Abstract

In 2007 Cory Kidd completed his PhD at MIT in humanrobot interaction and incorporated Intuitive Automata IA in Delaware Corys vision for IA was to apply his PhD research to develop social robotics to enhance human healthcare After moving its headquarters to Hong Kong in 2008 IA built a working prototype a robotic weightloss coach named Autom Positive feedback from beta testers and enthusiastic indications of interest from institutional healthcare were encouraging By the start of 2013 however Intuitive Automata had been operating for five years without bringing a product to market Potential investors wanted to see concrete evidence of Automs sales but IA could not manufacture products without funding

Learning Objectives

The Intuitive Automata case challenges the reader to think about and tackle startup management and innovation strategy issues The reader will learn How to make critical decisions faced by startups including decisions related to funding strategic direction and the team How to determine the space for innovation in a particular market How to execute a good strategy and build positive ROI