"At heart, I remain an engineer"

Hidden in the basement of the Department of Computer Science, there used to be a research laboratory. Today, the ample open space serves as a learning area for students. One must press a large red button next to the locked entrance door to gain access. Immediately, a short alarm sound is heard. A helpful student quickly comes and opens the door for us. “It's incredible that this button still works. The drone battery that powers the alarm should have died a long time ago,” Tobias Nägeli says excitedly. A colleague had cleverly hidden the alarm in the room, and the exact location has since been forgotten.

Curious, the alumnus enters his former lab. Time seems to have stood still within these walls as if Tobias and his colleagues had only left ETH yesterday. His name is still written on one of the blackboards, and the birth announcement of a friend's child still hangs at Tobias' old workstation. Countless drones hang from the ceiling, each with its own story. “This drone here was the catalyst for several startups that emerged from this lab, including Tinamu. And that drone over there, I built it in secondary school. So, it's at least 20 years old,” Tobias tells us as he strolls through the time capsule and searches every corner for more memories. He takes numerous photos of his findings and cheerfully announces, “I have to share these pictures immediately with the others in our chat.”

Can you tell me more about the beginnings in this lab, Tobias?

It all started in 2010 as a student project under the supervision of Professor Marc Pollefeys. I was in the second or third Bachelor's semester of my electrical engineering studies at that time. As I was walking through the corridors of the CNB building, I came across a job advert. It stated that student assistants were being sought for a research project. There was also a helicopter with a tiny computer inside depicted on the poster. That caught my attention. I decided to apply for this job. That was the starting point. From then on, drones became an integral part of my studies. But my passion started even earlier. As I mentioned, I built my first drone in high school; before that, I tinkered with model aeroplanes during the summer holidays.

How much time did you spend down here?

We practically lived in this basement lab. By “we” I mean the people from the teams of computer science professors Marc Pollefeys, Markus Gross and Friedemann Mattern. Among them were not only Bachelor's and Master's students but also doctoral students. Although we were assigned to different institutes or even departments over the years, we always stayed down here and worked on our research. We ate together and attended sports courses at the Academic Sports Association (ASVZ) in the building next door. It was truly wonderful. To this day, I am still in close contact with these individuals. We still meet regularly and keep each other updated through group chats. Many have started their own startups or spin-offs. Just a few houses away from Tinamu's current office is Auterion – another ETH spin-off that has its roots in this lab.

Tinamu has its headquarters at the foot of the Üetliberg. The premises bear a striking resemblance to the former ETH laboratory, albeit much more modern and professional. They comprise around 20 workstations, a meeting room, a kitchen and a small drone testing area. Tobias carefully selects his employees. Many have a connection to ETH. “As a spin-off, we take advantage of the opportunity to support ETH students with their semester or Master's theses," explains Tobias, revealing that this is how they found one of their team members. In general, he seems to have a close bond with his employees. Occasionally, they go for a run on the Üetliberg during their lunch break, and the startup's kitchen is adorned with countless Polaroid photos from their shared Christmas parties and celebrations held in their office. This also brings back memories of the earlier days in the basement lab, where Tobias met two of his co-founders.

How did you meet your co-founders exactly?

During my doctoral studies, I was supported by Master's students, one of whom was Samuel Oberholzer. At the same time he completed his Master's degree, I had my paragliding accident, which left me unable to walk properly for months. I needed someone to support me actively in my research. To test the functionality of my programming, we flew the drones over a large corn field. They occasionally crashed there. Samuel would retrieve the drones and help me repair them. Together, we came up with the idea to start a spin-off. I signed us up for Venture Kick, and we won the first stage, receiving 10,000 Swiss francs. The second stage required a business plan, but I didn't even know how to spell “business” correctly. So, I posted a job on Cofoundme.org and found David Lanter, who had studied industrial engineering at EPFL. David and I worked on the business plan together and won the second stage of Venture Kick. Subsequently, the three of us officially founded the company. Six months later, Fox Sports noticed us and invited us to showcase our technology in Los Angeles. At this point, I brought Daniel Meier on board, who already had experience with drones, filming and events through his previous company, Aerotain. He became our fourth co-founder. Daniel and I knew each other from before. While he was founding Aerotain, I was still working in the ETH lab. We had already collaborated on programming the Pixhawk computer used by the Aerotain drone.

