Robot Balloon

R.I.P.

2012-2014

No– seriously... I'm resting in peace because running a company serving dozens of clients is a lot of work. Robot Balloon was an idea I came up with back in 2012, aimed at helping small businesses stay efficient by supporting them in digital marketing services. It was a great run and while it may seem counter-intuitive, from the outside looking in, to shut down a thriving business with a sustainable growth-curve, my philosophy has always been this: just because you can, doesn't mean you should. In the end, I found that I can better serve God and my family (in this season of life), by working a nine to five and letting someone else worry about payroll, invoicing, marketing, etc.

What the deuce does 'Robot Balloon' mean?

When a business first launches, it is typically focused on a very simple idea: I build sprockets; I can tune a piano; I can draw a killer Rebel Alliance logo on a latte. This idea is light and inspiring- much like a balloon filled with helium. Unfortunately, once one of these ideas is ready to take flight, a person find themselves distracted from their core skill or craft, needing to focus on other endeavors to get their business off the ground. That's right– before they can start the company, they have to make a whole slew of informed decisions which include:

• legal registration with the city, state, and US government (should I be a sole-proprietorship, partnership, or something more complicated?)
• corporate identity through logo and branding (do I bid out a logo at 99designs or work locally with an artist?)
• Digital presence through a website (but which platform? Squarespace? Wordpress?)

But that's just the beginning. Then they must learn about taxes, payroll, accounting, and contracts, just to name a few other necessities. If you're exhausted thinking through how time consuming all of this is, then you're starting to realistically see how clunky a business can be from the start. It's only uphill from here.

"A robotic balloon is a bad idea"

A new business owner often has to learn all this additional information and add it to their original idea (the balloon), making their business clunky- but the irony of it all is that a balloon flies high because it is light. It doesn't need a motor or artificial intelligence or a mechanical arm. A robotic balloon is a bad idea. The goal of our company was to take the robot out of peoples businesses and help them reach new heights.