Jane Lo & Rob Whitten, p!ng

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Title: Co-Founders and Co-CEOs
Company: p!ng (robotic coffee drive-thru)
Location: Hudson, NH
Find online: https://wefunder.com/ping • https://pingthru.com/
What they drink: Jane - black coffee or espresso. Rob - latte.

"The other day, you know, I was talking with another founder. We were joking about how for awhile, it was kind of, trendy to say "Oh, I'm in founder mode right now."

And we used to laugh about it, but once you get there, like once you get to the point where you're so committed to something, and this is all you really think about or do—we don't need a ton of money because we are not interesting right now. We do our business. That is it! We don't travel right now. We don't—this is what we do day in and day out. And so, once you get into that mode, I think you realize, you can't just sort-of do something...if you're doing that you're not really committing yourself. In my mind, I don't think you're really achieving what you could be achieving as a founder, if you're not really fully committed.
• Rob Whitten

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What is p!ng? The PR e-mail I received way back in early April gave me an inkling.

...p!ng, a micro-retail robotics startup tackling the $8 billion line-balk issue with a drive-thru pod that prepares coffee as you roll up, all thanks to proprietary robotics and AI.

p!ng is not just another coffee concept—it’s a rethink of the old drive-thru, using a 120-square-foot pod to serve 360 drinks per hour with almost no wait and 75% less overhead. By partnering with Cometeer for coffee consistency, and integrating app ordering that skips the usual click fatigue, p!ng has turned parking lots into high-margin retail hubs. Their pilot location even served fire trucks in the early rush.

• From the original e-mail inquiry about a guest spot on the show.

I warned that I would likely not be a cuddly coffee podcast host as a lifelong employee-first hospitality person with a general aversion to AI,* but I would be willing to go back and forth to hear about the business.

Ultimately, what I came away with is that Jane and Rob are entrepreneurs with experience in technical fields looking to use what tools they have available to get their product to market. This is not unlike many of the guests on our show, just with the added components of robotics and the use of artificial intelligence in their company.

They were inspired by a real-world frustration. Came up with a solution and decided it was worth the risk. That it touches the coffee industry isn't a surprise, considering the proliferation of coffee shops and the challenges that come with creating consistency and finding labor. p!ng may be on Coffee People as a coffee business, but I'd proffer that they are more of a general cold beverage service that—by their accounting—differentiate themselves through speed and convenience.

Early in our chat, Jane mentioned that some (not all) people who drive through still want to say, "Hi," or to have some sort of interaction. That made me wonder if engaging with a robot or AI-infused machine will ever give us the same endorphin rush as talking to another human. I've asked several colleagues this over the past few weeks. The responses varied widely.

"No. Absolutely, not."

"Why not? I already get that from talking to a person through a screen? It's still a digital projection."

"The human part is essential."

"We anthropomorphize pets, stuffed animals, trees...why not a robot?"

I don't know the answer, and I don't know that it really matters for p!ng. When I followed up to ask Jane and Rob, Jane quickly replied.

"To your question: site hosts are essential at pod launches and during peak hours to direct traffic and answer questions. But once customers learn the process, they fly through on return visits. Interestingly, during our pilot (which had no site hosts), customers figured it out themselves and were even more wowed by the fully autonomous experience—some were actually disappointed when Rob came out to say, "Hi." We have hundreds of delighted customer reactions to prove it. So, we end up capturing both types: people who want help and people who want zero interaction."
• Jane Lo

*My aversion to AI isn't really about the creation of artificial intelligence or the advancement of technology. It is more about the companies that have been developing it, how they are using it (and us) to create a product without many safeguards, oversight, or willingness to acknowledge that scraping the internet for content from shows, books, podcasts, art, etc to use in it's creation is, at the very least, ethically fraught.

I'm fatigued by the reduction of my life down to data being used to monetize my existence. So far, the things AI has been doing well, are the things that I still want to do. Now, if an AI is available that can come out to the house to replace an old window or pick up the dog droppings in the yard, I'm all ears.

I wrote more on this topic in a recent newsletter proclaiming myself a Luda-ite.

Welcome to our Luda-ite Era

We’ve entered our Luda-ite era. Thoughts on the invasion of AI into our podcasting workflow and what Coffee People plans to do about it.

