S3 | E2 - Kathryn Zealand (Skip) on robotic exoskeletons, mobility for life, and spinning out of Google X

Episode Summary

Kathryn Zealand founded Skip to help people stay active and independent through aging and injury, inspired by her grandmother’s painful fall and the inadequate technology available at the time. Skip's flagship product, the MoGo, is an innovative, lightweight robotic exoskeleton that acts like an e-bike for walking, offering just the right amount of assistance, whether hiking up mountains or standing from a chair.

Kathryn brings her unique perspective as a physicist-turned-founder and former project lead at Google X, Alphabet’s moonshot factory, where she learned the art of rapid prototyping and building breakthrough technologies. In this conversation, Kathryn shares Skip’s journey from idea to hardware startup, the nuances of building consumer robotics, navigating FDA approval, and tackling the manufacturing challenge of moving from prototype to scale.

In today’s episode, we cover:

• How a personal mission became a company, and why mobility impacts mental health as much as physical well-being

• What Skip’s MoGo exoskeleton is and how it empowers people to reclaim active lives

• Behind the scenes at Google X: spinning out projects, rapid prototyping, and taking big bets

• Navigating the complex hardware funding landscape: equity, grants, pre-orders, and venture debt

• The art and science of robotic mobility: why understanding user intent matters

• Why Skip chose outdoor brands like Arc'teryx as their first partners, and what’s next in consumer robotics

• The skills Kat had to learn (and unlearn) to become a successful CEO and founder

We also talk about Kat’s unconventional career path, from astrophysics to humanitarian law to deep-tech entrepreneurship, and her advice to aspiring founders looking to change the world with impactful technology.

Time Stamps

00:41 Meet Kat Zealand: Founder, physicist, and former Googler making robotic exoskeletons

02:07 How a grandmother’s fall became Skip’s origin story

03:32 Introducing MoGo: “An e-bike for walking”

05:11 Why mobility technology impacts mental health and quality of life

07:50 Partnering with Arc'teryx: From mountain trails to everyday use

08:44 Preparing to scale: From 50 handcrafted prototypes to 10,000 units

10:23 Navigating FDA approval and the medical vs consumer hardware divide

12:53 The robotics software challenge: Predicting user intent accurately

15:58 Behind the scenes at Google X: How Alphabet’s moonshot factory works

22:34 Spinning out from Alphabet: Lessons from Skip’s journey

24:00 Funding hardware startups: Venture capital, non-dilutive grants, and customer pre-orders

34:37 Leadership lessons Kat had to unlearn as a Kiwi CEO in Silicon Valley

Resources

Kathryn Zealand’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kathryn-zealand/

Skip website and MoGo rentals & pre-orders: https://www.skipwithjoy.com

Google X (Alphabet’s moonshot factory): https://x.company

Founders, Inc – SF-based startup community: https://f.inc