From our Women in STEM TV series meet Linda Pouliot, who is an entrepreneur and investor in Silicon Valley. She co- founded 2 robotics company. The first one was Neato that made a home cleaning robot and the second company is Dishcraft, which was in stealth mode when we recorded our conversation. In 2019 Dishcraft unveiled its robotics and Artificial Intelligence (AI) powered dishwashing system.

Pouliot’s journey as an entrepreneur and investor is an unusual one. She studied fine arts at University of Michigan and went to work for a B2B company, where she honed her operations skills. She relocated to Silicon Valley and knew that she wanted to start a company. She ended up teaming up with her neighbor and they co-founded a robotics company called Neato in 2005. The company was acquired in 2017 by Germany’s Vorwerk. Pouliot had left Neato by then and was working on her second startup idea.

Right from the start Pouliot and her co-founder focus was to build the right core values for  Dishcraft and she explains the importance of creating a strong and trusted work culture. Respect, communication and accountability are the core values at Dishcraft and these values help build trust and execution shares Pouliot.

This conversation with Pouliot is part of Season 2 of our TV series on #WomeninSTEM and highlights the role of hidden figures in Silicon Valley.

This interview aired onPBS and Public Media stations in the US.

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