Most people think of autonomous vehicles as futuristic cars on city streets. But what if the real disruption starts in your backyard; with machines that mow the lawn better than humans can?

In this episode of Founder Talk, I sit down with Ilya Sagalovich, founder of Havenshine, a company building autonomous and semi-autonomous commercial mowers. We dive into how off-road autonomy works, why it’s actually harder than self-driving cars, and the ethical and safety questions that come with building machines people can “play chicken” with.

Ilya shares how he went from tinkering with prototypes in his garage to building a venture-backed company, why lawn care was the perfect entry point for autonomy, and what this wave of AI-powered machines means for jobs, businesses, and society. From path planning and safety kill switches to customer adoption and investor dynamics, this is the unfiltered founder story behind a technology most of us haven’t even considered yet.

You’ll learn:

✅ Why off-road autonomy is often harder than self-driving cars
✅ How semi-autonomous “flock” mowers let one person do the work of many
✅ The safety and ethics challenges of deploying autonomous machines in public
✅ Why adoption depends on cost, regulation, and cultural mindset
✅ How AI and autonomy will reshape not just lawn care, but the future of work

If you’ve been searching “future of autonomous technology,” “AI in landscaping,” or “how AI is changing jobs,” this conversation will open your eyes to what’s coming next.

Connect with Ilya

Guest LinkedIn URL: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ilya-sagalovich-29733bbb/
Guest Website: https://www.havenshine.com

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Timecodes

00:00 Introduction to Autonomous and AI Innovations
00:07 Exploring Autonomous Landscaping Equipment
02:45 The Journey of Waymo and Autonomous Vehicles
10:06 Ethics and Safety in Autonomous Driving
19:39 Challenges and Real-World Testing
23:10 Customer Reactions and Business Impact
30:03 Founding the Autonomous Mowing Company
33:33 Understanding the Product: Hardware and Software
33:54 Pitching to Manufacturers
35:04 Customer Base and Business Model
36:16 Future of Autonomous Lawn Mowing
40:13 Impact of Autonomous Technology on Jobs
45:00 AI and Human Jobs: Ethical Considerations
57:04 Challenges and Vision for the Future
01:01:06 Advice for New Entrepreneurs
01:02:14 Conclusion and Contact Information