Shaq, Partner at Lux Capital, talked to a top robotics founder about his business. What follows is a deep dive into platform strategy, defensibility, and value capture in general-purpose robotics. If you’re building a startup, this is a must-watch for understanding how top-tier VCs think.

VC

Shaquille Vayda, Partner at Lux Capital

https://www.linkedin.com/in/shaquillevayda/

https://www.luxcapital.com/

FOUNDER

Hoa Mai

Founder, Feather Robotics

https://www.linkedin.com/in/whoishoa/

HELP WITH YOUR PITCH?

🤔 VCs not responding to you?

I’ll review your deck & send you a detailed video with my actionable recommendations:

Submit here: https://bit.ly/44z2vj8

TIMELINE

00:07:20 - The go-to-market insight: focus on third-party developers, not full-stack solutions.

00:12:50 - Shaq challenges the founder on value capture and defensibility of hardware.

00:19:35 - Founder lays out why they’re not worried about competition – it’s a supply bottleneck.

00:27:45 - Shaq’s breakdown: the 3 bullet points founders must convey in a pitch.

00:31:00 - Why great founders obsess over history, competition, and the entire value chain.