For WM Robotics founders (and pie enthusiasts) Sasha Mates and Vincent Wong, the inspiration behind their start-up’s first product – an innovative hot pie vending machine they’ve called “PieBot” – was simple: hunger. The two engineering graduates, who had been travelling together, had arrived at San Francisco airport late at night. “Reaching the airport hotel hungry and tired, there were no food options available – except for an automated noodle machine,” recalls Vincent. “We thought it was a brilliant idea.”

Back in New Zealand, the pair noted the limited options for grab-and-go hot food and debated the feasibility of building something similar to that life-saving noodle vending machine. At the same time, like many other young workers, they were frequent visitors to the local bakery. “That’s when the eureka moment struck,” says Vincent. “We thought, let’s bring pies to the workplace in a way never seen before.”

They began working on a prototype and researching pie suppliers in their spare time, eventually choosing Silverdale-based Dad’s Pies: “They’re an incredibly supportive team and we genuinely think their pies are top-notch,” says Vincent. A couple of months later, in July 2023, they launched the first PieBot machine.

The process of bringing pies to the people is simple. A pie-lover taps their card on the machine’s payment terminal, unlocking the pie cabinet, and takes one (or more!) pies. The machine detects how many pies have been taken and charges the customer’s card accordingly.

Given Kiwis’ well-known passion for pies, it’s no surprise that the machines were an instant success – particularly with tradies working for large companies like Fletcher Construction. “We now have machines all over Auckland, and the reception has been beyond amazing,” says Vincent. “We currently have quite a backlog of machines to fulfil – but that’s a great problem to have!” Two machines cater to pastry-loving students and staff at Waipapa Taumata Rau, the University of Auckland’s campus – one in the Engineering building (a fitting placement, being their “old stomping ground”) and another in the Te Tirohanga o te Tōangaroa hall of residence – and unsurprisingly have had an equally positive reception.

This enthusiastic response to PieBot has mitigated the inevitable challenges of their entrepreneurial journey. The learning curve has been a steep one, notes Sasha: “Balancing the various aspects of running a business while ensuring that the product development stayed on track was pretty demanding at times.” Vincent found it difficult to reconcile himself to setbacks. “The most challenging part has been understanding that success doesn’t come overnight and failure before success is inevitable,” he muses. “But knowing that we’ve learned something from it keeps us going. And eventually those learnings turn into successes.”

Key to their perseverance is the pair’s close friendship. They met in their second year of engineering studies and “instantly bonded over our goal of wanting to set our own path in life,” recalls Sasha. “Fundamentally, we were friends first, and that’s what makes the business awesome to work on. We know each other’s strengths and weaknesses and how to use them to complement each other.”

They also share a passion for problem-solving and were enthusiastic participants in the Velocity Programme, delivered by the Business School’s Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE). “We had our fair share of cracks at the programme, with some ideas that were probably both over-ambitious and under-cooked,” laughs Sasha. “The Velocity programme gave us our first real-life feedback on our ideas and was incredibly insightful – not in what we submitted, but around other participants’ ideas that did win and were working and realistic.” Velocity helped them to understand the difference between “trying to build something that you think people want, not what they actually need,” he adds. “We put these learnings to the test with PieBot by trying to distil the problem to its basics before we even picked up a nut and bolt to start building.”

Significantly, WM Robotics is not their first entrepreneurial venture. In 2020 the pair joined the former New Zealand GM of Uber Eats, Andy Bowie, and a fellow engineering student, Paul Rassie, to launch auto-repair booking platform My Auto Shop. Three years working for a start-up provided an excellent introduction to the challenges as well as the rewards of an entrepreneurial career. “One of the biggest lessons was that it’s easy to underestimate how hard it is to build a business from the ground up,” observes Sasha. “A lot of content online makes entrepreneurship look glamorous, but in reality, it can be an uphill battle at times.” However, the satisfaction of taking PieBot from concept to completion far outweighs the more onerous aspects of their endeavour. “It’s incredibly gratifying to see people using and enjoying a product that started as a concept in our minds,” says Sasha.

Persistence has been key to their success, he believes, and it’s this advice he’d like to share with budding entrepreneurs. “There will inevitably be setbacks, but viewing these as learning opportunities rather than roadblocks will help you stay motivated. Believe in your vision, stay flexible and keep pushing towards your goals.” Vincent’s advice? Just do it. “Start working on that million-dollar idea in your head. You’ll either find out fast that it’s more like a $1 idea, or you’ll get traction. The sooner you start, the sooner you’ll figure it out.” However, “Know your runway,” he adds. “Make sure you have enough cash saved and you know how long that will last. There’s no point having a great idea, but running out of cash to execute it.”

For WM Robotics, there’s a lot more than pies in the pipeline. The vision for the company is to service the smart self-service retail and hospitality sector, explains Sasha. “We think this is the future of retail, with ever-increasing labour costs and increasing demand for immediacy from consumers. We can’t wait to show the world what a truly great smart retail experience can entail.”

