7-Minute Electric Flights

Brett Adcock is building Figr, a company developing humanoid robots to address the global labor shortage by automating physical labor tasks. The robots are designed to work in commercial settings like warehouses and manufacturing facilities.

Key Points:

• Market Opportunity:

  • Target market is human labor, which represents half of global GDP (~$35-40T annually)
  • Severe labor shortage in physical work environments
    • 15% daily employee no-show rates
    • 2-3% weekly attrition
    • 50-150% annual turnover
    • Harsh working conditions (temperature, physical demands)

• Product:

  • Humanoid robots with:
    • Arms, legs, hands
    • Ability to perform human-like tasks
    • Designed to work in existing human-built environments
    • Focus on dexterous, human-like movements

• Business Model Options:

  • Robot-as-a-Service (RaaS):
    • Monthly fee structure
    • Lower upfront costs
    • Ongoing service relationship
  • Direct Sales:
    • Target price: Less than mid-priced car
    • 4-5 year depreciation timeline
    • Residential target: Several hundred dollars per month

• Market Validation:

  • Strong initial demand from large companies
  • Clients indicating willingness to "buy a million" if technology works
  • Easier scaling potential than autonomous vehicles
  • Fewer safety hurdles than self-driving cars

• Timeline:

  • 24 months: Robots in commercial applications with major brands
  • 5 years: Low volume commercial deployment
  • 10-15 years: Large-scale commercial deployment