Today we’d like to introduce you to Robert Kay
Hi Robert, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Was born in Pasadena, grew up in SF Valley, my parents bought a house in Agoura in 1968, attended Agoura HS. While in school I met Pat through a church group I attended. We clicked, dated and I asked her to marry me when she was still 17. I became the luckiest man on the planet when she said yes.
We put each other through college (Pierce JC & CSUN) while working. After graduating we worked in various industries up until 1988. It was then that we started up Elite Engineering Corp, a product development consultancy. Pat had the business brains, I had the engineering expertise. We cross trained each other very nicely. During the early years of Elite we raised two kids and grew the business.
The last company I had worked for was a military weapons company. After that company and three of the projects I personally worked on became embroiled in an international scandal, Pat and I decided that our company would never work on weapons systems. We focused on medical and industrial products. That company is still active and operating to this day. We have helped design many types of blood analyzers, cancer detection/treatment, DNA analyzers, aircraft ejection seats, robotics, 3D cameras and custom test equipment for companies such as HP and Kodak.
In 2016 Pat foresaw the coming trend towards robotics and together we created a 2nd company: Elite Robotics. We were making excellent progress (MVP and patents) until 2019.
On May 11th of 2019, our 45th anniversary, Pat revealed to me that the blood test and biopsy she just got showed that she stage IV breast cancer. On Jan 2nd of 2020 the love of my life left this world.
During covid lockdown I followed in Issac Newton’s footsteps of inventing things during a pandemic. Cancer runs in my side of the family, not hers. I wanted to know where Pat got cancer but all the tools are expensive, hard to operate, complex instruments not made for use by folks who don’t understand chemistry. I had designed such devices but now I realized I had come up with a way to design something that you could hold in your hand to test your food, your cosmetics, your supplements to see what is really in them.
With that, my daughter took over company marketing and we pivoted from a robotics company to a life science company. The Team at work helped us get through the home care for Pat. I told them all, like it or not, they had become my extended family.
Having had to watch and care for Pat in her last days has left me with PTSD among other challenges. Yet giving up has never been me. I thought to myself over and over: if I give up, go away or in the worst, kill myself, what kind of example would that be to the one’s around me that I care about?
My son is a US Marine combat veteran which is where I learned about PTSD first hand. One of the Marines mantras is Semper Fidelis (Always Faithful). I never served but I believe I have earned the right to say Semper Fi. To me, it is not just two words. It is who I am.
Today, I have repurposed my life’s mission to leave behind something to help the everyday person find out where cancer comes from. I now driven to create a legacy that helps and takes care of my children and my extended family.
Whatever I accomplish, I am driven to leave behind a legacy that would have made Pat give me that deviously Irish, pixy smile of hers that I always loved.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Running any business for 36 years is never smooth. There was the challenge of raising two kids while running a startup. There were at least 3 economic up/down cycles that brought us to the edge of bankruptcy each time. There was having to re-invent the business after those events (particularly difficult for an engineer who had not yet really understood the how and why of marketing).
One event that I still vividly remember was just at the end of our 2nd economic downturn. The company had shrunk down to just Pat and I. We had no cash but had already put money down on a trade show in San Diego so we had to go and setup our booth and be there. Jumped in the car with all the booth materials, took the kids, stayed in a cheap hotel, ate picnic dinners and tried to make the best of it.
The show was dead and on the 2nd day we just took off at lunch not planning to come back. But we had forgot something in the booth and had to go back. When we got there, the folks in the booth next to us said that some guy had come by really wanting to talk to us. Turns out he showed up and invited us to propose on designing a 3D camera for a nuclear medicine scanner. That company was in San Jose and we were in Thousand Oaks at the time.
I do not know where Pat got the money for the airline ticket and car rental. But when I stepped on that plane I knew I absolutely had to come back with the contract or we were done (done as in missing house payments as well).
I made my pitch to the VP of marketing, named Andy. At the end he said others had pitched a number of other fancy approaches. Why the hell did I think mine was better? It was at that moment I realized that this was a defining moment for me. I had to explain sophisticated optics and math to a marketing person. In that moment, nervous as I was, I realized that Pat had taught me how to explain such things in plain English. That was one of the things that made her and I work so well together for 36 years.
Not only did I come home with the design contract, we ultimately manufactured those 3D cameras for them as well. While I did my part, Pat was the real hero. She had taught a hard core engineer his first lesson in marketing.
We’ve been impressed with Elite Engineering Corp, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
What sets us apart is the Team. Not our tools or fancy equipment. While my role is President/CEO, the name on the building means something to our Clients because of the Team.
I have worked for some brilliant, aggressive and strong leaders. In one case we pulled off a scheduled missile test on time to the hour, in spec and in budget with 1/10 the number of people of our competitors. Yet in every case I saw the leadership start out good but ultimately they would say one thing but do another and ultimately piss off the Team.
When we started our company what we wanted was a Team with a long term relationship and commitment. We have never put value on where you got your degree or even if you had one. What we have always looked for are people of quality and character. Such people can pick up the technology later if so motivated. Interviews always include going to the white board to explain a project of yours and to answer hard questions. Most importantly, it’s is rarely about a right or wrong answer. It’s how you handle and respond to the hard questions. How do you behave under a bit of pressure.
I am proud that our company is built and maintained by the Team. We all believe:
1. If every one has the same idea with no counterpoint, someone isn’t thinking
2. There is no such thing as a dumb question or idea. The only dumb thing is to not bring up the idea that might be the solution we need.
3. Mistakes and failures are the nature of R&D. Learn how to fix mistakes yourself, asking for help is not a weakness, try not to make the same mistake more than twice.
4. Impressing Bob means nothing. Earn the respect of the Team and show them they can count on you and make that “no look pass” to you.
I am very proud to say that most folks on today’s Team have been with the company roughly 10 years. 4 of them are being trained for succession when I retire. When asked if they wanted to do that, they said yes because they value the company culture we have created.
One of our key Team accomplishments: Our Clients very often quickly realize that not only are were good problem solvers, the Team will often go above and beyond the call of duty to help our Clients be successful. With or without my help, the Team makes it their goal that our Clients know that quality resides within when they see the label “Made By The Team At Elite”
Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
Balancing creativity and discipline. Being genuine and minimizing the hype and BS. Honesty, willingness to take the time to explain ourselves, to tackle unknowns, to take risks, to fix our own mistakes.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.eliteeng.com
- Other: https://prismalusa.com/
Image Credits
Robert Kay
