Features / If I Knew Then
If I Knew Then: Silas Adekunle
The founder and CEO of Reach Robotics, Silas Adekunle, launched the company with co-founders John Rees and Chris Beck while in his third year of studying robotics at UWE Bristol.
The company has gone from strength to strength, growing 124 per cent in less than a year, and has big global ambitions. Silas was named in Forbes’ 30 under 30 list for European tech in 2018.
How did you start out in business?
From a very young age, thanks to my parents, I’d been very interested in engineering, biology and all things STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths). When I moved to the UK from Nigeria, I joined an after-school robotics club which set my trajectory.
I could see how robotics could fuel the imagination of school kids and give a way into STEM to those students that might not have considered that path. I pitched it to The Prince’s Trust – an organisation in the UK that supports young entrepreneurs – and got funding to start teaching robotics in local schools.
By the time I got to the penultimate year of my studies at UWE, I realised that this idea had potential beyond the classrooms. I’d be pairing robotics with gaming as part of my teaching – but what if I could do the same in a new breed of consumer technology?
If you knew then what you know now, what mistakes might you have avoided?
Bad time management and useless meetings. As the company has grown, I’m forced to be more efficient with my time and I now realise just how much of my time could have been better spent.
What advice would you have given yourself when starting out?
The same advice I’ve lived by: “always put people first” and “time is your most valuable asset”.
If you knew then what you know now, would you still be sitting there?
It depends. I might have been too afraid of just how challenging it is, naivety is sometimes a blessing in disguise. On the other hand, yes, I would have done so many things more efficiently and moved faster.
What do you know now that you didn’t know then?
I’m still learning, but I’d say I know just a bit more now about running a business and managing a team.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve received so far?
From my father: create a great working environment that place people first and allow them to do their best work, the rest will fall into place.
Silas with John and Chris, co-founders of Reach Robotics
What is your business highlight?
Anonymously seeing someone experiencing our MekaMon robot for the first time, the way their eyes light up validates the years of hard work from the team.
What is your business low point?
A failed funding bid that we desperately needed in the early days.
What keeps you awake?
As a robotics consumer entertainment company, challenges come in many shapes and sizes, from manufacturing to firmware updates, so it’s never a dull day in the office. But I’m always at peace knowing there is a great team to handle any surprises.
What’s changed from when you started out?
From just an initial team of a handful of people with no budget, we’ve managed to secure investment and attract a great team of talented people. This means we have the resources to fully execute our vision.
What’s still on your to-do list?
Too many to count! Climb Kilimanjaro, see MekaMon in every home and every school, take my parents on an all-expenses paid safari holiday…
What’s next for you in business and personally?
We’ve just announced the launch of MekaMon v2 so it’s all hands on deck at the moment, but I’m really excited for people to see the advancements we’ve made.
Beyond that, we are constantly working to improve the user experience and, crucially, get this technology in the hands of more people.
Read more: Bristol robotics startup catches Apple’s eye
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