HIRED! The Podcast (Ft. Jesica Chavez) | Ep. #58
Robotics Leaders: Are You Listening?
It’s no secret that the robotics industry loves to talk about disruption. But while companies race to automate, innovate, and scale, there’s a conversation many leaders still avoid: Who’s actually being invited to shape the future of robotics? And who’s being left out?
In Episode 58 of HIRED! The Podcast, host Travis Miller sits down with Jesica Chavez, CEO and Founder of RoboSuccess, for a candid and sometimes uncomfortable conversation about the intersection of robotics, leadership, and inclusion.
From Factory Floors to the Frontlines of Inclusion
Chavez’s journey didn’t begin in Silicon Valley. It started in the shoe factories of Mexico, where as a child she sat in on gritty business conversations alongside her father. Those early experiences sparked a curiosity not just in how products were made, but how they could be made better.
That curiosity propelled her into industrial engineering, a career path she was often told wasn’t “for women.” Chavez ignored those voices. She didn’t just pursue engineering, she excelled, becoming one of the top students in her program. But what stuck with her most wasn’t the math. It was the resistance she encountered at every turn.
“I remember guys wouldn’t even listen to me at the start,” Chavez shares in the episode. “I’m five feet tall, I’m Latina, and I was telling them how to run a process. They looked at me like I came from another planet.”
Those experiences became fuel for what would later become RoboSuccess, a consultancy helping robotics startups move from product to market with a focus on customer success, marketing, and, yes, organizational culture.
Culture Is a Scaling Strategy, Not an Afterthought
Throughout the episode, Chavez challenges a common blind spot she sees among robotics founders: treating culture and inclusion as secondary to technology.
“They can build the robots,” she says. “but if they don’t have the people inside who are from those markets, who understand those customers, the message is going to miss. And that’s when they realize they’re not growing the right way.”
Chavez explains how leadership in robotics isn’t just about product-market fit. It’s about people-market fit. If your teams and your messaging don’t reflect the diversity of your customers, you’re already behind.
A Call for Leaders to Get Uncomfortable
One of the most powerful moments in the episode comes when Chavez flips the conversation back on leaders themselves.
“I always say push as hard as you can. Make people uncomfortable,” she says. “Because the truth is, if you’re only being invited into rooms where your voice isn’t valued, it’s okay to walk away. Find the rooms where they listen.”
For leaders in robotics and beyond, this conversation is a timely reminder. Diversity isn’t a feel-good metric. It’s a competitive edge. And the companies that figure this out fastest will be the ones who don’t just build the future, but who build it for everyone.
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