COFFEE PEOPLERyan Woldt

KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM THE POD

• Basically, the p!ng space is an oversized refrigerated box with a fancy computer controlling a robotic assembly line with the specific goal of crafting the consumer a drink quickly.
• The pod is autonomous, but there are site hosts to guide guests. These are not servers or baristas, but someone there to serve as human interaction for the customers that want it, and to explain anything to the customers that may be new to the concept or have questions.
• At heart, Jane and Rob believe they are builder/operators. The idea of p!ng came from frustrating family drive-thru experiences. The business was an opportunity to marry Rob's technical skills with Jane's product development expertise to solve a real world/real person problem. It meant leaving the corporate structure they were in behind.
• I was going to post the Joe Pesci and Chris Rock clip from Lethal Weapon here to show you the kind of rant that bad customer experience can inspire, but I forgot how R-rated the language is. This is peak late-1980s cursing. You can watch the clip on YouTube if you'd like. The link should skip you ahead to the reference in question.
• Rob and Jane left stable, successful careers to take this risk. So, the question is: why this idea? Because there was a need, an opportunity, and that kernel of an idea couldn't be quashed. They wanted to create the experience that they wanted to have. Modern tech and AI is how they've been able to create that, but it wasn't an impulsive decision. They spent a lot of time doing research, observing drive-thru lines, and looking for concept comparisons.
• 100% speed and convenience is their differentiator. If you can create a more efficient experience, you help the customer who wants those factors, but also create the opportunity to increase revenue exponentially. It's the American Airlines olive theory. Remove one olive per plate of plane food at volume and save tens of thousands without the customer noticing. The balancing act is knowing when you've gone too far and the customer experience suffers. More on the American Airlines story.
• The goal of p!ng is to create a seamless beverage purchasing experience—from the height of the window you grab your coffee from to the ability of the pod to recognize you and put the right order in the window without you needing to produce a QR code or pull your phone out again.
• The pods are designed to scale and franchise, and their anticipated franchisee is in the middle class. They believe it will be an opportunity to create wealth at a more reasonable price. Robotics offers lower labor costs, and their current model offers the pods for under a quarter of a million dollars. p!ng intends to provide all the ingredients, maintenance, and necessary products to the franchisee, kind of how a McDonald's franchise operates, but maybe with more local flexibility, branding, and margin.
• We mentioned Costco as a margin-based business. Costco is unique in that they set a margin they need to meet in order to sell a product. If the products can't meet that margin, they do not sell that product. More importantly, if their costs are reduced, they also reduce the sale price to maintain the same margin, passing along those savings to their customers. That is fairly unusual in retail. They've managed to maintain this mission by streamlining their operations and saving money elsewhere.
  
  If you're interested in the Costco business model, or entrepreneurship, generally, I recommend listening to this episode of the Acquired podcast. It's an in-depth dive into the company history, growth, business model, and influence.

• Tech is continuing to advance. Jobs in some fields are going away. AI is impacting the workforce in numerous expected and unexpected ways. Jane used the term "skill up" in referencing the need for employees whose jobs may no longer be available to advance their skill sets to remain viable in the workforce.
• Jane's 1st job was at Jamba Juice. Rob's stacking cord wood onto a tractor to be cut into firewood for a local farmer.
• p!ng is a coffee/beverage AND automation business where the focus is on customer experience, as it relates to speed and convenience.
• If you're not really, fully, 100% committed, you won't succeed. Pitching a realized concept is different from pitching an idea. (Rob)
• They didn't realize how hard it would be to raise money for this type of business.
• Having a great job doesn't always mean happiness. Fulfillment involves recognizing what will make you happy.
• Working for yourself also has merits beyond monetary. According to Jane, so many people can be founders. The potential is there in everyone. She proffered that AI can help by speeding up the learning curve and cutting down on the number of steps needed to go from idea to concept fruition.
  • I've always found that the steps are the fun part, not to mention beneficial for learning. However, skipping steps does sound appealing when you're in the grind.
• SaaS is an acronym for Software as a Service. These are products that you use or access through the web or the "cloud" but don't necessarily own a physical copy of. Learn more at: https://www.coursera.org/articles/software-as-a-service
• The current iteration of p!ng offers one cup size and only offers iced drinks for now. They include coffee, energy drinks, lemonade, etc. The menus are more streamlined with less choice, but the founders say it is a curated experience that offers speed and convenience, if not the coffee shop experience or menu options. For example, you can add a shot of espresso to a drink, but you cannot order only an espresso.

ROASTAR

Over 15 years, Roastar has seen some things. The focus has been on coffee, but sometimes products overlap. Their resealable hook-to-hook zippers make their stand-up pouches an option for all kinds of packaged goods, including dog treats.

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