A dozen years later, Jeff and Aaron's crowning achievement, Domo, hails not from a techno-art collective but from MIT's prestigious Humanoid Robotics Lab. Domo, an adorably saucer-eyed 42-pound creature, can do simple chores such as put away groceries and mix drinks. He even gives hugs. When Aaron delivered Domo to a colleague's lab a while ago, he confessed that he felt like a heartsick dad dropping his kid off at camp.
"I've always been an inventor," says Aaron, who grew up building go-carts on a farm in Washington state. Jeff, spent his childhood in Montana, where his father encouraged him to take apart appliances and put them back together. The pair met as post-college roommates and quickly discovered they shared the same sense of humor, the same taste in art, and the same penchant for building things.
One day they watched a video of a robotic art show and immediately sought out a troupe to get involved with. "Over the next five years we were intensive artistic collaborators," says Aaron. "Our lives revolved around teaching ourselves how to build robots. Our day jobs just paid the rent."
But their bohemian lifestyle was turned upside down in 2000, when Aaron was accepted to a Ph.D. program at MIT and set out for Boston. After a few months, a staff position—machine shop director—opened up in the Humanoid Robotics Lab where Aaron was studying. He strongly recommended Jeff for the job. Jeff was hired, and the team was reunited, this time to take on academia. "It was a big learning experience for both of us," Aaron says. "We went from low-tech artistic sculpture to cutting-edge robotics. We were not stellar in a lot of areas, such as math."
What they lacked in knowledge, they made up for in a well-oiled working style. "We're both fairly laid back," says Aaron. "There's barely any conflict. Neither of us is hugely dramatic or verbal. Jeff is a great designer, intuitively. And if he says he's going to take on a task, he will actually do it and get it done."
"We are both good at compromising and respecting each other's ideas," says Jeff. "What I've learned from Aaron is his ability to concentrate without being distracted. He's really pushed me to do the same, especially when we were working 10 to 15 hours a day, including weekends, for eight months, to make Domo."
Charlie Kemp, an alumnus of the MIT lab and now a professor at Georgia Tech, argues that Aaron's and Jeff's skills are complementary. Jeff concentrates on the "body," building the actual parts by making prototypes with different materials and mechanical structures, while Aaron handles the "brains," the electronic signaling and computer programming that directs the robot.
Their shared artistic sensibility, Kemp says, further sets them apart from their colleagues, most of whom have straight-laced engineering backgrounds. "Domo is beautifully designed and even endearing," Kemp says. "People respond to it partly because Aaron and Jeff prioritized aesthetics, something a more rigid engineering type wouldn't have done." Kemp recalls the moment when someone wanted to tack an additional sensor onto Domo. "It was a minor alteration, but Aaron said no because it looked horrible."
Robots are the primary topic of conversation, even when they socialize. Over the years, girlfriends have expressed annoyance at their intense collaboration. "If I have a girlfriend, she's going to have to be good friends with Jeff," says Aaron.
Now back in San Francisco, they've founded Meka Robotics, with the goal of building advanced prosthetic limbs and humanoid machines that will help people in need. "We'd like the company to become a creative playground as well as a functional lab," says Aaron. "We're still working out who will do what for the businesses," says Jeff. "It would be hard for us to survive without each other."
Scissor Sisters: Chrissy Azzaro & Nicole Azzaro
If fashion is equal parts art and commerce, the Los Angeles-based Azzaro sisters Chrissy and Nicole—are a perfect blend for the business. Together they run Hope & Glorie, a line of cozy yet glamorous clothing.
Ten years ago, Chrissy began working as a personal shopper for ladies of leisure and soon launched her own line of cotton basics, My-Tee. Creating the designs came naturally to her; being a salesperson, marketer, and production manager did not. Chrissy realized she needed help and "loaded up the family."
That meant convincing fellow fashionista Nicole, then a college marketing major, to help manage My-Tee and co-create a new label with seasonal collections named after their grandmother Gloria.
Their collaboration soon propelled Chrissy's endeavor to new heights: My-Tee produced over $1.2 million in sales last year, and Hope & Glorie collections hang in high-end boutiques around the country. The tipping point for the new line's success occurred at a "swag" lounge backstage at the MTV Movie Awards. Chrissy caught sight of tabloid regular Jessica Alba among the celebrities trolling for free stuff and whipped together a bag of goodies to hand directly to the actress. The next day, Alba wore a Hope & Glorie top on a press interview; photos of the moment turned up in 10 different magazines.
As kids, Chrissy was the artist and Nicole the cheerleader; their orientations haven't changed much. "We have completely different personalities," says Nicole. "I'm anal-retentive, organized, tactical, and pragmatic. Chrissy is creative. She can have a million things going on at once—and that's when I tighten the reins on her."
"Nicole's a spitfire and I'm calmer,"says Chrissy. "I tend to love so many different designs, but she will step right in and tell me which ones to focus on and develop. She's got a great eye."
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