The High Flyers Podcast with Vidit Agarwal
00:10:47 · Grace Brown
[00:10:47] S1: That's so funny. I didn't start skateboard. It was a really big part of my life just before Andromeda, actually. I didn't start until I was about 18. When I was younger, loved rollerblade. Like I said, I had lots of hobbies. I love playing piano. I played the flute. I played all sorts of sports. I loved swimming. I was also very competitive from a really young age. But, yeah, skateboarding, I started when I was about 18. It actually wasn't meant to be a hobby. I was living in Melbourne at the time, and, like, just going from area to area across campus seemed really inefficient to me, like walking from a to b. And so I got myself an electric skateboard just to get to classes faster and get to the grocery store faster. I didn't realize I didn't actually know how to ride a skateboard. And so when it came, I was like, oh, crap. I actually have to learn how to do this now. And I just fell in love with it as a hobby and as an activity. Yeah. And it just... I ended up building my own electric skateboard after that. So I joined, like, this hobbyist community that loved hacking and building things and doing a lot of different tricks on the skateboard. So we bought these, like, gloves, and they had pucks on them, and we'd slide around on the concrete. So that was a lot of fun. It was quite exhilarating. And I still love skateboarding today. I don't do it as often. But once I started the company, that's when my... The time that I'd spent skateboarding went down significantly. I'm so surprised that came up.
00:12:06 · Vidit Agarwal, Grace Brown
[00:12:06] S0: That did come up from a few people, so so clearly you've told them about it. Did you just say you built your own skateboard, your own electric skateboard? [00:12:14] S1: Yeah. Yeah. I built my own electric electric skateboard. I just... It was really [00:12:18] S0: that easy. It can't be that easy to build that. Right? [00:12:21] S1: I feel like it wasn't too hard. It kind of is just like Legos almost. You buy all the parts that you need or the tools that you need. And I I was... Like I said, I was part of a community, so if I had any questions, there was always someone I could go to and ask, is this the right battery? What about these hub motors? Should I even use hub motors? Or should I use a belt driven system? You know, I had... So I had lots of resources around me. So it didn't feel hard. But... Yeah. Yeah. It was a lot of fun. That was that was a really significant project for me, and I had so much fun. [00:12:51] S0: That that is so, so cool and so so different to the usual sports that that I think most of us are into. Right? I actually want to touch on your... The other one that came up quite a bit and I think people really appreciate you for it is your imagination and even like how you think about things. Think one of the things someone said to me is if someone says brownie points, you will repeat it back as cookie. [00:13:15] S1: Oh, cookie mugger.
00:13:15 · Grace Brown, Vidit Agarwal
[00:13:15] S1: Oh, cookie mugger. [00:13:16] S0: Yeah, and I was like that is great. Was like that and the person who told me this said that is reflective of your imagination and frankly, why you've built the company you're building is because you think in a multidimensional way. Did you realize that about yourself early on? [00:13:30] S1: I think I know who said that actually. But no, I didn't. I I actually really appreciate that. That is how I kind of think, fortunately or unfortunately. I've... When I grew up, I knew I had a lot of unpopular opinions on even very trivial things, like, not even very controversial things. And people would always be like... You know? I don't know. And I guess in that way, felt a little bit different to the people around me. Yeah, But, but I guess I guess it does translate through to business and everything else in life because my view on things are slightly less conventional. But it... But I I guess I never realized how significant that might come across externally. That... That's an interesting point. I'm gonna reflect on that. [00:14:08] S0: Well, think most people are trying to fit in. Right? That's probably why, like like, most of us try and be a replica of the world. I think anytime someone comes around and it comes by and they aren't a replica of everyone else, I think people are curious. [00:14:24] S1: Yeah, no, that makes a lot of sense. Now that you've mentioned it, I'm going to try and pick up and notice it a little bit more. But yeah, that is very interesting.
00:14:24 · Grace Brown, Vidit Agarwal
[00:14:24] S1: Yeah, no, that makes a lot of sense. Now that you've mentioned it, I'm going to try and pick up and notice it a little bit more. But yeah, that is very interesting. [00:14:31] S0: Oh, think we all have it. We all have a sight to ourselves that other people notice that sometimes we don't, I definitely do. It's funny when you do a podcast, there's like a mirror to words you say and how you speak. And like that has been a really uncomfortable process for many years, but you eventually realise that it is what it is. And then tell me when you're 18, so you've got some understanding of the world, you've got some understanding of yourself, or maybe you were a mature 18 year old. If I met you at that age, what would I presume to do with your life?
00:15:03 · Grace Brown
[00:15:03] S1: That's a good question. What would someone who would have met me at 18 assumed I would do? It's hard to say. I think people who knew me really deeply would probably not be surprised with where where I've taken my journey. But it's funny, particularly when I started Andromeda, people who perhaps didn't know me quite as well... A handful of people have said, oh, I could never have imagined that you would go off and build a company or build this robot or go be successful with it or whatever. And you... I didn't know you had such drive. And that... Always I found that really surprising because I think the fire in my belly that I have with Andromeda, I've known I've had that since I was about 14 years old, that it's been the same... While it's manifested in the world a bit differently or at least appears different to people, It's been the same driver, and I recognize it because it's some sort of feeling. So I guess it depends on who you ask and what they would have assumed. Some people have also shared that they knew I'd, you know, I'd go really far with my company or whatever I do, but I probably did it faster than even the people who believed in me expected. So that's another common thing I've heard from people who've been in my life the last few years. So, yeah, I think it would vary based on who you ask. I know that's not a direct answer.
00:16:17 · Vidit Agarwal
[00:16:17] S0: Yeah. I was asking what you would say, but yes, I think that the the things that things matter too. Maybe it connects to... I think the the the entrepreneur point that you said is really interesting because I I wonder does that connect to... Like, apparently, you were quite independent in your teenage years. Does that connect to the independence? And I know that was for various reasons that you can choose if you want to go into or not. Did that independence drive the entrepreneurial streak in you?