Simone Giertz, the "queen of shitty robots," gained recognition through Reddit and has a popular YouTube channel where she makes videos. She discusses the transition from being a TV host to a full-time YouTuber and emphasizes the importance of maintaining passion for your work. Simone also talks about building a sustainable business as a creator by diversifying income streams and planning for the future. She shares her experience of shipping a real product, the Every Day Calendar, and the challenges she faced. Simone reflects on her journey of having brain surgery and returning to work, highlighting the importance of taking time off and asking for help. She discusses the significance of spending time on meaningful things and giving herself permission to try other things. Simone also addresses the challenges faced by creators and entrepreneurs and the importance of not feeling guilty about play and pursuing enjoyable work. She answers questions from viewers about imposter syndrome, her favorite robot, moments of boredom, and what she wishes she knew when she started her career. Simone reflects on the potential outcome if her toothbrush helmet invention did not go viral and describes the best version of herself as feeling grounded, happy, excited, and surrounded by people she likes.
Intro
Simone Giertz, the "queen of shitty robots," is a popular YouTuber and inventor who gained recognition through Reddit. She is excited to be invited to Y Combinator.
- Simone Giertz is known as the "queen of shitty robots" and is a popular YouTuber.
- She gained recognition through Reddit and has a YouTube channel where she makes videos.
- Simone is an inventor and is excited to be invited to Y Combinator.
"Whatever feeds the ego kills the soul."
Whatever feeds the ego kills the soul.
- Simone Giertz shares her experience transitioning from being a TV host to a full-time YouTuber.
- Her first viral project led her to focus on her YouTube channel full-time.
- She created a leap-year type environment to explore her interests.
- The topic revolves around finding a balance between ego-driven work and staying passionate about one's pursuits.
Maintaining passion for your work
- Establish boundaries to ensure free time and space outside of work
- Avoid committing to a strict uploading schedule
- Allow yourself to explore different interests
- Avoid feeling pigeon-holed in a specific type of content
- Experiment with different types of videos
- Treat your work as a journal of personal interests
- Have the choice to make content about different topics or shift platforms to keep the passion alive
Building a sustainable business as a creator
Building a sustainable business as a creator involves diversifying income streams and planning for the future. Simone Giertz, a successful creator and entrepreneur, emphasizes the importance of not relying solely on one platform, such as YouTube. To achieve this, she gives talks, starts a product design company, and invents and releases products. Simone understands that her career as a creator may not last forever and wants to ensure she has other opportunities to explore.
Key points:
- Diversify income streams to avoid relying solely on one platform
- Give talks, start a product design company, and invent and release products to create multiple sources of revenue
- Plan for the future and keep options open, as a career as a creator may not last forever
Shipping a real product - The Every Day Calendar
Shipping the Every Day Calendar, Simone Giertz's unique and improved version of a traditional calendar, posed several challenges. However, she was motivated to create this product because it fulfilled her lifelong dream of making products and she found it personally useful. The Every Day Calendar serves as a visual reminder to stay committed to a goal, with each day represented by columns that light up when tapped. Simone also discusses the pressure of creating content and the fear of stepping away from it, but believes that taking time off can be beneficial.
Being scared to step away
Simone Giertz's approach to creating videos and problem-finding mechanism:
- Started with short, gif-like videos
- Evolved to longer videos with more information and explanation
- Emphasizes prioritizing product and marketing aspects
Generating ideas
Generating ideas is a process that involves problem-solving and exploring different projects driven by curiosity. Simone Giertz, a robotics enthusiast, shares her approach to generating ideas, which includes creating unconventional robots and exploring various projects. Her focus is on curiosity and the desire to see how ideas turn out.
Finding out she had a brain tumor, having surgery, and sharing it
Simone Giertz, a robotics enthusiast and YouTuber, underwent brain surgery to remove a tumor and chose to share her journey publicly. Despite being a private person, she felt compelled to connect with others who had undergone similar experiences. Sharing her story not only provided her with a sense of control and empowerment but also allowed her to receive valuable support and insights from her online community. Simone acknowledges the significant impact of human connection and the importance of discussing the emotional and physical aspects of the recovery process.
Returning to work after brain surgery
Returning to work after brain surgery can be challenging, but Simone Giertz's experience shows the eagerness to continue her passion for building robots. She discusses the transition from posting about her surgery to creating lighthearted content and expresses gratitude for her supportive YouTube community. The importance of taking time off and connecting with others in similar situations is also highlighted.
