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Simone Giertz on Her Robots and Returning to Work After Brain Surgery

Simone Giertz on Her Robots and Returning to Work After Brain Surgery

19 segments available

Simone Giertz describes herself as a maker/robotics enthusiast/non-engineer. She’s also known as the Queen of Shitty Robots. She runs a YouTube channel about those robots and is a cohost on Tested with Adam Savage from MythBusters. https://www.youtube.com/simonegiertz https://twitter.com/SimoneGiertz https://www.patreon.com/simonegiertz Tested with Adam Savage - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCiDJtJKMICpb9B1qf7qjEOA The YC Podcast is hosted by Craig Cannon. https://twitter.com/craigcannon Y Combinator invests a small amount of money ($150k) in a large number of startups (recently 200), twice a year. Learn more about YC and apply for funding here: https://www.ycombinator.com/apply/ *** Topics 00:00 - Intro 1:10 - "Whatever feeds the ego kills the soul." 3:50 - Maintaining passion for your work 6:45 - Building a sustainable business as a creator 8:30 - Shipping a real product - The Every Day Calendar 17:30 - Being scared to step away 19:00 - Generating ideas 20:15 - Finding out she had a brain tumor, having surgery, and sharing it 25:30 - Returning to work after brain surgery 27:30 - Learnings from taking time off 28:30 - Asking for help 30:00 - Evaluating how she's spending her time 31:45 - Giving herself permission to try other things 33:50 - Challenges as a creator and entrepreneur 35:30 - Not feeling guilty about play and pursuing the things you enjoy 40:30 - Becoming less disciplined in certain areas over time 42:15 - Ali asks - How to get started when dealing with imposters syndrome? 42:35 - beep boop asks - What's your favorite robot? 43:15 - Beste asks - Are there any moments where she is bored and feels like giving up on creating new things? 44:25 - Khawar Shehzad asks - What thing do you wish you knew when you started your career? 45:35 - Olaf Doschke asks - What would have happened if Simone's toothbrush helmet wouldn't have gone viral? 48:05 - Johnathan Nader asks - What is the best version of yourself?

Segments Timeline

1
0:00 - 1:10
1:09 duration217 words

The Queen of Shitty Robots

Simone Giertz introduces herself as the self-proclaimed 'Queen of Shitty Robots,' sharing her journey from YouTube creator to entrepreneur. She reflects on how her unique title emerged from the internet and her humble beginnings in robotics, setting the stage for her creative endeavors.

"all right Simone yecch welcome to the podcast hey thanks for having me how you doing I'm I'm great I'm really excited to like be invited to Y Combinator I've followed you for a very long time and I'm ..."

2
1:10 - 3:50
2:40 duration548 words

Ego vs. Soul: A Balancing Act

Simone discusses a quote from her mother: 'Whatever feeds the ego kills the soul.' She explores the challenges of maintaining passion in a job that can inflate one's ego, emphasizing the importance of staying grounded and loving the work you do.

"says according to you whatever feeds the ego kills the soul yeah and I thought that was hilarious given your occupation at the moment yeah in her occupation to like she's a TV host back in Sweden and ..."

3
3:50 - 6:45
2:55 duration566 words

Sustaining Passion as a Creator

Simone shares her strategies for maintaining passion in her work as a creator. She highlights the importance of setting boundaries and avoiding a rigid upload schedule, allowing her to explore diverse content without feeling pigeonholed.

"like having a build YouTube channel was just like okay this is perfect okay and now how do you keep that like passion for it going because like what we were talking about before is it can be a real gr..."

4
6:45 - 8:30
1:45 duration334 words

Shipping a Real Product: The Every Day Calendar

Simone talks about her experience in product design and the challenges of shipping a fully developed product. She reflects on her journey from creating 'shitty robots' to launching a serious product, the Every Day Calendar, and the vulnerabilities that come with it.

"these platforms establishing yourself as an entrepreneur like how do you think about like planning for the future what do you do I mean for me it was very early like really trying to keep things flexi..."

5
8:30 - 17:30
9:00 duration1721 words

Facing Fears and Taking Breaks

Simone opens up about her fears of stepping away from her work and the importance of taking breaks. She discusses her experience with brain surgery and how it influenced her perspective on work and creativity.

"perhaps like anxieties around actually shipping like a fully fledged beautiful product like you demoed on Kickstarter right yeah and so how did you how did you cross that bridge so I mean but mostly o..."

6
17:30 - 19:00
1:30 duration294 words

Generating Ideas: The Creative Process

In this segment, Simone shares her approach to generating ideas for her projects. She emphasizes the importance of allowing creativity to flow without constraints, which has led to her diverse range of content.

"before and even earlier when you were like I think about like a gift first when I make a video I think that's so smart like I think a lot of people are just like I'm gonna be a youtuber yeah and I'm j..."

7
19:00 - 25:30
6:30 duration1193 words

The Journey Back: Returning to Work After Surgery

Simone discusses her return to work after brain surgery, reflecting on the challenges and learnings from her time off. She emphasizes the importance of self-care and the support she received during her recovery.

