Simone Giertz on Her Robots and Returning to Work After Brain Surgery

TL;DR

Simone Giertz built a career as “the queen of shitty robots” by starting with a viral toothbrush helmet, then transitioned to product design after a brain tumor and surgery gave her permission to explore other types of content. She emphasizes establishing boundaries (no fixed upload schedule), diversifying income (talks, product design), and valuing “easy work” over guilt-driven grind.

Key insights

• Giertz’s original “GIF-first” approach to videos evolved naturally, not from a master plan; she uploaded a 7-second GIF of the toothbrush helmet and only later added longer build explanations.
• She deliberately never committed to an uploading schedule to prevent burnout, unlike many YouTubers.
• Building “shitty robots” was a protective strategy: “if I only try to build shitty things then nobody can make a joke on my expense” – a way to approach intimidating fields without formal training.