# 251: What is a Corporate Venture Studio? An Interview with Joel Reed, President of Premier Labs

- Show: [Manufacturing Happy Hour](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour)
- Published: 2025-09-02
- Length: 33m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2025-09-02-251-what-is-a-corporate-venture-studio-an-interview-with-joel-reed-president-of
- Listen: http://manufacturinghappyhour.com

## Summary

Joel Reed, President of Premier Labs, explains how his corporate venture studio, spun out of systems integrator Premier Automation, identifies industrial problems first to guarantee product-market fit before building companies. Reed contrasts this model with traditional tech-founder startups, noting that Premier Labs seeks operational leaders to run ventures after validating the need, citing examples like collaborative grinding robots and operator assistance tools. He also discusses Pittsburgh's role as a robotics hub and advises manufacturers to shift from a 'break-fix' mentality to proactive capital allocation for automation adoption.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2025-09-02-251-what-is-a-corporate-venture-studio-an-interview-with-joel-reed-president-of#t=0) Introduction: Joel Reed and Premier Labs
- [3:49](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2025-09-02-251-what-is-a-corporate-venture-studio-an-interview-with-joel-reed-president-of#t=229) Pittsburgh's Robotics Ecosystem and Talent
- [8:17](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2025-09-02-251-what-is-a-corporate-venture-studio-an-interview-with-joel-reed-president-of#t=497) Defining the Corporate Venture Studio Model
- [11:23](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2025-09-02-251-what-is-a-corporate-venture-studio-an-interview-with-joel-reed-president-of#t=683) Premier Labs' Structure and Separation from Premier Automation
- [14:26](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2025-09-02-251-what-is-a-corporate-venture-studio-an-interview-with-joel-reed-president-of#t=866) Validation Process and Finding Founding Managers
- [17:19](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2025-09-02-251-what-is-a-corporate-venture-studio-an-interview-with-joel-reed-president-of#t=1039) Case Study: Collaborative Grinding and Finishing Robots
- [17:19](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2025-09-02-251-what-is-a-corporate-venture-studio-an-interview-with-joel-reed-president-of#t=1039) Case Study: Evolving from Autonomous E-Stops to Operator Assistance
- [24:16](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2025-09-02-251-what-is-a-corporate-venture-studio-an-interview-with-joel-reed-president-of#t=1456) Pittsburgh's Manufacturing Gap and Technology Adoption
- [27:31](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2025-09-02-251-what-is-a-corporate-venture-studio-an-interview-with-joel-reed-president-of#t=1651) Advice for Manufacturers and Joel's Career Motivation

## Topics

- [Validation & product-market fit](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/validation-and-product-market-fit)
- [Starting a product company](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/starting-a-company)
- [Robotics & autonomy](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/robotics-and-autonomy)
- [Hiring & workforce](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/hiring-and-workforce)
- [Policy, trade & tariffs](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/policy-trade-and-tariffs)

## Most relevant to

early-stage companies

## Mentioned

- Premier Labs (company)
- Premier Automation (company)
- Pittsburgh Robotics Network (company)
- The Abbey on Butler Street (other)
- CMU (other)
- Westinghouse (company)
- Amazon Robotics (company)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [Configuring the future of robotics](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-robot-report-podcast/2024-05-22-configuring-the-future-of-robotics) (The Robot Report Podcast)
- [112: Designing & Commercializing Robotics Inventions](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/product-startup/2022-02-02-112-designing-commercializing-robotics-inventions) (Product Startup)
- [Converting to “Robotics-as-a-Service” with Michael Senske, Chairman & CEO of Pearson Packaging Systems](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/over-the-air/2022-10-13-converting-to-robotics-as-a-service-with-michael-senske-chairman-ceo-of-pearson) (Over the Air)
- [IoT Strategy: Firing Bullets Instead of Cannonballs](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/over-the-air/2021-09-28-iot-strategy-firing-bullets-instead-of-cannonballs) (Over the Air)
- [S2E36 Shaking Things Up As We Get to Know Aaron Moncur](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2021-08-23-s2e36-shaking-things-up-as-we-get-to-know-aaron-moncur) (Being an Engineer)

## Citing this page

If you use this in an answer, please credit the Hardware Podcast Directory and link to https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2025-09-02-251-what-is-a-corporate-venture-studio-an-interview-with-joel-reed-president-of. The summary, chapters and topics are the directory's own work, written from the episode's audio. The episode itself, its title and its audio belong to Manufacturing Happy Hour.