Oscar Pedroso, Thimble

What’s the inspiration behind Thimble?

Getting an education was a big deal in my household. Neither of my parents attended college, so it was even more important that my brother and I grow up with opportunities to succeed. After college, I taught math at various inner-city schools and worked with kids who never heard of coding or electronics. I particularly connected with these kids because like my parents, their parents were immigrants from Central America. I wanted to see them succeed. 

Oscar soldering a project

My students came to school because they had dreams (i.e. going into space, building robots, etc). Unfortunately, we were in one of the poorest school districts. Without the right programs and resources in place, my students would never realize their dreams to go into tech.

This goes for millions of other students in similar school districts. I made a personal commitment to make technology education more accessible, so that kids have a chance to consider it as a possible interest and career path. 

This isn't your first time raising with the crowd! Did your first round on Kickstarter push you towards us? 

Back in 2015, we launched on Kickstarter which raised just shy of $300,000. Kickstarter was a special time for us because we had no idea whether our idea had legs. We used crowdfunding to gauge interest and build a community of supporters that believed in our mission. When we hit our funding goal on Kickstarter, we were humbled and blown away.

Our first 2k customers on Kickstarter became our greatest champions. Fast forward to 2021, we started the year off searching for ways to tell our story during the last five years. We wanted to tell the world: “Hey, you believed in us when we had nothing. Now look at these kids, look at what they’re capable of doing when they have high quality coding and robotics education available to them.” 

So when we stumbled upon Republic last year, we knew it was the perfect way to continue telling our story and go full circle on our crowdfunding journey. We want to be heard and think that Republic is the right place to voice our message. 

How do you feel that robotics makes a difference with kids' education? What skills can kids who don't grow up to be physical engineers take from these builds? 

Schools I worked in were slow to incorporate STEM into curriculum. I find that this robs students of their ability to get inspired and generate ideas about their own interests and passion. When you put robotic parts in front of a student, you find someone who’s eager to learn. They start to pick up the pieces, ask questions, make mistakes, fix them, collaborate with peers, and ultimately succeed. Every child should experience that. 

Oscar and some of his favorite students

We’re teaching our kids that the world is made up of building blocks. Some of the pieces they're working with are literally those building blocks: sensors, resistors, actuators—all components in their own phones and computers. Even if kids don’t go into a technology discipline, they come away with essential critical thinking, problem solving, and team building skills that they can apply in other areas of their lives. If we can achieve that, we’re doing our job. 

Finding expert talent can be a challenge in any field, but finding experts that can do and teach younger kids must be even more difficult! How do you/your team handle getting the right people in place?

At Thimble, finding talent is important. 

You need someone who’s personable, knowledgeable, patient, dynamic, and loves teaching kids. If these traits aren’t there from the very beginning, it’s not going to work out. When a student tells you that they don’t get a particular topic 20 times, it takes a special kind of person to slow down, assess the situation, and find ways for them to understand what they’re learning. 

For us, this means spending quality time with candidates during the interview process. We role play, run small pilots, background checks, and even have candidates run a couple of classes to determine whether it’s a good fit. We also ask kids what they think of a particular instructor.

Everyone always remembers that one amazing teacher who inspired them when they were kids. Sometimes you just need a person to tell you: “You’ve got the smarts, you can do it.” These are the types of people we look for to be part of our team. 

Shipping out some ordersYou're taking care of bringing the next generation into STEM. What do you think industry educators and businesses can do in the meantime to open the field to those currently underrepresented in it?

Open those doors. The best companies out there have programs in place to partner with school and community-based programs. Schools with free and reduced lunch programs, high underrepresented minority enrollment, or an economically disadvantaged student population are where companies need to expose more kids to STEM. 

My favorite companies run summer camps, grant STEM scholarships to women, hire students with special needs for semester-long internships, and even have employees volunteer their time to mentor kids. At Thimble, we have a student internship program with Buffalo Public Schools where 2–3 kids come into our office twice a week to help us with all sorts of business activities (shipping, packaging, marketing, social media, etc). They walk in not knowing much, but they leave our doors excited to see what else they can take on. 

