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For my son’s Christmas present last year I made him a pair of heart-rate monitoring earrings with…
Talks about heart-rate monitoring earrings, electronic jewelry and pulsing LED display
RD
Rob Dobson
Founder of DevicePilot
Edinburgh, Scotland
Overview
Rob Dobson is a serial entrepreneur and investor based in Edinburgh, Scotland, with notable roles including Chair at Robotical, Chairman at Wootzano, and Chairman and Co-founder at DevicePilot. He has invested in various companies like Robotical, Mallzee, and DevicePilot, showcasing a strong track record in seed and pre-seed investments in the tech and software development sectors.
Work Experience
Chair
2024 - Current
The experienced team at Infersens are solving a huge problem in the water industry relating to flow monitoring including the detection of flow for prevention of legionnaires disease. Their Cortense is simply attached to few centimetres of exposed water pipe close to an outlet and records and communicates flow and temperature information for over 3 years without any further access requirement. The company has deployed 1000s of units and is quickly scaling towards a huge market opportunity.
Chair
2017
I've been working with Robotical's fantastic team since 2017 and the business now has revenues approaching $1m and is close to profitability despite the huge shifts in educational spending that occurred during the Covid-affected years Almost 10,000 of Robotical's educational robots have now been sold and they have been used by over 100,000 students to help learn how computers process data and make decisions that can influence the real world. Marty, a lively walking and dancing robot, adds a fun twist to learning, engaging even the most technology-averse students with his creative costumes and funky dance moves. Marty is a Robot. A real-world walking and dancing robot. For teachers, there are plenty of resources like lesson plans and curriculum maps. After-school clubs can benefit from a vibrant community full of ideas. Parents can access guides and suggestions for activities, while kids have the chance to make Marty their own by programming his movements in Scratch and Python – whether it's dancing, acting out stories, navigating mazes, or simply exploring the world around him. Don't miss Marty's wiggle-dance https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtTVw8hmY
Investor
2018
Wootzano has created a flexible, touch-sensitive skin which has pressure-sensing resolution on a par with human fingers. Right now robots are hopelessly bad at real-world activities humans find easy, like picking up a cup of coffee or turning on a tap. Wootzano changes the game by giving robots the same kind of touch sensitivity humans enjoy.
Chairman at Wootzano
2022 - 2024
Wootzano is a world-leader in fruit-packing robotics.
Non Executive Director
2013
The single biggest reason that startups fail is poor cash management (I either dreamt this or read it on the internet - either way it is true - to quote David O'Doherty). Float aims to solve this problem! Float is a cashflow forecasting web application designed to help small business owners understand their cashflow better. It directly integrates with bank and tax information and helps businesses predict what their exact balance will be at the end of the month and a projection going forward over 12 months. Currently available with direct download integration with Xero, QuickBooks and Free Agent.
Investor
2016
Adimo takes ad clicks straight into the customer's shopping cart on their preferred retailer. By making internet ads shop-able they level the playing field for major brands who are being squeezed by retails wanting to promote own-brands.
Investor
2015
Access to hand-selected loans from approved peer-to-peer investment platforms
Investor
2013
Research Space is redefining the scientist's Lab Notebook as a cloud based, secure, robust, multiple access service. Building on the success of it's desktop eCats product which is used worldwide it has avoided the innovators dilemma by completely reinventing itself and its products.
Investor
2014 - 2024
QikServe - the waiter in your pocket. A simple way to order and pay at table.
Chairman and Co-founder
2013 - 2023
The Internet of Things (IoT) is all about scalability, and DevicePilot was founded by Pilgrim Beart (the inventor of Hive, now part of British Gas) with the goal of standardizing the management of IoT devices. The aim was to ensure these devices always perform as expected while handling tasks like battery replacement, device settings, and communication. However, the business struggled to gain enough commercial traction, largely because the IoT is not a single, standardized entity like the Internet. Instead, it consists of a vast array of devices and communication channels, with little to no commonality in design or implementation.
Investor and Founding Chairman
2009 - 2022
Singletrack announced a major investment from AKKR in July 2022 and is now embarking on another exciting chapter in their growth. Singletrack is the leading provider of cloud based CRM software for financial capital markets. With offices in London and New York, Singletrack's team of industry experts help investment banks, funds and research providers monitor, manage and plan all aspects of revenue generation. Leveraging AI technology is also helping to prioritise activity and demonstrate best-in-class performance management.
Education
BSc
1982 - 1985