We are publishing an interview of Mr. Amol Gulhane, Director and CEO, Robolab – A Pune based robotics startup which is redefining the technology education sector.
About the founders:
Amol Gulhane – (Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer)
A roboticist by himself has deep experience of designing and manufacturing complex and task specific industrial robots. Has a profound knowledge of educational and defense robots and is specialized in digital image processing, embedded programming, design analysis and optimization. With his entrepreneurial, management and technical skills, he plays an important role in shaping a great technology company.
Pratik Pravin Deshmukh – (Co-Founder and Vice President-Sales)
His right mix of technology and business skills forms a unique blend and comes in as a great positive feature to an innovative company. He has earned experience in technology consulting & solutions in the area of business analytics, analysis and consulting space. He is well versed in executing technology projects and has deep knowledge on various industry methodologies. He comes with unique ideas of working with large corporations majorly in the space of sales & marketing domains. With business development background and technical education, he has a fitting understanding on extensive areas of sciences.
After being graduated from the prestigious College of Engineering Pune (COEP), Amol Gulhane could have easily taken a high-paying job and settled down with the luxurious standard of living. But what he did instead, along with Pratik Deshmukh is fascinating as well as respectable. A robotics enthusiast by nature, Amol saw the growing hunger for change in the traditional educational system which had very little focus on the ever-growing industry. And out of their rigorous efforts aimed to transform the educational facilities in the country, Robolab Technologies came into existence in association with BHAU Institute of Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Leadership (BIEL), the Incubation center of the College of Engineering Pune (COEP) with a sole purpose of taking technology to masses.
Robolab was officially incorporated on 13th September 2013, but they had already started working on the business model and plan in May 2013. For almost 5 months, Robolab team met several institutions in and around the region, but they got rejected for not having prior experience in the professional career. But they did not lose hope, instead, they left their comfort zone and started approaching early majority institutions all over India with the solutions. The pool was large, but it needed them to target somewhere and thus, they chose Andhra Pradesh and began approaching Professors and HoD’s of top colleges. And within 2 months of starting this exercise, they succeeded in breaking the ice. They got their first order from the Guru Nanak Institutions Hyderabad. What they needed was necessary momentum and that’s what the first order gave them. Since then, they have never looked back not for a second, and within a short period of 3 years, Robolab has reached 14 key institutions spread across 7 states in India.
What is the problem you are trying to solve?
– Very limited of scope for innovations during education.
– Students are not at par with industry needs.
– Less research work.
– No facility available to actively participate or boost co-curricular activities through which institution can get popularity.
– Entrepreneurship spirit.
We are trying to solve the above by providing a perfect platform for students to try and implement their ideas and convert to viable products.
What is the uniqueness about your Startup?
Robolab as an organisation acts as a perfect amalgamation for Hardware, Software, AI, Robotics, Automations and latest technologies which is very rare to see. With the kind of talented workforce that we are having, we can disrupt any particular industry we put our eyes on.
We have developed a complete package for Robolab consisting of study robots, research robotic platform, tools & equipments, mechanical & electronics robot building material and experiment sets. Once the order is placed we conduct a site survey according to which a 3D model of the Robolab to be established is prepared and submitted to the institute. We aim to complete the order in a brisk period of 30 days after receiving purchase order followed by lecture series. A 42 hour training session spread over two weeks is where the magic happens. We walk that extra mile to make our customers totally satisfied with our services. We keep doing research so that clients can get the best value for their money and remarkable experience.
What is the revenue model?
Establishing Robolab and MoU with Institutions.
Who are the consumers that you are targeting?
With so many educational institutions coming into existence day by day, the quest for providing quality education to the students is rampant. Our service provides this technical edge to these institutes. A long sighted institution will surely know and realize the value of such an investment and its advantages for the future batches.
What is the big picture of your startup?
India has nearly 4000 engineering colleges and out of them not even more than 40 i.e. 1% have well established robotics laboratories. The market size is thus very large.
There are nearly 2,00,000 Middle high school in India which are privately operated. Our Robolab model for school is economical and attractive as we provide curricular material with it. K12 schools with CBSE and ICSE pattern is our main focus in school robotics business as they are open & receptive to new and competitive technologies.
We want to bring up the not so well established institutions to the technological equity with the well established ones. The students are like wet clay. We give them right shape and make future innovators with our service and guidance. Thus bringing about the overall development of the students, institutions and India itself.
What is the success story of your startup in your own words?
The team behind Robolab including their mentors and family members have stood by Robolab during the tough times. The most important part of the company is the customers and your team. Both work hand in hand. You have to maintain a perfect balance between your customers as well as your team, and Robolab does it with pride.
“Being in a startup requires you to be Jack of All. You must be adaptable according to the need of the organization. You must be shapeless, formless, like water. When you pour water in a cup, it becomes the cup. When you pour water in a bottle, it becomes the bottle. When you pour water in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Water can drip and it can crash. Become like water my friend,” advises Amol to the young entrepreneurs.
Upcoming period will see Robolab diversifying to different market segments, bringing out the innovations and products from the institutions to the market, and at least a 10 fold rise in the number of institutions Robolab is associated with. Increasing presence of automation around the globe is calling Robolab for the good times ahead.
The day we see the students make their own devices and modules for their day-to-day activities. Let the tinkering spirit blossom.
Any other information about your startup that you would like to share with us.
Sure. Here are more details about our achievements:
- StartUp of the Year Under Future Education category at World StartUp Expo 2016 , Bengaluru.
- Winner of the HOT100 Startup Award by CORE.
- Featured in Top50 Ed-Startups in India that will redefine the education system by SCOONEWS media.
- Featured in Top25 Tech Companies in India by Insights Success Media.
Thanks Mr. Amol. Best of luck!
More details about this Pune based robotics startup can be checked from their website www.robolab.in
