012012–2022
Manufacturing software
Verenia
I bootstrapped Verenia to help manufacturers sell configurable products without drowning in spreadsheets and tribal knowledge. In 2022, Oracle acquired Verenia's NetSuite CPQ business.
Son of a truck driver · Builder of AI & robotics
THE FUTURE
BELONGS IN
WORKING HANDS.
I build companies and machines that help ordinary people do more, earn more, and own more.
Chicago raised
American made
Machines should take the strain, not the paycheck.
01 · WHAT'S NEXT
I'M BUILDING FOR THE PEOPLE WHO BUILD AMERICA.
We spent forty years shipping factories, jobs, and know-how overseas, then told working people to adapt. I'm taking the other side of that bet.
AI and robotics can put industrial power back into the hands of the small operator. One person with the right machine can do the work of a crew, win contracts that used to belong to a big company, and build something his kids can inherit.
The worker was never the problem. The tools were.
2Bootstrapped company exits
13Age I started coding
6Kids counting on the future
1Mission: make working people stronger
My first job was washing dishes. My dad left school in the sixth grade to drive a truck. I grew up in a trailer park, and I knew what work looked like long before I knew what a startup was.
I earned degrees in computer science and mathematics, then went to law school at night. Both of my parents died. I could not afford to finish. I wound up homeless, living out of a van with my dog.
Manufacturing gave me a way back. The people reminded me of home. The problems were real. I learned the business, built software around what the factory needed, and never stopped building.
“You don't have to have been somebody or know somebody to make it in this world. What you need to do is look at the world and say: what does the world need from me, and what can I do for it?”University of Michigan Robotics, 2025
03 · THE WORK
SOFTWARE. MACHINES. OWNERSHIP.
022023–2024
AI for robotics
Avianna
I self-funded Avianna to make robots easier to command, understand, and trust. We built natural-language mission software and machine vision for drones and other robotic systems. Lucid Bots acquired Avianna in 2024.
032024–2026
Physical AI at scale
Lucid Bots
After the acquisition, I helped lead Lucid's move deeper into autonomy, software, and recurring operator economics, later serving as President and Chief Platform Officer across GTM, product, and engineering.
04NOW
The next build
Put the future in working hands
The next chapter is about using AI and robotics to make the small operator more capable than a large company. More ownership. Better work. American know-how turned into an advantage again. More soon.
04 · WATCH & LISTEN
THE LONG VERSION.
Official talkRobotics Pathways & Careers
Vic's full story, from a trailer park and a van to manufacturing software, AI, robotics, and two company exits.
Long-form interviewThe Era of AI Entrepreneurship
An unfiltered conversation on bootstrapping, building for the market, robotics, and what founders owe the people they serve.
Conference interviewHow AI Is Revolutionizing Manufacturing Sales
Why software built for generic enterprise workflows failed manufacturers, and how AI changes the equation.
05 · WHY IT MATTERS
SIX KIDS. ONE FUTURE WORTH FIGHTING FOR.
I'm a husband and a father before I'm a founder. That is not separate from the work. It is the reason for it.
My wife and I built the Pellicano Family Foundation to give young people a real shot. I build companies for the same reason: so more families can own their work, protect their bodies, and hand their kids more than they started with.
A man is measured by what he pours into the world and what he leaves behind.
INVESTORS · MEDIA · PODCASTS · STAGES