Perry Cavender is the Manager of Shipping and Logistics at RoboKind. He spent several years in geospatial analysis and visual mapping for municipalities, and oil and gas companies before Richard brought him onto the RoboKind team. Now, Perry works to keep Milo in shape, provide the team with feedback on new features, and takes care of shipping issues for customers. On occasion, he will even play as a life coach and offer the team moral support.
“Working here I’m like, ‘okay we’re essentially doing intrinsic good for an under-serviced population.’ So I don’t feel bad about that when I go home.”
Growing pains of a small Startup
RoboKind might be a small company on the rise, but it has definitely gone through, and still is, some growing pains. Coordinating different departments to work together is certainly not an easy task, especially when problems arise. It is easy for teams to point fingers, but Perry and his team help to prevent this by acting as middlemen and provide common ground for everyone to work through a problem. Teamwork is essential for the company’s growth and continued improvements to Milo.
“Communication is always the hardest thing between departments and staff. Let’s stop immediately saying, ‘oh this is a software problem, or this is a hardware problem.’ Let’s kind of look in between.”
The Wow moment
There are tons of success stories about children with autism who have worked with Milo. The company has worked to compile video proof and testimonials to show the impact that Robots4Autism has had on the autism community. The stories also help to motivate the team and remind them of the good they are doing.
For Perry, the evidence isn’t just anecdotal, it is positive proof that they are on the right track. Seeing children who were non-verbal and had frequent meltdowns, become productive and active members in their schools and homes, keeps the fire lit. Stories like Cecilia, a 3rd grade student who had been kicked out of schools and suffered from constant meltdowns, jumped several grade levels and could self-regulate her responses after working with Milo for just three months.
“Just like seeing her light up and be super happy about it. It’s like, “this is working I think!” It’s cool to see it, just in general.”
Perry’s future plans
With the successful launch of Robots4STEM, a program that helps grades from 2nd to high school learn the basics of robotics and coding, RoboKind is working to establish a solid company structure to handle their growing customer base. Perry’s focus is with developing a pipeline for projects that’ll help keep the company organized for future endeavors.