#StartupsEverywhere: George Holmes, PhD, Co-Founder and CEO, Hire Henry
This profile is part of #StartupsEverywhere, an ongoing series highlighting startup leaders in ecosystems across the country. This interview has been edited for length, content, and clarity.
Driving Progress with Autonomous Technology
Hire Henry is leading the charge in revolutionizing industrial operations with cutting-edge autonomous software and robotics. The company’s flagship product, a robotic lawn mower designed for industrial application including airports, city parks, and military bases, seeks to transform the relationship between industry and robotics. We heard from co-founder and CEO George Holmes, PhD about the role of AI and automation in new technology, the importance of government funding programs for startups, and the future of Hire Henry.
Tell us about your background. What led you to Hire Henry?
I attended The Missouri University of Science and Technology and studied mechanical engineering. My initial goal was to work in automotive engineering and I ended up interning with Honda. There, I saw firsthand how people worked alongside robots to work safely and more productively – this really sparked my interest in autonomy and robotics. When I was getting ready to graduate from undergrad, I got tapped by a professor to do a PhD in the medical robotics field and received a Department of Education GAANN fellowship. The GAANN fellowship offered graduate assistance for study in areas of national need, and in my case, mechatronics and robotics. I feel very strongly about first-generation talent going into deep STEM fields, taking technology and commercializing it. I am also very excited about how we can help founders in school be able to matriculate from academia into founding and leading technology startups that can grow in scale.
What is the work you all are doing at Hire Henry?
When we started the company, we conducted one of the largest technology and labor studies in the $150B commercial landscape industry, funded by the National Science Foundation I-CORPS program, traveling across the country interviewing management and laborers in the landscape industry to understand their current work and how robotics and automation could impact it in the future. That study was the impetus for our primary product, a robotic lawn mower for clients that are mowing large open spaces, like parks, airports, and alongside roadsides. We’ve deployed at international and regional airports, municipal parks, and along roadsides.
What role have government grant and startup investment programs played in building the company?
Programs designed to support innovation have been extraordinarily important. We’ve received a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant from the National Science Foundation and the Department of the Air Force, and we’ve received investment from the State Missouri’s VC fund. I wrote our SBIR proposal in the nascent days of our company, put together a team of professors and business professionals, and submitted it to the National Science Foundation. It was awarded, and that's how our Hire Henry started. The grant was the first outside dollars that we got into the company, and it enabled us to work full-time on building our product.
I personally take a deep amount of pride in attending a public research institution, Missouri University of Science and Technology is the premier STEM public research institution in the state of Missouri, for both my undergrad and my PhD. Our business was started with public dollars, with funding from a couple of VC firms, but also from the state of Missouri through the VC firm for the state. This support has been extraordinarily helpful and I feel a responsibility to use our resources in the most effective ways. I want to be a champion of positive change for the state of Missouri.
What should policymakers know about AI?
One of the things I want people to know is the potential of this technology to enable economic advancement – using robots to grow, scale, and start businesses. When we think about AI-powered robotic lawn mowers, we think about how to build our product to enable an ambitious 25-30 year-old to hire a few friends, and start a landscaping company that will grow and scale with a technology differentiation layer. The emphasis lies in educating young workers to be able to use robotics and AI to start and scale businesses.
Being from the State of Missouri, and our historical emphasis on manufacturing and agriculture, I am excited about the uses of artificial intelligence in these industries – and ensuring that Missouri is at present at the table during conversations on AI and automation. What I’ve noticed in my work, is that many Americans, and Midwesterns in particular, aren’t nearly as excited about the theoretical use cases of artificial intelligence as is often portrayed in the media – they want to see, in very real terms, how this technology can affect them and their families. As we’re in the community deploying Henry, people see the challenges and value of robotics and AI in real-time. That's when it becomes material. Also important to note, we’ve been committed to building our robots in the United States since the early days of our company, and in the long run, we’re hoping this will have an outsized impact on the American economy.
What are your goals for Hire Henry moving forward?
We were recently accepted into the Google for Startups Black Founders Fund. We’re using Google’s support to move faster product development, developing our AI model faster, safer, and more robust. Before, we were able to do a good job with the resources that we had available, generating revenue and getting folks excited and raising money. But with the Google Fund, multiply that by 10 over the next 12 months. We can now go to customers with a product that blows their mind, quite frankly, and that's what we're starting to see in the robotics space right now.
All of the information in this profile was accurate at the date and time of publication.
Engine works to ensure that policymakers look for insight from the startup ecosystem when they are considering programs and legislation that affect entrepreneurs. Together, our voice is louder and more effective. Many of our lawmakers do not have first-hand experience with the country's thriving startup ecosystem, so it’s our job to amplify that perspective. To nominate a person, company, or organization to be featured in our #StartupsEverywhere series, email advocacy@engine.is.
