Summary
Billions are pouring into warehouse robotics. So why do so many automation projects fall short? The answer starts with the people working the floor.
In this entrepreneur interview, Tanner Green, co-founder and CEO of Ox, a Bentonville-based warehouse AI platform serving billion-dollar enterprises, shares how a wearable headset startup evolved into a warehouse operating system and digital twin platform. He also explains why early investors bet on founders rather than ideas, and what he’s learned leading a team with zero turnover.
Whether you’re building in physical AI or just getting your first idea off the ground, this founder story is a case study in growing with your customers instead of clinging to your first idea.
What you’ll learn:
- Why frontline workers make or break warehouse automation
- Evolving from AR headsets to a warehouse operating system
- What a digital twin is, and why it beats a dashboard
- Why “dark warehouses” are still decades away
- How enterprise customers actually find startups
- Raising early capital from friends, family, and angels
- Why fundraising announcements are the wrong scoreboard
- First steps for anyone with a business idea
⏱️Chapters
0:25 Meet Tanner Green of Ox
1:21 From startup bootcamp at 14 to co-founder
4:21 From AR headsets to a warehouse operating system
6:40 A million open warehouse jobs
8:21 Building for frontline operators
10:20 Robotics funding vs. real-world adoption
13:22 How enterprise customers find Ox
16:02 Leadership lessons from two years as CEO
20:01 Raising capital: investors bet on you
24:11 Why we over-celebrate fundraising
26:04 How to start: write it down
27:13 What is a digital twin?
30:06 Ox’s next 3–5 years: orchestrating robotics
33:00 Advice to his 14-year-old self
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About Tanner Green:
Tanner is co-founder and CEO of Ox (formerly Oculogx), which builds human-centered AI and warehouse automation software for enterprise supply chains.
🔗https://www.linkedin.com/in/tanner-green/
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