"what is something I struggle with yeah and it was like waking up in the morning and it's like what's like the craziest solution or like a really weird kind of out there solution you could do to solve ..."

8
25:30 - 28:30
3:00 duration555 words

The Power of Asking for Help

Simone highlights the significance of asking for help, especially during tough times. She shares her experiences and the lessons learned about vulnerability and support from others.

"like starting again or like because you seem to like jump right back into it yeah a little bit too fast I think okay yeah which is cuz you're just like I mean when you're you kind of at least for me I..."

9
28:30 - 30:00
1:30 duration264 words

Evaluating Time: How to Spend It Wisely

In this segment, Simone reflects on how she evaluates her time and the importance of prioritizing activities that bring joy and fulfillment. She discusses the balance between work and personal interests.

"just asking for support and asking for help and I just amazing support and amazing friends and I'm really happy that I dare to ask people for help because it's very easy to kind of be like no I don't ..."

10
30:00 - 31:45
1:45 duration304 words

Permission to Explore: Trying New Things

Simone talks about giving herself permission to try new things and explore different interests. She emphasizes the importance of not feeling guilty about pursuing passions outside of her main work.

"went down I think yeah in in its having being faced with your own mortality is in some way a very healthy experience I think yeah because you're always I mean of course you know that you're gonna die ..."

11
31:45 - 33:50
2:05 duration353 words

Challenges of Being a Creator and Entrepreneur

Simone discusses the unique challenges she faces as a creator and entrepreneur. She shares insights on navigating the complexities of content creation while building a sustainable business.

"during that period yeah afterwards yeah afterwards I mean I think it was mostly it that was kind of the pivot point where I was like if I don't want to build or shitty robots that's okay or just feeli..."

12
33:50 - 35:30
1:40 duration286 words

The Guilt of Play: Embracing Enjoyment

In this segment, Simone reflects on the guilt often associated with play and pursuing enjoyable activities. She encourages embracing fun and creativity as essential components of a fulfilling life.

"and an entrepreneur you know it's like been I'm in like I be the big biggest challenge now is that I'm still dealing with a lot of health issues and trying to find good ways of pacing myself while yea..."

13
35:30 - 40:30
5:00 duration989 words

Evolving Discipline: Changes Over Time

Simone shares her thoughts on becoming less disciplined in certain areas over time. She discusses how her approach to work and creativity has evolved as she navigates her career.

"feel like we've been taught from a very young age that things that are important are supposed to be difficult and kind of boring and painful in some way like it all within there's a sense that like do..."

14
40:30 - 42:15
1:45 duration336 words

Overcoming Imposter Syndrome

Simone answers a question about dealing with imposter syndrome. She shares her experiences and strategies for overcoming self-doubt as a creator and entrepreneur.

"just kind of like do whatever no I it's kind of I feel like I've had the opposite development of a lot of other people because I used to be so disciplined when I was a teenager like I was so ambitious..."

15
42:15 - 42:35
0:20 duration45 words

Favorite Robot: A Fun Inquiry

Simone responds to a light-hearted question about her favorite robot. This segment showcases her playful side and love for robotics.

"you're too cool but her question is how do you get started when dealing with imposter syndrome understanding that everyone stuffers whether suffers from it and I think talking to other people about it..."

16
42:35 - 43:15
0:40 duration131 words

Moments of Boredom: Staying Inspired

Simone discusses whether there are moments when she feels bored or considers giving up on creating new things. She shares insights on staying inspired and motivated.

"beep-boop asks what's your favorite robot oh it changes a lot um let's say the lipstick robot okay that's the fun yeah there's also the most painful one I've ever filmed because I did a bunch of diffe..."

17
43:15 - 44:25
1:10 duration203 words

Lessons from Early Career: What She Wishes She Knew

Simone reflects on her early career and shares what she wishes she had known when starting out. This segment offers valuable insights for aspiring creators.

"little Easter Egg for anyone who's listening to this bestie asks are there any moments that when you feel bored and you feel like giving up on creating new things no I mean being bored is one of my be..."

18
44:25 - 45:35
1:10 duration203 words

The Viral Toothbrush Helmet: A Turning Point

Simone answers a question about the impact of her viral toothbrush helmet project. She reflects on how it changed her career trajectory and opened doors in the creative industry.

"what do you wish you knew when you started your career I wish I knew oh gosh I mean just to it's always I mean this is the advice I feel like I'm always giving myself and that I'm or like past self I'..."

19
45:35 - 48:05
2:30 duration483 words

Becoming the Best Version of Yourself

In the final segment, Simone discusses what it means to be the best version of oneself. She shares her thoughts on personal growth and the journey of self-improvement.

"dashiki asks what would have happened if your YouTube - if your toothbrush helmet wouldn't have gone viral would you still what would you have done I think I would have loved to I mean yet work with p..."