The STEM Brothers

The Brothers usually start their week by discussing what was accomplished the week before and what they hope to accomplish next. “Once the goals have been set and we know what we need to do, we work together to get it done,” says Rohit.

Like most entrepreneurs, the brothers never stop improving their product. Since a key part of the kit is the programmable robot, there is always room to improve its code. “We are always making bug fixes and enhancements with the consumer in mind,” explains Sidharth.

The brothers usually start their week the same way. They discuss what they accomplished the week before and what they hope to do next. “Once the goals have been set and we know what we need to do, we work together to get it done,” says Rohit.

The brothers never stop improving their product. A key part of the kit is the programmable robot. That means there’s always room to improve its code. “We are always making bug fixes and enhancements with the consumer in mind,” explains Sidharth.

Since they first had the idea for Trashbots seven years ago, Rohit and Sidharth have learned a lot. “We had to learn how to develop products that customers actually want,” explains Rohit. “The original version of Trashbots was not really usable by a student.” So they updated the kit to include the programming language Python as well as block-based languages that allow users to drag-and-drop a series of established commands. They also now provide a curriculum for K-12 students. The brothers make decisions to add features like these to the Trashbots based on customer feedback.

Rohit and Sidharth first had the idea for Trashbots seven years ago. They’ve learned a lot since then. “We had to learn how to develop products that customers actually want,” explains Rohit. The original version of Trashbots weren’t easy for students to use, he says. The brothers updated the kit to include different ways to program the robots. One of them allows users to drag-and-drop commands into the order they want. Trashbots also now come with lessons for K-12 students. The brothers decided to add features like these to the Trashbots based on customer feedback.

KEY MATH IDEA: Supply Cost & Unit Rate

Rohit and Sidharth’s main operating costs come from purchasing the supplies for Trashbots kits. Each kit contains more than 30 parts, like custom motherboards, processors, plastic gears, and more. To save money, Rohit and Sidharth try to order supplies in bulk. But they have to make sure they don’t order more supplies than they need!

KEY MATH IDEA: Supply Cost & Unit Rate

Rohit and Sidharth’s main operating costs come from purchasing the supplies for Trashbots kits. Each kit contains more than 30 parts, like custom motherboards, processors, plastic gears, and more. To save money, Rohit and Sidharth try to order supplies in bulk. But they have to make sure they don’t order more supplies than they need!