Meet the Waterloo entrepreneurs driving the hardware revolution

Long before Clearpath Robotics was a multi-million dollar operation with a global reputation it was a humble Waterloo startup with a space issue.

Matt Rendall had a dream of building robots. But almost five years ago — ancient history in the life of a startup — there came a point when his robots would no longer fit under his desk.

For a while, he stored them on top of his desk. When the boxes started spilling into the hallways of the Accelerator Centre, he knew it was time for Clearpath Robotics to move.

“It was starting to become clear that traditional office space didn’t mesh with the needs of a hardware startup,” says Rendall, CEO of Clearpath Robotics who founded the company with fellow University of Waterloo mechatronics engineering program graduates Bryan Webb, Ryan Gariepy and Pat Martinson.

“We were doing our engineering design, sales and marketing in the office during the day,” he says. “But at night, after everyone went home, we’d set up in an empty boardroom in the Accelerator Centre. We’d lay newspaper down on the board table and build our robots. We’d set up production lines. We had nine guys crammed into a boardroom that was no more than 200-square-feet.

“We’d work until midnight. Then we’d take a break and play video games. After that, we’d pack everything up and stick it back under our desks.”

Read more about ClearPath Robotics and other hardware entrepreneurs in the latest edition of Waterloo Magazine.