Ep146 – Federico Collarte (Co-founder & CEO – Baraja) on building the future of autonomous vehicles

The Startup Playbook PodcastInsights and lessons from the world's best entrepreneurs and investors Twitter Facebook YouTube Instagram Ep146 – Federico Collarte (Co-founder & CEO – Baraja) on building the future of autonomous vehicles April 22, 2021 rohitbhargava Podcast My guest for Ep146 of The Startup Playbook Podcast was the Co-founder & CEO of Barja, Federico Collarte. Baraja are the creators of the Spectrum Scan LiDAR technology, which simply put,  enables autonomous vehicles to “see” the road via lasers. Their pioneering technology completely rethinks environment scanning for autonomous vehicles, by exploiting the wavelength properties of light to steer lasers through a prism in order to better detect objects at range. To date, Baraja has raised $63.9M led by funds such as Blackbird and Main Sequence Ventures. In this episode we covered a range of topics including: The importance of being contrarian (and right!)Balancing long term vision with short term executionThe challenges and opportunities that come from building a market from scratchHow Baraja got investment for a deep tech business at a very early prototype stage& much more! Time Stamps  2.34 – The focus of Federicos’ company Baraja – LiDAR technology3.24 – Federico’s background, why and how he started Baraja 14.34 – Building an idea and business with conviction18.45 – How Federico got from Blackbird and the importance of a personal connection and experiencing the product when partnering with a VC22.28 – The challenges of hiring staff in a new industry 27.09 – The pros and cons of building a startup in Australia31.09 – What Federico and Baraja look for when hiring talent34.22 – Building and maintaining culture in a growing organisation37.30 – The power of bringing well known and respected people into the company40.19 –  The importance of understanding your customers needs early in the development journey43.47 – The long term systems worth investing in especially in the early stages of launching the business45.53 – The importance of long-term contact and interaction with both the customers and the product 48.32 – What’s next for the Baraja following a $40M funding round50.30 – How you can get in contact with Federico and find out more information about Baraja  Links Mentioned:  Federico’s Link: Federico Collarte Linked In Baraja Baraja Careers People Mentioned: Cibby Pulikkaseril  (Co-Founder + CTO)Rick Baker (Blackbird)Sam Wong (Blackbird) Niki Scevak (Blackbird) Bill Bartee (Formerly Blackbird)Duncan Ross (Baraja Early Hire)Craig Barratt – (Board Member) Companies Mentioned: Blackbird  Main Sequence VenturesZoox Cochlear Special Thanks: Special thanks to Cibby Pulikkaseril, Duncan Ross and Rick Baker for their help with research for this interview ? . Feedback/connect/say hello: [email protected]@RohitBhargava7 (Twitter)/rohbhargava (LinkedIn)@rohit_bhargava (Instagram)My Youtube Channel Credits: Music: Joakim Karud – Dreams Other channels: Don’t have iTunes? The podcast is also available on Spotify, Soundcloud & Stitcher Audio Player. https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/startupplaybook/Ep146_-_Federico_Collarte_Co-founder__CEO_-_Baraja_on_building_the_future_of_autonomous_vehicles.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | Download | EmbedSubscribe: RSS admin January 1, 2014 Reply Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat admin January 1, 2014 Reply Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. 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