Barrett Ames (CTO / REK)

Barrett Ames (CTO / REK)

In this episode of Just Gonna Send It, Jim Belosic sits down with Barrett Ames, robotics engineer, startup founder, former NASA researcher, and CTO of REK [https://rek.com/], a humanoid robot fighting league inspired by Real Steel. Barrett shares his journey from building robots as a kid to working on NASA’s Valkyrie and Robonaut 2 projects, earning a PhD in AI and robotics at Duke, and launching startups focused on construction automation and entertainment robotics. The conversation explores the realities of building hard tech, lessons learned from failed startups, the future of humanoid robots, and why competition and destruction might actually accelerate innovation. From DARPA challenges and space robotics to robot MMA fights in San Francisco, this episode is packed with stories about curiosity, risk taking, and learning through building.

Divya Thakur (Founder, Yardbot)

Divya Thakur, founder of Yardbot [https://yard.bot/], joins host Jim Belosic to discuss how he’s building a next-gen landscaping company powered by robotics. Instead of chasing full automation, Yardbot combines human crews with custom-built mowing robots to deliver better results at a lower cost. Divya shares his journey from software engineering and finance to self-driving cars at Cruise, and how a failed Bitcoin startup taught him one of his biggest lessons: build for customers, not just cool tech. We get into the gritty reality of developing hardware, five generations of robot iterations, and what it takes to run a tech-driven business in a traditional industry.

Sam Holland (Co-Founder, Informal)

Sam Holland, co-founder of Informal [https://www.informal.cc/], joins Jim to talk about how a hands-on approach to building led him from early 3D printing and MakerBot to helping companies bring real products to life. What started as curiosity turned into a career built on experimenting and learning directly from the manufacturing process. They get into the messy reality of hardware, from the gap between prototype and production to the importance of communication, proximity, and experience when working with suppliers. Sam breaks down why most projects fail in execution, not ideas, and how Informal helps teams move faster by connecting them with the right people at the right time. Sam talks about what it takes to get started today and why building real things early matters more than credentials, and how accessible tools have changed the landscape for hardware founders.

Zane Hengsperger (Founder/CEO, Nox Metals)

Zane Hengsperger, founder and CEO of Nox Metals [https://www.noxmetals.co/] is focused on fixing one of manufacturing’s most overlooked bottlenecks; getting raw material fast, reliably, and without friction.  In this episode of Just Gonna Send It, Jim and Zane walk through his path from growing up around a machine shop to a brief run in tech, and ultimately back into manufacturing to build something of his own. They get into why software alone is not enough, how applying technology to simple processes creates real leverage, and what it actually takes to stand up a physical operation from scratch. From buying and rigging a massive saw to running the shop themselves after hours, it is a conversation about moving fast, learning by doing, and building where it matters.

Em Moshouris (Founder, WORC)

You may know Emanual Moshouris from his recent CNC machining challenge for SendCutSend [https://youtu.be/65rfapjyp1w?si=0q0RJv4xwDpTHifZ]or his reputation of being the “that could have been sheet metal” guy on X. Known to many as his X handle “Emm0sh”, in this episode of Just Gonna Send It, Jim and Em talk about his unusual engineering career path that took him from designing custom rigging for Taylor Swift concerts to Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade to Amazon robotics and Apple’s iPhone team. Em reflects on mentorship, humility and why real competence matters more than titles. He also brings a variety of questions to the table for Jim about growing companies, meaningful industrial innovation and why the future of manufacturing depends on leapfrogging old systems rather than rebuilding them.