We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Lori Ruff a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Lori thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Coming up with the idea is so exciting, but then comes the hard part – executing. Too often the media ignores the execution part and goes from idea to success, skipping over the nitty, gritty details of executing in the early days. We think that’s a disservice both to the entrepreneurs who built something amazing as well as the public who isn’t getting a realistic picture of what it takes to succeed. So, we’d really appreciate if you could open up about your execution story – how did you go from idea to execution?

My degree is in Engineering. I’ve been an engineer most of my life. When I moved from Texas to Illinois and had my first child, I left the consulting firm I worked for and became and independent engineering consultant. Throughout the years I ran my consulting business while helping to run whatever parent/teacher organization was in place at my childrens’ schools.
Through this I expanded into helping supplement the science programs at the schools. At one school in San Diego I proposed starting a Family Science Night and ran it until we were transferred to Arizona. In Arizona the principal at my daughter’s school felt there was not enough hands-on science taught so I volunteered to design a program and run it. I ran that program for eight years and then one day the principal came to me with a request that would change my life. She said she wanted a robotics program at the school but none of the teachers at the school would teach it. She knew I had an engineering background and wondered if I’d consider it.
After careful consideration I agreed. I researched which robotics platform I thought would be best and came up with Vex Robotics. I then proposed we take a whole year to teach the students the fundamentals, including engineering concepts, and then let the students decide it they wanted to go further and compete. I became an employee of the school community education department and taught classes after the school day ended.
I had never considered teaching before but what amazed me was the relationship I began to develop with the students. They would come in and tell me about their day, good or bad. We talked about how their classes where going, their latest science projects, their friendships and their problems. I really looked forward to hearing all about their lives and advising them when they asked. Since they started taking robotics with me in fourth grade, many of them took classes with me for three years just at the elementary school level.
But that wasn’t enough. What happened to the students when they left the elementary school but they wanted to continue with robotics? I formed a middle school team with my first robotics students who graduated 6th grade and left for Junior High. We met at one of the student’s homes, bought all of the equipment and went out and competed alongside the elementary school teams I was still teaching at the school. We did that for two years and then Covid hit. Everything was cancelled.
During our year off I had a lot of time to think. What if I converted that room in my home into a classroom? Would students make their way to my classroom instead of just walking down the hall at the school? If I did that, how would I get new students each year? I already had many existing students but I didn’t know if this could be made into a viable business. I decided there was no better time to quit working for the school district and took the leap of faith and created Robotics Edge, LLC. That was in 2021.
Fast forward to today and I currently am teaching one “Introduction to Robotics” class, one competitive elementary school Vex IQ team, three competitive middle school Vex IQ teams, one competitive middle school Vex VRC team and one Vex competitive high school VRC team. I teach from the classroom in my home but also have two satellite facilities where the VRC classes take place. I had to hire high school students to help me coach the VRC teams. The interest is so great I have to turn students away every year. I am in the process of trying to find another coach to join my business so we can move into a bigger facility and take on more students, but also consolidate all of the classes in one place. I don’t advertise, my business has grown simply by word of mouth.
My greatest joy is providing is the relationship I’ve developed with my students. One student competing on my high school team has been taking robotics with me for nine years! Several others are on their 7th and 8th year. We talk about everything and they know I am a safe, adult sounding board. I hear it all! I love my elementary students who are just figuring everything out. I love my middle school students who think they have robotics figured out but are transversing social issues at school. And, my high school students are now driving and talking to me about what colleges they want to attend and dating. I couldn’t ask for a better life!
This year was another first for me. I got high school graduation announcements from some of my first competitive students. They have stayed in touch with me and have come to visit both in the classroom and at tournaments. They are now pursuing degrees in business, mechanical engineering and computer science. Knowing I have made an impact on their lives makes me very proud. We all want to leave our mark on the world, create a legacy, and I feel teaching robotics has allowed me to do that.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I am a retired engineer whose mission is to bring more students into STEM based industries. Through creating enhanced science programs at our local schools I was recruited to teach robotics as an after school program at our local elementary school. Once I started, I couldn’t get enough. Two years in I shut down my engineering consulting business to concentrate solely on robotics. I teach more than the mechanics of robotics though. I teach how to work in a team, making ethical choices and kindness. I also teach how to persevere through adversity. In robotics we fail a lot, learning all of the way, until we finally succeed.
The students and I think of Robotics Edge as a family. Students tell me no matter how bad of a day they’ve had, they know they can always look forward to robotics class. I bring students together who may not have had a chance to meet otherwise. I also take many students who may not have a passion for sports but still want to learn how to work in a team. We do say that robotics is the sport of the mind.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

In the robotics field I have a reputation for uncompromising ethics. That’s important to me. I stress during classes that we will always choose the ethical route. This comes through in adhering to the student-centered ethos mandated by the Robotics Education and Competition (REC) Foundation. All robots are designed, built and programmed by students. If this means they are not ready or do poorly at a competition, then so be it. I’m not afraid to let the students fail. With every failure there are many lessons learned. Our teams also have a reputation for kindness. If another team needs help with something, we will help if we can, even though they are our competitors. I can’t tell you how many times my teams have been called out at the end of a tournament for helping one team or another. That is the reputation for which I always strive.

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

One hundred percent of my students (clients) come to me via word of mouth. I do not advertise. Each year I have to turn away students who want to learn about robotics because my programs are full. Potential students see us at a tournament and they and their parents come up and start talking about joining us. I get calls that indicate current students have recommended Robotics Edge to them. I am blessed that our students and families take the time to recommend our program to their friends.