Startup Spotlight: Datch
Datch works with customers across the mining, energy, and manufacturing sectors and we’re excited to support them on the ATI Boeing Accelerator as they grow in the aerospace industry. Mark Fosdike, Founder and CEO of Datch, talks to us about bringing innovation into aerospace and shares his advice for remote hiring and finding the right investors for your business.
Explain your product in one sentence
Datch is a voice artificial intelligence (AI) for industry.
What problem is Datch solving in the aerospace industry?
We’re working with frontline teams in operations and maintenance to help streamline their daily processes. For example, a technician who typically spends anywhere between 30 minutes and 90 minutes per day on work order fulfillment can use voice during their jobs to reduce that to no more than 5 or 10 minutes.
Before Datch, you worked in aerospace across different roles. What makes you most excited about this industry?
I was lucky enough to study at Cranfield University and work in aircraft systems design and manufacturing before founding Datch. I’m super passionate about aerospace and have been always been impressed with the people, the machines, and the industry’s dedication to pushing boundaries. The 1920s through the 1970s in aerospace was an era of great innovation and risk-taking, and I’m excited that we’re seeing a new wave of risk-taking and innovation in the 2020s, with the likes of Boom, SpaceX, ZeroAvia, Joby, and Lilium (to name just a few!) pushing new boundaries.
“We’re flipping the old model on its head by solving first for the user experience of the workers and asking ‘How do we make your job easier?’ and using those answers to inform our product direction.”
What are some of the adoption challenges of voice assistant technology and how is Datch tackling these?
In more traditional industries, software has typically come to the factory floor as a management tool and a detriment to the workers. This is why change management is usually hard and, as a software supplier, we occasionally face skepticism from employees who have had bad experiences with software. So this is why we’re flipping the old model on its head by solving first for the user experience of the workers and asking, “How do we make your job easier?”, and using those answers to inform our product direction.
What made you choose San Francisco as your HQ?
The network effects, and geography. Even though there’s been impressive growth in the startup communities outside of the U.S., we knew that as a young, inexperienced startup building something really difficult to build, we wanted to be in a place surrounded by the talent, network, advice, and capital that is available in San Francisco. It’s also closer to New Zealand, where the other half of our company is.
You’ve recently raised $3.2M in seed funding. Do you have any advice for finding the right investors?
Be extremely disciplined in your search, target thesis-driven investors that align with your vision, and brace yourself for a lot of rejection while you hone your pitch and find the right people to work with. It’s all-consuming!
Datch is a global team that spans three continents. What is your biggest piece of advice for remote hiring?
Hiring is tough at the best of times. The most important thing to do is to ensure you know what you’re hiring for (e.g. culture, experience, grit), and take your time with multistage assessments if necessary. We’ve also done collaborative whiteboard sessions via Zoom that have been super insightful.
How has your experience at the ATI Boeing Accelerator been so far? What are some of the highlights?
Our experience so far has been fantastic. The corporate sponsors have been highly engaged, and the programme team has been incredibly supportive and helpful throughout the journey.
Greatest learning from your startup journey so far
After the product-market fit, hiring is the most important thing. Even if it takes you a total of 80 hours to find the right candidate, that’s nothing compared to the opportunity cost and time cost of hiring the wrong candidate.
If you weren’t building your startup, what would you be doing?
Probably building another startup. I’m afraid I’m past the point of no return!
Junaid Faruq, Head of Strategy and Development, joins the ATI Boeing Accelerator — 2021 Demo Day to share more about Datch and their next steps
Follow Datch on Twitter and LinkedIn to keep up with the global team as they continue to expand their voice technology capabilities.
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For more information about the programme, please contact the ATI Boeing Accelerator team:
Gabi Matic — gm@atiboeingaccelerator.com | linkedin.com/in/gabrielamatic
Wil Benton — wb@atiboeingaccelerator.com | linkedin.com/in/fatkidonfire
Ksenia Kurileva — kk@atiboeingaccelerator.com | linkedin.com/in/kseniakurileva
