Willem-Jan Lamers - The journey of a robotic start-up

Willem-Jan Lamers started his first business when he was 13 years old. He invested all his savings in one of the first CD burners, and so an entrepreneur was born. “I have always loved technology”, Willem-Jan says smiling. “I grew up on a farm and was tearing apart and putting back together things at a young age.” Willem-Jan’s passion is building something from scratch while trying to do the impossible. “You need to follow your own path in life”, Willem-Jan says. After studying mechanical engineering at HTS Venlo and Automotive Engineering Science at TU Eindhoven, Willem-Jan started his career at a large truck manufacturer. “It started out as a really cool job. But unfortunately, due to the financial crisis, it became a drag which made me less and less motivated. When even the plants had to be removed due to budget cuts I decided to quit my job and follow my passion and start my own business. This was probably the single most important decision in my professional life.”

What has a toddler tricycle to do with a robotic start-up?

Willem-Jan Lamers takes us through the mood graph he experiences in his career as entrepreneur. From the age of 13 he is very much interested in technology and develops his entrepreneurial skills.

After a career at a large truck builder he decided to start his own business in the world of automation, robotics and logistics.

He shows us his mood graph, the visual timeline of his start-up, which actually looks like a bumpy roller coaster ride. It shows low points as well as highlights. From the invention of car’s sideway slip sensor to sensors for self-driving robots to feed animals. With the belief infrastructures in logistics environments could be better. Or even infrastructure free. Heading for the next generation sensors.

And all with the dedicated help of 2 assistens: his daughters. Using their toys to test his inventions.

A rollercoaster indeed. And that’s what makes the fun!