How do you handle risk and competition?

I love taking risks - almost to a fault. After a near-death experience back in 2008, I realized our time on this planet is short—so if you’re going to do something, put everything you’ve got into it. If you fall, dust yourself off and keep going. A large reason we’re still here is because of the many risks we took along the way—even giving up my position as a teacher to start Thimble back in 2016.

Competition doesn’t bother me. I used to feel threatened by it, but eventually learned that we’re all on the journey to make education better.  When you factor in the dire challenges that exist in education, there’s plenty of space for innovation.  I even collaborate with companies we directly and indirectly compete with!

Oscar shows how much he loves STEM students

What are the biggest challenges you’ve faced while launching your company?

Crowdfunding on Kickstarter forced us to move fast. We had customers in 50 states and several countries at the time. It wasn’t one particular challenge that made it difficult, it was everything coming at us all at once that tested our limits. 

We had to know how to ideate, test, build, and ship kits, manage supply chain, write curriculum and lessons, build a website, hire team members, manage finances, communicate with and support our customers, fundraise, and market all at the same time. New challenges always emerge and we learn to take things one step at a time. Our advisors and investors have been instrumental in helping us manage these challenges. 

Have you learned anything new or surprising about yourself through this process?

It takes a village to build a company. I’ve learned the hard way that you can’t do everything yourself, and the need to trust in others and pass the baton. I’ve learned to let go; I find that it helps me focus on projects I’m particularly passionate about, without being overwhelmed with countless other tasks circling around in my mind. 

What’s your team culture like? 

I learned quickly that team culture starts with me: my values, my attitude, my upbringing, my stories, and experiences working in education for as long as I have. These things provide a foundation for the team to build the rest of the company culture on. 

Our culture is built on kindness, approachability, teamwork, trust, accountability, and ensuring our work provides the best possible experience for students and teachers. Our mission is to create more opportunities for kids. If someone doesn’t see that from the get go, it’s not a good fit. 

Sharing the excitement at an expo

People who are part of Thimble get to see the fruits of their labor when they see that smile on a student’s face. I’ve seen it firsthand and it is one of the most rewarding experiences. It's that kind of impact that makes our team feel that they’re working on something worth fighting for. That’s what gets us out of bed every morning, that’s what makes those tough moments worth pushing through. 

What is your superpower?

Being composed under stressful situations. I attribute this to my experience as a volunteer EMT where I had to work through several emergencies at a time and be able to think quickly on my feet. 

What’s your kryptonite?

Bad attitudes and lack of respect towards others. 

Do you have any unusual routines or habits? 

I use a set of 10 colorful pens to take notes and create tasks for myself in my notebook. I bring them everywhere I go and feel empty if I forget them. 

What do you like to do in your spare time? 

I swim 2–3x a week to keep my head clear. I’m currently trying to beat my swim times from my time on the high school swim team; I don’t think that will happen (but a man can dream!) 

I’ve also recently started gardening which I didn’t think would happen until I was much older... like much much older. I have a set of orange, lemon, and lime trees that I’m currently nurturing to bear fruit at some point next year. 

I also dig into random cookbooks and choose recipes to cook for my family. The last dish I made was an Australian meat pie! It wasn’t perfect but it was pretty darn good! 

Are there any apps or gadgets that you can’t live without? 

MySwimPro, MyFitnessPal, and Kindle. 

If you could give yourself one piece of advice 5 years ago, what would it be?

Don’t just hire someone because they’re qualified. Hire them because they’re also someone you want to work with. If you see them being there throughout the entire journey, even better. 

The Thimble team in its early days

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve received?

What everyone else is doing is none of my business. 

It's easy to try and compare yourself, your failures, and your accomplishments to others. But I've learned that what everyone else is doing and how they got there is none of my business. We each have our own story and path to follow. Follow your path and don’t be afraid to ask for help when you really need it. 

Do you have any mentors? If so, what have they taught you?

Yes—I have 3 solid mentors in my corner who have been there since the very beginning. 

All of them have taught me one lesson: learning when and how to say no will become even more important than saying yes.