Customer spotlight: Cardinal Robotics

For Anand Lalwani, CEO and co-founder of Cardinal Robotics, the question that drives his company’s mission is deceptively simple:

How do we make the lives of these janitors a little bit better?

Previously having built and exited two successful startups, Anand was left wanting to pursue a venture that inspired him and had an impact. Things started to come into focus during the COVID-19 pandemic, when frontline workers, particularly janitorial staff, faced unprecedented challenges. 

For Anand, the chance to solve their pain points was exactly the inspiring, impactful opportunity he had been looking for all along.

The mission 

Cardinal Robotics enables large enterprises to adopt, deploy, and maintain a fleet of robots to help remove the burden from frontline janitors. For Anand, it’s not only about giving janitors the tools to make their jobs easier but also about upskilling staff and instilling a sense of pride in their work. 

One of the most consequential decisions Anand made early on was not to take institutional VC money to help scale Cardinal. 

"My co-founder asked me, ‘If it took the same amount of time, work, and effort to raise a few million dollars and you channel that to getting customers, do you think we can make that much in revenue?’” said Anand. 

For him, the answer was simple: "Yes." But his co-founder doubled down: “Would you enjoy the process?’” “Hell yes,” replied Anand. 

While they do have investments from private equity and angels, the decision to avoid venture capital has allowed them to focus solely on scaling the business, not hunting down funding. In the end, betting on themselves paid off: Cardinal Robotics reached profitability within its first year. 

Hands-on, not hands-off 

One of the most critical lessons Anand learned from his alma mater, Stanford University, is to do the job you want to automate. But even as he transitioned into his third venture, he never lost sight of that guidance.

“Every quarter, the entire executive team, we pick up a mop and broom," said Anand.

You need to stay true to what you're doing. You need to do the job yourself before you even begin to automate it.

For the Cardinal Robotics team, this hands-on approach allows them to truly understand their audience and the pain points they’re feeling. The goal isn’t to replace these janitors with robots but rather to help them do better work without the strain that the work can often bring. 

"Let's take your existing workforce. Let's train them. Let's upskill them. On us, we will pay for all of it," Anand said. 

Making a real difference 

One of the most rewarding aspects for Anand is seeing the pride the janitors they train feel with Cardinal’s tools.

"My proudest moment in my company was, I just spent a week training a particular lady called Veronica. I saw her towards the end of the hallway, FaceTiming her daughter, saying, 'Look how cool mom is. Look what I can do with this robot.'"

To him, the ability to provide these essential workers, who have typically been shunned and shamed by society, pride in their work is incredibly validating. 

That is why we are building Cardinal. And that is why I wake up every day to pursue doing this.

Check out Anand's full story to see how Cardinal Robotics is making a difference for janitors.

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