Ollie and Darkside
Sphero, Senior Vice President of Global GTM & Product
Backed by Foundry Group, Mercato Partners, The Walt Disney Group, Techstars Class of 2010
I became part of the executive team at Orbotix, creators of Sphero, following their graduation from the Techstars Class of 2010.
Ollie emerged as Sphero's second product about 2 years later as we expanded the line of programmable robots. Originally, Sphero stood out by offering over 30+ free apps and games as a part of its purchase, alongside an open-source platform for coding, enabling users from 8 to 80 to craft their own interactive experiences for Sphero.
Before launching Ollie, we noticed its remarkable speed, executing flips and rolls with ease when navigating sharp turns, adding an element of excitement and unpredictability. For Ollie's pre-sale, we introduced a customization feature, allowing users to personalize their Ollie similar to customizing a Nike sneaker, choosing badges, bodies, tires, and whimsical add-ons, lending Ollie a unique personality.
This customization sparked the concept of introducing Ollie's arch-rival, Darkside - a sinister, black and red variant. Despite sharing the same internal tech, Darkside's design and $150 price point set it apart from its $129 counterpart. In the app, we designed an algorithm enabling Darkside to move with enhanced speed and aggression, albeit with a twist where it could unpredictably rebel, a feature that fascinated the kids by offering them control, yet not absolute, over their Darkside, adding a layer of interaction and narrative to the robots.
Our marketing narratives played on the rivalry between these characters, highlighting their competition in speed, acrobatics, and daring maneuvers.
* fintech
* ecommerce
* zero to one
(2) IPOs
* founder
* AI
* robots
* future-of-retail
* fundraising
* product-market-fit
* go-to-market
* angel investor
* brand builder
* consumer tech
* software
* hardware
* games
* apps
* global
* leadership
* sales & marketing
* drones
* payments
* text to pay
* conversational commerce
* los angeles
* fintech * ecommerce * zero to one (2) IPOs * founder * AI * robots * future-of-retail * fundraising * product-market-fit * go-to-market * angel investor * brand builder * consumer tech * software * hardware * games * apps * global * leadership * sales & marketing * drones * payments * text to pay * conversational commerce * los angeles