Patrick Koh
Jack Barrasas
Steven Wang
Brian Kent
Brian Schnell
Mason Jester
Case Western Reserve University - Weatherhead School of Management
Michael Goldberg
Megan Buchter
Doug DeGirolamo
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Trashbots' solution is to provide schools with low-cost robotics hardware that can be used over many years to educate many different age groups and learning levels. This allows schools with lower budgets to make less expensive one-time investments that can be used for many years to come. This in turn provides the opportunity of a quality education for more students. The alternative is typically huge investments in infrastructure, training, and power to be able to give students a STEM education.
Trashbots produces a learning platform for robotics and computer science education for students K-12. This platform comes in two parts: The physical Trashbot which is a robot that students can program actions into and the online learning curriculum which guides students through lessons on coding.
What makes the Trashbot special is that it can be used by a student over many years. The progression of difficulty comes from the complexity of the coding assignments in the online learning platform which means that schools do not have to constantly buy new hardware for the students to learn with.
The Trashbots have been designed with long-term use in mind and were iterated through many prototypes before landing on the resilient, child-proof design they have today. The online learning platform also means that less training is required for teachers because they can rely on the resources on the Trashbots website. This allows schools with less budget and other resources to still have strong computer science and robotics programs without a high initial investment.
Two Trashbots facing off
The inspiration for Trashbots came about when the founders, Rohit and Sidharth Srinivasan, spent time volunteering as teachers for orphanages in India. During this experience, the founders saw a common issue; schools were lacking proper resources to teach their students STEM courses. Although there were robotics kits available for purchase online, Rohit explained that "a lot of the US tools were expensive, so we decided to build basic robotics kits that we could send to them, so that they could teach these technical skills". As Rohit and Sidharth looked more into the issue they initially encountered in India, they realized it was a global problem that could be seen right at home.
Ultimately, the motivation behind Trashbots is rooted in a desire to democratize STEM educational resources for those who would otherwise not have access to such materials.
By using a system of constantly updating and evolving the online coursework while utilizing the same physical robot, Trashbots was able to position itself as a business that is viable for many audiences. Their Trashbot kit is affordable and can be used in almost any classroom in any country because it doesn’t require a lot of infrastructure. As a result, they are able to target a large audience of customers and constantly look to expand their reach. As of now, they are only operating in the United States but hope to expand globally and perhaps reach the same orphanages and kids that inspired them to start Trashbots in the first place. Their business model is also simplified on the back end. Other than the small robots that each student receives, the business requires very little physical inventory. Instead, they can devote their focus to improving the online learning platform.
While being able to reach a typically untouched market is good for business, more importantly Trashbots grants more widespread access to education. Trashbots is able to provide a STEM and block-programming course without requiring a constant source of power and extensive training for teachers. As a result, the innovation provides quality education to underprivileged students and helps address gaps in education.
Trashbots’ aspirations to positively affect society also align with positive business practices. They would “[pick] a couple of non-profits” and when people bought their buy-one-get-one Trashbot kits, they would “donate another one”. Trashbots was able to expand its customer base while engaging in philanthropy as well. Although the buy-one-get-one was only a temporary promotion, it shows that Trashbots is consistently looking for ways to expand their social impact while maintaining good business fundamentals.
The business does not directly seek to positively impact the environment, it does minimize its negative repercussions. Trashbots asks students to use various household items along with the robots to complete their tasks rather than shipping additional parts. This reduces the number of unnecessary components in their kits and minimizes their waste production over time.
In the short term, Trashbots has been able to rapidly expand within the Midwestern United States. They have quickly found a home in schools due to its extremely flexible audience, having courses for both novice and advanced students, and a model that requires little infrastructure to be implemented. In the long term, Trashbots looks to be an extremely scalable business that will hopefully be able to become a part of classrooms globally. Because their coursework is also being constantly updated and new material can be created at any time, it also seems to be a business that has the potential to sustain itself and continue to be relevant over a long period. The impact of this business can be measured most clearly by the number of schools and students that are taking the courses. Trashbots is currently in use in 51 schools, with 29 schools being added this January. By the end of Q2, Trashbots also “hope to have about 3,000 students on the platform”.
As mentioned previously, Trashbots has been able to tap into an under served market in the STEM education space. This has allowed them to rapidly grow and raise $500,000 of funding in a seed round. The growth and funding have allowed Trashbots to hire a small team and work with several advisors as they look to continue reaching new students. Recently, Trashbots shipped out its largest order to date of 1,600 units to a single school district. Their online platform ensures that schools will continue working with them to the mutual benefit of both parties.
The societal benefit of Trashbots is improving access to STEM education. Trashbots provides affordable robotics education which makes STEM education more available to people in underprivileged areas. This ties into UN Global Goal number 4 which is quality education. Providing better education also has the secondary effects of allowing people to find better jobs which tie into UN Goals 8 and 10 which are good jobs and economic growth and reduced inequalities respectively. As of now, they mainly have found traction in the Midwestern United States. They hope to continue expanding across the country and across the globe in order to provide low-cost STEM education wherever it is needed.
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Rohit Srinivasan, Founder
