#63 - The Execution Problem: Lab Donkey

<p>Donkey work. That's what a British scientist called it — the tedious, repetitive, unglamorous work that keeps labs running. Petia and Safwan Hak heard that phrase and built a company around it.</p><p>Lab Donkey is focused on one of the hardest problems in lab automation: execution, scheduling and robotics for the problems that are too big, too complex and too challenging for anyone else to tackle. And they built it from the outside - Petia from project management and operations, Safwan from enterprise software architecture including time at Automata - watching scientists work, living in the lab, and solving the problems nobody else would touch.</p><p>In this episode: </p><p>→ Why automation works in demos but breaks in real labs </p><p>→ Why the human is the biggest challenge in automation </p><p>→ What enterprise software can teach life sciences </p><p>→ Why standards are the real bottleneck in lab automation </p><p>→ How Lab Donkey is building what the industry was missing</p><p>🎙️ Guests: Petia Hak &amp; Safwan Hak — Lab Donkey </p><p>👥 Hosts: Sura Hadi &amp; Mike Ouren </p><p>📁 Series: Automation in the Wild</p><p>🔗 Follow Petia on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/petiahak-4bb26a3 </p><p>🔗 Follow Safwan on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/safwanhak </p><p>🔗 Lab Donkey: labdonkey.com </p><p>📩 helicalbrew@gmail.com</p><p><br /></p><p>CHAPTERS</p><p>00:00 The Story Behind "Lab Donkey"</p><p>00:24 Meet the Founders</p><p>01:40 The Real Problem with Lab Automation</p><p>08:49 Why Automation Demos Don't Match Reality</p><p>10:50 What Actually Breaks in a Lab</p><p>17:59 Software Lessons Life Sciences Needs</p><p>22:11 Is AI Ready for Lab Automation?</p><p>26:04 Why So Many Automation Projects Fail</p><p>29:03 The Hidden Complexity of Lab Workflows</p><p>34:29 Designing for Scientists, Not Programmers</p><p>41:52 What Shocked Them About the Industry</p><p>45:20 The Mindset Behind Lab Donkey</p><p>50:42 The Future of Lab Donkey</p><p>51:59 Final Thoughts</p><p><br /></p><p>👉 YouTube: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfXIZEjEPi9sUPOtidc2COg" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">   / @helicalbrew  </a> </p><p>🎧 Spotify, iTunes &amp; Amazon Podcasts </p><p>📩 helicalbrew@gmail.com </p><p>📍 @helicalbrew everywhere</p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/helicalbrew" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">#HelicalBrew</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/automationinthewild" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">#AutomationInTheWild</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/labautomation" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">#LabAutomation</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/biotech" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">#Biotech</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/labdonkey" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">#LabDonkey</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/robotics" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">#Robotics</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/scheduling" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">#Scheduling</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/labtech" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">#LabTech</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/sciencepodcast" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">#SciencePodcast</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/podcast" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">#Podcast</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/womenfounders" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">#WomenFounders</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/startuplife" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">#StartupLife</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/biology" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">#Biology</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/automation" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">#Automation</a></p>