How would you describe your relationship with your co-founders?

In a way, it resembles a romantic relationship – just much more complicated. An excellent personal connection is also needed among the co-founders. You see each other daily and make countless, sometimes difficult decisions. This can occasionally lead to friction. It is vital to trust and understand each other, especially in difficult times. Trust in your own abilities and those of the co-founders is also essential. For example, I'm responsible for financing, and doubts can arise during economically challenging periods. In addition, co-founders must not only work well on a personal level but also on a professional level. I was looking for individuals who complemented my weaknesses with their strengths. I believe that replicating yourself multiple times does not lead to business growth. A company requires a diverse set of skills: someone who brings ideas and creativity, another person who excels in planning and precision, a technically savvy expert, and so on. In our company, we have clearly defined roles that differentiate us from each other. As a team, we can tackle almost impossible problems that cannot be solved alone. You must be able to accept help. The more people that know your current challenge, the more minds are able to think about a possible solution. It is about collective intelligence. Thus, the probability of finding a solution increases.

This is also evident in the fact that your company does not manufacture its drones. Instead, you buy them from the company Parrot. What's behind this?

It is about recognising strengths and weaknesses and using them to our advantage. Although we know how to build drones, we focus on data analysis. Companies that use our services are interested in practical things like inventory management, sales planning and logistics optimisation. Having 20 GB of high-resolution images from their industrial halls does not benefit them. Our mission is to generate data and use analysis tools to gain valuable insights. A drone is merely a means to an end.

Earlier, you used to tinker with drones yourself. Your work area has changed quite a bit now. Do you see this change as more positive or negative?

Although I have taken on the role of CEO at Tinamu, I remain a bit of an engineer at heart. Occasionally, I find myself reminiscing about the days when I used to build drones. However, I've discovered that my problem-solving skills come in handy when leading a company and fundraising. Delving into this new field and acquiring new skills is very exciting. I have done that through a postgraduate programme at HSG. And I can still contribute my ideas in discussions with our CTO, Samuel. To be honest, although I used to love building drones, it also came with its own frustrations, like repairing broken drones at night. During my dissertation, we conducted experiments in a triple gymnasium during winter, which we could use from 10.00 at night to 6.00 in the morning. So, during the day, we focused on programming, and in the evenings, we let the drone fly. There were many crashes that required repairs. Often, we wanted to cry out of frustration, but there was no time for that. We had to continue developing the drone to test it again the next day. That's something I learned during my doctoral studies: to be resilient. Sometimes, the drone flies into a wall, and you have a deadline for a paper you have to meet. You know that you will have to stay another year if you don't meet that deadline. So, you shed a few tears but never give up and strive to find a solution.

Presentations are an integral aspect of your current work. How do you feel when you have to take on the role of a salesperson?

Well, that depends. Fundraising has been going well so far, but there are certainly people who are better at it than I am. Speaking in front of a large audience is a skill I acquired at ETH, but an incident caused a mental block. A doctoral student informed me in a Master's course that a specific group of professors would be sitting in the lecture hall, so my presentation had to be flawless. This triggered panic in me, and from that moment on, I had test anxiety. To overcome it, I even attended a seminar on the topic, where the lecturer advised us to simulate the exam situation repeatedly. He advised me to go into the room a day before the exam or presentation, solve the practice exam during the same time as the actual exam, and do the same for presentations.

I remembered this advice and gradually improved – until I had to present my Master's thesis. As I had learned in the course, I gave a practice presentation to my Master's thesis supervisor, Alexander Domahidi. While I was presenting to him, he sent an email to everyone stating that, unfortunately, I had fallen ill and that my Master's thesis presentation would be postponed by two weeks. Then he asked me to come to his office daily and give him the presentation over and over. I practised presenting it at least 50 times. The actual presentation was so good that three professors even stood up and applauded. This gave me so much confidence that I now enjoy presenting more. Nevertheless, I still practise each presentation 20 or 30 times. It helps me focus and deliver my content precisely. If you put me in front of a hundred people right now and say, “You have 30 seconds. Tell me about Tinamu. Go!” No, I wouldn't enjoy that. However, I greatly enjoy speaking about my company if I have time to prepare and know what I want to say – just like I had the opportunity to do today.