Celebrating with Rob Kramer: From Bitcoin Bakeries to Billion-Person Impact

 At Canopy, we celebrate bold thinkers, creative builders, and founders who don't just launch startups—they ignite movements. In March, at our Demo Night in Lisbon, one founder captured the hearts and minds of our entire community. Rob Kramer, the visionary behind Apollo Medica, walked away with the coveted People’s Choice Award—and it’s easy to see why.

Rob is not your average founder. His journey spans pastries, parking, public health, and a viral waffle shop that made headlines from Portugal to Brazil. But today, he’s focused on something far more personal and universal: pain.

Apollo Medica is Rob’s current venture—a platform powered by AI and wearables designed to help 1 billion people live pain-free. Starting with musculoskeletal conditions like chronic back pain and post-surgery rehab, Apollo digitizes motion data and offers real-time support and early diagnostics. It's both a rehabilitation tool and a preventative system. A visionary mission that began with a personal question: How do we make healing more accessible, more human?

But if you think this is Rob’s first big idea, think again.

He began hustling while still at Dublin Business School. Rob spotted a gap in the local food market—Irish bakeries lacked variety. So he started importing Hungarian pastries and distributing them across Ireland and the UK. With minimal capital, he bootstrapped, reinvested every cent, and convinced his accountant to become his first investor. By 2018, they were generating over €1.7M in revenue.

In 2014, Rob’s nerdy love of crypto collided with food once again. He created Europe’s first Bitcoin bakery, turning a local shop into a PR powerhouse. One Bitcoin transaction with a former fraud director of the Irish Central Bank and boom—it hit the media. Rob had discovered the power of storytelling and how earned media can amplify an idea when it truly connects.

Fast forward to Lisbon: enter Parkio, Portugal’s first EV charging app. Originally a parking solution, Rob pivoted the company just before COVID to support cities in managing infrastructure. It was this adaptability that kept the company alive when the pandemic hit.

Then came a wildcard move: La Putaria—a cheeky bakery selling erotic-shaped waffles. With TikTok views in the tens of millions and queues around the block, it was an overnight sensation. But it wasn’t all fun and games. In Brazil, the bakery faced legal action from ultra-conservative politicians and became a pawn in the country’s volatile election year. The product wasn’t illegal—but the name and design sparked outrage. It became a freedom of speech story that made international headlines. Even with lawsuits and censorship, Rob’s sales soared. Once again, controversy became the best kind of marketing.

So what’s Rob’s real superpower? It’s not just product-market fit. It’s virality with a purpose. Whether it’s healthtech or hot dogs, he builds brands that disrupt, delight, and drive conversation. With Apollo Medica, he’s applying all that storytelling power to solve something that affects us all.

Reflecting on his journey at Demo Night, Rob told the crowd: “If you’re thinking about starting, don’t wait. Launch. Adapt. Embrace the chaos. The only thing you don’t get back is time.”

At Canopy, we’re proud to lift up founders like Rob—visionaries who don’t just pitch, they punch through the noise. This award win in Lisbon is just the beginning. We can’t wait to welcome Rob back to the stage at Web Summit Week for our annual crescendo event.

👋 Want to meet Rob and founders like him?
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Watch the full interview back https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzwtDM59cdg