends. ⁠- How is the fashion sector evolving: Why are sales of LVMH and Gucci going down but Ralph Lauren is stable? - ⁠Opportunities in the Indian luxury market. - ⁠Our favorite: Differences in fashion in New York City and London. If you liked this episode and want to hear more from us, subscribe to our channel and hit the notification bell to stay updated! ⁠#Businessgrowth⁠ ⁠⁠#FARFETCH⁠ ⁠#Fashion⁠ ⁠#womenwhobuild⁠ ⁠#luxury

    57 min

  8. 12/12/2024

    How Neha Jogani Narang, Former CMO of Roblox, on Growing Roblox Followers by 15 million in 2 Years, Leading Big-tech Events, Motherhood.

    TikTok’s U.S. usage has surged dramatically, with over 21% of Americans now tuning in weekly. But what does it actually take to grow a brand into a TikTok sensation? We sit down with Neha Jogani Narang, former CMO of Roblox. Under her guidance, Roblox became one of TikTok’s largest brand presences in just two years! Before Roblox, Neha made her mark at Facebook (now Meta), where she transformed its F8 (now Connect) conference into a globally renowned tech event. In this episode, Neha dives deep into: - Disruptive Marketing: What does it mean? How did Neha use this technique to propel growth at TikTok and Facebook (Meta)? - What is Developer Marketing? Why are developers important to a tech company? Developers as influencers. - Company Events in Technology: Can only large companies host events/conferences? How to measure ROI? Founders/CEOs involvement at Company Events - Why is Risk-taking key to having an impactful career? - Requisite Infrastructure for a Modern Mom! :) Watch and learn! If you liked this episode and would like more content from us, please subscribe to the channel to get updates on what's new!

    36 min
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
3 Ratings

About

Learn Practical Tips About Company Building from the Top Leaders in Business & Technology.

Information

  • Creator
    Shreya Bakliwal
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2026
  • Episodes
    57
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Shreya Bakliwal
  • Show Website
    Humans Who Build