- Simone Giertz's eagerness to return to her workshop and continue building robots after brain surgery
- The challenge of transitioning from posting about surgery to creating lighthearted content
- Gratitude for the supportive and understanding YouTube community
- Importance of taking time off and connecting with others in similar situations
Learnings from taking time off
Taking time off is crucial for one's health and well-being, as Simone Giertz's experience with brain surgery highlights. Here are the key learnings from her journey:
- Simone faced contrasting reactions online, with some urging her to take time off and others pressuring her to continue uploading videos.
- She emphasizes the importance of prioritizing one's health and taking the necessary time off.
- Simone acknowledges the support she received from her Patreon community during this challenging time.
Asking for help
- Asking for help is important during difficult times
- It can lead to receiving practical assistance and emotional support
- Vulnerability is involved in asking for help
- Knowing how to support others going through similar situations is important
Evaluating how she's spending her time
Simone Giertz reflects on the importance of spending time on meaningful things, reducing guilt and anxiety around work, and taking care of others. She emphasizes the significance of being there for others and the realization of needing to depend on them. Simone also discusses the challenges of being an adult and needing help, particularly from her mom. The discussion includes tactics for keeping work under control and setting boundaries.
Giving herself permission to try other things
Simone Giertz discusses giving herself permission to try other things and step away from building "shitty robots."
Key points:
- She has never enjoyed her work as much as she does now.
- Health issues have helped her explore different projects and ideas.
- She hasn't made a "shitty robot" in a year, but will pursue ideas she's excited about.
- Her biggest challenge currently is color-matching car paint for an upcoming project.
Challenges as a creator and entrepreneur
The challenges faced by creators and entrepreneurs include health issues, the importance of pacing oneself and setting boundaries, and the need to overcome feelings of guilt. It is crucial to have a supportive team to handle logistical aspects and to give oneself permission to pursue creative or entrepreneurial projects.
Not feeling guilty about play and pursuing the things you enjoy
Not feeling guilty about play and pursuing the things you enjoy is crucial for personal fulfillment and success. Here are the key points discussed in the summaries:
- Society often values difficult and boring tasks, but it's important to give yourself permission to play and explore without knowing the end goal.
- Creating environments and spaces for creative play, even in the professional world, is essential.
- Embracing an amateur and playful approach can lead to enjoyable and successful projects.
- Focusing on weaknesses and putting all energy into them does not always lead to massive success.
- Don't undervalue things that come easy to you and bring you joy. They are likely what you are best at.
- Question where the programming of feeling guilty about easy things comes from and reprogram yourself to recognize the value of enjoyable work.
- Long-term satisfaction and sustainability in your job can be achieved by pursuing what you enjoy.
- Burnout is more likely to occur when one is passionate about their work, so discipline and consistency are necessary in pursuing enjoyable activities.
Becoming less disciplined in certain areas over time
- Simone Giertz discusses her journey of becoming less disciplined over time
- Contrasts her ambitious and studious teenage years with her current approach to work
- Relies on a team to maintain discipline but still prioritizes self-care activities
- Focuses on prioritizing tasks to ensure productivity
- The discussion will move on to answering questions from viewers
Ali asks - How to get started when dealing with imposters syndrome?
Imposter syndrome can be overcome by recognizing its universality and discussing it with others.
- Understand that imposter syndrome is a common experience
- Talk to others about your feelings of imposter syndrome
beep boop asks - What's your favorite robot?
- Simone Giertz's favorite robot is the lipstick robot
- Her favorite robot changes frequently
- She had a painful experience cleaning off her face multiple times in a video
- The video had continuity issues, such as lipstick in her hair
- Making the video was still fun for her
Beste asks - Are there any moments where she is bored and feels like giving up on creating new things?
- Simone Giertz does not feel bored or like giving up on creating new things.
- Being bored is a creative process for her and motivates her to create.
- During periods of boredom, she consumes content online but also creates more.
- She believes that in today's digital age, there is always endless entertainment available online, so there is no need to be bored.
Khawar Shehzad asks - What thing do you wish you knew when you started your career?
- Simone Giertz wishes she knew the importance of being kinder to herself and not being guilt-driven when she started her career.
- Working in YouTube can be overwhelming with the constant pressure to produce more content.
- Finding a balance between work and personal life is important.
- It is not necessary to work 24 hours a day to be successful.
Olaf Doschke asks - What would have happened if Simone's toothbrush helmet wouldn't have gone viral?
Simone Giertz reflects on the potential outcome if her toothbrush helmet invention did not go viral. Key points include her dream job in product design or television, the support from her parents, and the possibility of collaborating with the astronaut she interviewed.
Johnathan Nader asks - What is the best version of yourself?
- The best version of oneself is a state of feeling grounded, happy, excited, and surrounded by people one likes.
- Sunday mornings at 11:02 a.m. make Simone Giertz feel on fire.