Inside the Conversation: Sydney Robinson on the Sunday Sips Podcast

When our co-founder, Sydney Robinson, joined Joseph Isosaki on the Sunday Sips Podcast, the discussion quickly became more than a story about product development. It turned into a candid conversation about the realities of innovation in prosthetics, the daily challenges amputees face, the spark behind Kinn, and the role of empathy in building meaningful solutions.

Here are a few moments from the conversation that are worth highlighting:

“Limb size changes constantly. Sockets don’t.”

Amputees live with a daily struggle: their limb changes size throughout the day, but their prosthetic socket does not. This mismatch leads to pain, discomfort, and often a loss of independence. For decades, it was accepted as the standard of care. At Vessl, we refused to accept that. Instead, we asked: what if the prosthetic were adapted to the person, not the other way around?

“What if the prosthetic adapted to the person, instead of the person adapting to the prosthetic?”

That question led to the creation of Kinn, our automatic volume management system. Unlike motorized or battery-powered solutions, Kinn adjusts passively with each step the user takes, maintaining a consistent fit throughout the day. The result is a prosthetic experience that restores comfort, freedom, and independence.

“We don’t build in a vacuum”

From the earliest prototypes, patients and prosthetists were central to every design decision. Every prototype went straight to patients and prosthetists for feedback. Feedback from users like Stevie, an adaptive athlete, helped refine Kinn into something that truly works for people in their everyday lives.

“It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done”

Innovation is never easy, and Sydney spoke openly about the realities of building Vessl. The entrepreneur’s journey is “ full of setbacks, steep learning curves, and delays. But our job is to stay in the game. That persistence, even when the path is uncertain, is what makes breakthroughs possible.

Kinn is only the beginning

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At Vessl, our mission is to help make prosthetics that adapt to people, not the other way around. A huge thanks to Joseph and the Sunday Sips Podcast for giving Sydney the opportunity to share our story.

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