For years, startup investing was reserved for institutions, venture funds, and a small group of accredited investors. Sherwood Neiss (Woodie) helped change that.

As one of the architects behind investment crowdfunding, Managing Partner of D3VC, and author of Investomers, Woodie joins The Morning P!ng to discuss how ownership is evolving and why companies that turn customers into investors may have an advantage that traditional businesses cannot replicate.

Neiss shares the story behind helping shape the crowdfunding legislation that opened the door for everyday investors, explains how D3VC evaluates opportunities using data and predictive signals, and discusses what stood out about p!ng as an investment.

Alongside Rob Whitten and Jane Lo, the conversation explores how customer-investors become advocates, advisors, franchise prospects, and long-term supporters. They discuss why community ownership creates stronger businesses, what founders often misunderstand about crowdfunding, and why excellence in customer experience remains one of p!ng's biggest competitive advantages.

Whether you're a founder, investor, entrepreneur, or simply curious about where startup finance is headed next, this episode offers an inside look at a model that is changing who gets to participate in building companies.

Cut the line and get straight to the numbers! This week on The Morning p!ng, we're joined by Mike Ogasapian, a "triple threat" who’s all-in on p!ng: he’s an investor, a future franchisee, AND a commercial real estate broker. 

Mike breaks down the crushing real estate economics that traditional coffee shops face, think massive land costs and high labor, and reveals how p!ng’s hyper-efficient pod model flips the script.

Mike explains how p!ng pods, requiring only 10-14 parking spaces, dramatically lower the cost of doing business, making ownership accessible for entrepreneurs (not just the wealthy) and creating a new monetization strategy for landlords with vacant parking lots. 

Plus, he gives his first public, five-star endorsement of the coffee itself!

Tune in to discover:

• How p!ng’s low-overhead business model (Robotics-as-a-Service) creates a "turnkey" path to passive cash flow for franchisees.

• The surprising commercial real estate vacancy rate that p!ng pods are helping to solve in urban areas.

• Why the convenience of zero-wait automation is the ultimate solution for people on the road, from truck drivers to gig economy workers.

Mike just laid out the real numbers on why traditional coffee shops are toast, and how p!ng is the blueprint for low-cost, high-profit franchising. Hit play to get the full financial breakdown on how to start making money with parking spaces instead of paying $15,000 a month for land!

In this crossover episode of The Morning P!ng, Ping co-founders Rob Whitten and Jane Lo sit down with Hiten Sonpal, CEO of RISE Robotics, to pull back the curtain on the founder-investor relationship. 

Hiten breaks down his personal investment thesis: the critical "3 Ts" (Team, TAM, and Traction) that made him support p!ng. Rob and Jane reveal why they put their money into RISE (it’s all about crushing antiquated systems, from coffee drive-thrus to the $750 billion hydraulic market). 

The conversation gets real on startup resilience, the power of healthy conflict, and how they navigate massive crowdfunding campaigns on Wefunder. 

Tune in for master-level strategy on scaling, culture, and learning to love being wrong!

Want to join the movement!? You can explore the community investment opportunities for both P!NG and RISE Robotics on Wefunder.

Tired of the drive-thru line eating up your morning? According to the team at p!ng⁠ , it is not bad luck... it is a broken system.

This week on The Morning P!NG podcast⁠, founders Jane Lo and Rob Whitten are joined by new CTO Rory MacKean⁠, a robotics engineer and startup builder with a background spanning factory automation, autonomous mobile robots, agricultural robotics, and consumer robotics startups.

Rory breaks down why traditional drive-thrus create what he calls a “queuing nightmare,” and how p!ng is approaching the problem from a completely different angle by designing an autonomous coffee experience from the ground up.

The conversation dives into the real-world chaos of automation, including multi-order vehicles, connectivity issues, operational logistics, and why building directly in front of real customers has become one of p!ng’s biggest advantages.

They also discuss an unexpected lesson learned along the way: even in an autonomous future, the friendly site host still matters.

If you want a behind-the-scenes look at what it actually takes to build autonomous retail technology in the real world, this is an episode you do not want to miss.

The 120-Square-Foot Land Grab: How Robotics is Cracking the Real Estate Code

Forget everything you know about drive-thrus. This week, we're dissecting the game-changer that is p!ng's coffee pod. 

Commercial real estate legends Jim Sylvia (JSylvia Advisory Services) and Louis Cirignano The Synergy Group join the p!ng founders to talk about how a 120 sq. ft. autonomous coffee pod, with no water or sewer hookups, is unlocking massive, untapped revenue in "dead space" parking lots.

You'll learn why this "Lego Block" of retail is solving traditional drive-thru zoning nightmares, beating Starbucks' 18-month build times, and setting the precedent for a new, profitable class of micro-franchising. 

