Today's Entrepreneur: Pablo Abad-Manterola

As a graduate student, I received a grant from the National Science Foundation, which gave me the freedom to take a defunct and unfunded robot off a dust-covered shelf from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. I revived the robot and modified it to rappel off cliffs and traverse rocky terrain, which garnered the attention of Slashdot and eventually attracted the funding the robot needed to continue as an ongoing research project that will hopefully one day be sent to Mars.

Being a founder means being adept at multitasking between building, fundraising, recruiting, networking, accounting, and a never-ending flux of activities. Having so many different balls to juggle, entrepreneurship can be frustrating when you don’t get to spend more time on the one thing that ignited your desire to found a company in the first place. What sparked my passion to become an entrepreneur, and the most rewarding aspect of what I do, is when I show my product to new users and hear them say that they love what I’ve created.

The number one mistake entrepreneurs make is doing too many of the wrong things. As a founder, you have to say no, a lot. At the early stage, you have to laser in your focus on the two things that matter: product and growth.

1) Prioritization is critical. Set up daily short-term goals for yourself and always keep an eye on the larger longer-term goals.

2) Don’t make excuses. If there’s an obstacle in your path, you can go over, under, around, or straight through it. You are not allowed to make an excuse about what you can’t do any of those things.

3) Leverage your network. Building a community of friends and colleagues is crucial to success. If you do this well, you’ll always have someone there to support you when you need it most.

Pablo completed his BS in mechanical engineering at Stanford. He then went to Caltech to pursue his Masters and PhD in robotics/dynamics as a NSF fellow. At Exponent, he worked as a scientific consultant, conducting testing for large clients and testifying as an expert witness. He co-owns two patents and has intimate knowledge of the digital health space. He has deep expertise in both hardware and software, and he is passionate about bringing new technologies to healthcare. Pablo is the founder and CEO of Müvr Labs, a digital health startup, and he can often be found soldering circuits and programming in his home workshop.