For WM Robotics founders (and pie enthusiasts) Sasha Mates and Vincent Wong, the inspiration behind their start-up’s first product – an innovative hot pie vending machine they’ve called “PieBot” – was simple: hunger. The two engineering graduates, who had been travelling together, had arrived at San Francisco airport late at night. “Reaching the airport hotel hungry and tired, there were no food options available – except for an automated noodle machine,” recalls Vincent. “We thought it was a brilliant idea.”

Back in New Zealand, the pair noted the limited options for grab-and-go hot food and debated the feasibility of building something similar to that life-saving noodle vending machine. At the same time, like many other young workers, they were frequent visitors to the local bakery. “That’s when the eureka moment struck,” says Vincent. “We thought, let’s bring pies to the workplace in a way never seen before.”

They began working on a prototype and researching pie suppliers in their spare time, eventually choosing Silverdale-based Dad’s Pies: “They’re an incredibly supportive team and we genuinely think their pies are top-notch,” says Vincent. A couple of months later, in July 2023, they launched the first PieBot machine.

The process of bringing pies to the people is simple. A pie-lover taps their card on the machine’s payment terminal, unlocking the pie cabinet, and takes one (or more!) pies. The machine detects how many pies have been taken and charges the customer’s card accordingly.

Given Kiwis’ well-known passion for pies, it’s no surprise that the machines were an instant success – particularly with tradies working for large companies like Fletcher Construction. “We now have machines all over Auckland, and the reception has been beyond amazing,” says Vincent. “We currently have quite a backlog of machines to fulfil – but that’s a great problem to have!” Two machines cater to pastry-loving students and staff at Waipapa Taumata Rau, the University of Auckland’s campus – one in the Engineering building (a fitting placement, being their “old stomping ground”) and another in the Te Tirohanga o te Tōangaroa hall of residence – and unsurprisingly have had an equally positive reception.

This enthusiastic response to PieBot has mitigated the inevitable challenges of their entrepreneurial journey. The learning curve has been a steep one, notes Sasha: “Balancing the various aspects of running a business while ensuring that the product development stayed on track was pretty demanding at times.” Vincent found it difficult to reconcile himself to setbacks. “The most challenging part has been understanding that success doesn’t come overnight and failure before success is inevitable,” he muses. “But knowing that we’ve learned something from it keeps us going. And eventually those learnings turn into successes.”

Key to their perseverance is the pair’s close friendship. They met in their second year of engineering studies and “instantly bonded over our goal of wanting to set our own path in life,” recalls Sasha. “Fundamentally, we were friends first, and that’s what makes the business awesome to work on. We know each other’s strengths and weaknesses and how to use them to complement each other.”

They also share a passion for problem-solving and were enthusiastic participants in the Velocity Programme, delivered by the Business School’s Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE). “We had our fair share of cracks at the programme, with some ideas that were probably both over-ambitious and under-cooked,” laughs Sasha. “The Velocity programme gave us our first real-life feedback on our ideas and was incredibly insightful – not in what we submitted, but around other participants’ ideas that did win and were working and realistic.” Velocity helped them to understand the difference between “trying to build something that you think people want, not what they actually need,” he adds. “We put these learnings to the test with PieBot by trying to distil the problem to its basics before we even picked up a nut and bolt to start building.”

Significantly, WM Robotics is not their first entrepreneurial venture. In 2020 the pair joined the former New Zealand GM of Uber Eats, Andy Bowie, and a fellow engineering student, Paul Rassie, to launch auto-repair booking platform My Auto Shop. Three years working for a start-up provided an excellent introduction to the challenges as well as the rewards of an entrepreneurial career. “One of the biggest lessons was that it’s easy to underestimate how hard it is to build a business from the ground up,” observes Sasha. “A lot of content online makes entrepreneurship look glamorous, but in reality, it can be an uphill battle at times.” However, the satisfaction of taking PieBot from concept to completion far outweighs the more onerous aspects of their endeavour. “It’s incredibly gratifying to see people using and enjoying a product that started as a concept in our minds,” says Sasha.

Persistence has been key to their success, he believes, and it’s this advice he’d like to share with budding entrepreneurs. “There will inevitably be setbacks, but viewing these as learning opportunities rather than roadblocks will help you stay motivated. Believe in your vision, stay flexible and keep pushing towards your goals.” Vincent’s advice? Just do it. “Start working on that million-dollar idea in your head. You’ll either find out fast that it’s more like a $1 idea, or you’ll get traction. The sooner you start, the sooner you’ll figure it out.” However, “Know your runway,” he adds. “Make sure you have enough cash saved and you know how long that will last. There’s no point having a great idea, but running out of cash to execute it.”

For WM Robotics, there’s a lot more than pies in the pipeline. The vision for the company is to service the smart self-service retail and hospitality sector, explains Sasha. “We think this is the future of retail, with ever-increasing labour costs and increasing demand for immediacy from consumers. We can’t wait to show the world what a truly great smart retail experience can entail.”