If you own commercial property or think the future of retail is broken, you need to hear this conversation about the coming shift in the last 50 feet of development!

Learn more about p!ng!

In the coffee world, keeping a customer is the hardest part. So, what do you do when 67% of your customers keep coming back?

Host Justin Starbird and p!ng CEO Rob Witten are joined by Jon Kelley, an EMT, one of p!ng’s first customers, and a highly passionate investor. Jon, a lifelong New Englander who grew up surrounded by Dunkin’, breaks down exactly how p!ng’s robotic pod turned his one-time curiosity into a daily habit.

It’s more than just speed. It’s the "no-friction" lifestyle. Hear Jon talk about:

• The moment he realized the "Blue Energy Drink" was better than a burnt cup from the shop down the street.

• The tech that ensures your drink is made right before you arrive, thanks to the app's geofencing.

• Why the consistency and quality of the robotic drink beats a human barista (even on overnights and holidays).

• How his conviction led him to literally show up with a check and inspire p!ng’s crowdfunding round.

This episode shows exactly what product-market fit looks like in the real world, and how a great customer experience becomes the foundation for real scale.

Investing in the Drive-Thru of Tomorrow

Justin Starbird is joined by p!ng co-founders Jane Lo and Rob Whitten, along with their lead investor, Haley Bryant from Hustle Fund, to get the unfiltered story of how they met. Haley breaks down the Hustle Fund thesis, why they bet on a team's execution, not just the "spicy pitch deck," and how Rob and Jane's ability to "come back with hardware in less than a year" was the ultimate signal.

You'll hear the team discuss:

• The Power of EQ: Why Hustle Fund prioritizes founders with high emotional intelligence and "kindness" who are in it for the long, 20-year journey.

• The Next Chapter: The clear, aggressive milestones the team is hitting, from providing a five-star customer experience with the first pod to redesigning for mass manufacturability so they can "crank out hundreds, even thousands" next.

• Democratizing Ownership: How p!ng's Wefunder campaign is strategically bringing early believers and customers into the fold, turning them into future licensees and marketers.

This conversation is a masterclass in founder-investor alignment, proving that sometimes, the only path to a "yes" is to simply go out and build the thing.

It’s the question everyone asks: "How are you ever going to beat the biggest name in coffee!?" 

And the answer from p!ng founders Jane Lo and Rob Whitten? We already are.

We're not playing the same game. While the competition is busy managing chaos, adding endless apps, confusing menus, and more clicks, p!ng has removed it. We took the 70-year-old drive-thru, tossed out the headaches, and built a robot-powered system that delivers the perfect cup. 

Every time.

In seconds.

The proof? Our pilot showed an impressive 67% repeat customer rate with ZERO rewards programs. It turns out when you make life easier, people show up!

If your coffee run is the most stressful part of your morning, this episode is a wake-up call!

Stop tolerating the line. Be a part of the future of coffee!

Get the full story and invest in our community round, open to the public: wefunder.com/ping

It’s the morning after the Super Bowl in New England. In Boston, spirits are mixed, and coffee is not optional.

Justin Starbird is back with p!ng CoFounders Jane Lo and Rob Whitten to talk about their community round and what it feels like to open the doors to everyday investors. They share why crowdfunding mattered from the start, what it’s been like to reconnect with friends and family you have not talked to in years, and how “smart money” often shows up with advice and introductions, not just dollars.

They also get real about what it takes to scale. The plan, the milestones, the risks, and the way they think about keeping investors in the loop as the pod network grows.

Then the conversation turns practical: Form C timing, the week-to-week rhythm of momentum, and the ongoing debate between paid ads and trusted newsletters.

Around here, we do not sugarcoat losses, but we do refuel fast. And if your day needs a reset, you’re in the right place.

Learn more at wefunder.com/ping.

In this special Morning p!ng Coffee Chat, we sit down with robotics pioneer Helen Greiner, Cofounder of iRobot, alongside longtime collaborator Chris Norman and Rob Whitten.

From the early PackBot days to the global success of Roomba, Helen shares what it really took to bring robots out of the lab and into everyday life. 

We talk about:

• Why most founders start with the wrong problem
• The 12-year road to product-market fit at iRobot
• Why robotics is harder than it looks
• The real future of humanoids (and why today isn’t the day)
• How robots can transform elderly care and daily life
• What startup founders consistently get wrong

We also reflect on the iRobot legacy, the products, the people, and the companies it inspired (Boston Dynamics, Kiva Systems, and beyond).

This episode is especially meaningful for us at p!ng, as we officially announce the public launch of our Wefunder community round.

If you care about robotics, startups, product-market fit, and building technology that actually improves daily life, this one’s for you.