FRC Team 1403 Cougar Robotics

What FRC Team 1403 Cougar Robotics does

FRC Team 1403 Cougar Robotics is a student-led, nonprofit FIRST Robotics Competition team based at Montgomery High School in Skillman, New Jersey. Founded in 2004, the organization fields 74 student members across 14 functional sub-teams (mechanical, electrical, programming, CAD, business, strategy, awards, and outreach) supported by 11 adult mentors. Its core deliverable is a competition robot designed, manufactured, and programmed from scratch within FIRST's annual six-week build season, equipped with subsystems such as swerve drivetrains, Limelight 3 vision cameras, AprilTag-based localization, and custom intake/shooter mechanisms that change each year with the game release.

Beyond the competition deliverable, the team operates a multi-tier STEM outreach portfolio. It runs SOAR Camp (a free robotics day-camp for middle-school students), mentors eight FIRST LEGO League teams generating 300+ community service hours over eight years, and delivers in-school engineering classes for grades 8-10. The team co-founded and continues to lead The Compass Alliance, a multi-FRC-team governance network that has produced 18 published worksheets for the FIRST website. In 2025 the team added the Theraprints initiative, delivering student-built therapeutic devices to senior-community beneficiaries.

The organization operates on a sponsorship-and-grant funding model with no commercial revenue. Corporate sponsors include Bristol-Myers Squibb, Boeing, Bosch Rexroth, Comcast, Airbus, the Johnson & Johnson Foundation, Picatinny Arsenal, Haas CNC, NAVAIR, and Precision Tech. Additional funding comes from individual donations, foundation grants, and the annual Cougar Classic Golf Outing. There is no subscription, product, or service revenue stream; the team is a 501(c)(3)-style educational nonprofit with a fiscal-year cadence aligned to the FIRST competition calendar.

Name

FRC Team 1403 Cougar Robotics

Legal name

FRC Team 1403 Cougar Robotics

Website

https://cougarrobotics.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

FRC Team 1403 Cougar Robotics is a student-led nonprofit FIRST Robotics Competition team at Montgomery High School in Skillman, NJ. Founded in 2004, the team designs competition robots annually and runs STEM outreach including SOAR Camp and FLL mentoring.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

STEM Education and Robotics Programs

akta.pro primary industry

Competition Robotics Teams & Coaching (FLL/FTC/FRC, VEX) (EDAMADAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Robotics After-School & Enrichment Clubs (EDAMADAA), Robotics & Engineering Summer Camps / Bootcamps (EDAMADAF), LEGO / Block-Based Robotics Programs (EDAMADAD), Competitive Activities (Debate, Mock Trial, Academic Team, Robotics) (EDAJAJAD)

Keywords

• Robotics education
• STEM outreach
• Youth mentorship
• Competition robotics
• Engineering workshops

Headquarters

HQ city

Skillman

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Sponsorship and Donations: Team operates as a nonprofit educational organization funded by corporate sponsors, educational institutions, and community donations. Major sponsors include Montgomery Board of Education, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Picatinny Arsenal, Bosch Rexroth, Comcast, Haas CNC, Airbus, J&J Foundation, and Precision Tech Corp.
2. Leicht Scholarship: Scholarship created in honor of mentor retirement, given to students who display team core values - Family, Dedication, Quality, and Impact

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

FRC Team 1403 Cougar Robotics is a student-led FIRST Robotics Competition team based at Montgomery High School in Skillman, New Jersey, that designs, fabricates, and programs competition robots. The team delivers year-round STEM education and outreach programs to K-12 students, including summer camps, FLL mentoring, kickoff events, and workshops in CAD, engineering, and related technical disciplines.

Product overview

FRC Team 1403 Cougar Robotics is a FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) team based in Skillman, NJ, operating since 2004. The team operates as a student-led organization that designs, fabricates, wires, and programs competition-ready robots within a six-week build season. Beyond robot development, the team provides STEM outreach programs including the SOAR (Student Opportunities for Academics and Recreation) summer camp, FIRST Lego League (FLL) mentoring, Bridgewater Temple robotics classes, library workshops, and Women in STEM presentations. The team also hosts annual Kickoff events and workshops for other FRC teams. As a nonprofit educational team rather than a commercial product company, FRC Team 1403 does not offer commercial products or services; its activities center on competition robotics and community STEM education.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• The Compass Alliance (TCA): An international coalition co-founded by Team 1403 aimed at making FIRST resources more accessible to all teams, including worksheets, reels, and best practices.
• SOAR
• Astrobraries
• Cougar Classes

Products and services

• SOAR Summer Programs
• FLL Mentoring Program
• Kickoff Event
• Cougar Workshops (CAD and Engineering Workshops)
• Women in STEM Presentations
• Bridgewater Temple Classes

Quantifiable outcome

• 100% graduation rate with 90% of graduates pursuing STEM degrees
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Montgomery Township School DistrictcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrimary institutional partner hosting Team 1403 at Montgomery High School. Team annually presents achievements to the Board of Education and provides STEM education programs to district students.
• Picatinny ArsenalmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerU.S. Army installation engaged with team through Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day; 14 girls from team met women engineers at the event.
• Haas CNCmajorTechnology or IntegrationCNC equipment manufacturer providing manufacturing capabilities for robot fabrication.
• The Compass Alliance (TCA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational coalition co-founded by Team 1403 aimed at making FIRST resources more accessible. Team 1403 is a Core Team that helped create 18 TCA Worksheets officially published by FIRST.
• Sri Venkateswara Temple (Balaji Mandir)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHost venue for robotics classes reaching 60+ kids grades 2-8 from 10 school districts with 12 hours of LEGO instruction.
• Trenton Area Soup KitchenminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity partner; team donates 150 items annually through toiletry drive.
• Monty PantryminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal food pantry receiving donations from team outreach initiatives.
• Ronald McDonald House CharitiesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTeam donated over 10,000 can tabs to support charity operations.
• Laurel Circle Retirement HomeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSenior living facility receiving 3D-printed cane and wheelchair grips through Theraprints initiative.
• Shrimad Rajchandra Education Center (India)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSchool in India receiving educational presentations on sensors from team to teach students grades 7-9.
• FLL Teams 26361 and 26362coreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerMentored for 8 years; both reached States with one winning 2nd place Innovation Award. 300 hours of mentoring accumulated across all FLL teams.

Scale indicators13 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• VEX Robotics: VEX Robotics is the primary competing K-12 competition robotics platform, with comparable team structures, build seasons, and competition formats. Teams in VEX pursue similar STEM and competition outcomes to FRC teams like Team 1403.

Others

• Iridescent: Iridescent is a STEM education nonprofit serving underrepresented youth through family engagement and engineering programs. It is thematically adjacent to Team 1403's outreach mission but does not run a competition robotics program.
• iRobot Education: iRobot Education offers K-12 STEM learning programs leveraging consumer robotics platforms. It targets a similar student demographic with educational content but does not run a competition robotics league.

Emerging players

• MATE Inspiration for Innovation (MATE II / MATE Center): MATE II operates the MATE ROV Competition, a K-12 and college-level underwater robotics competition. It shares the team-based competition robotics format and STEM-education mission with FRC, but focuses on marine technology applications.
• Botball: Botball is an autonomous robotics competition for middle and high school students run by KISS Institute for Practical Robotics. It overlaps with FRC in target demographic and competition-driven STEM education but focuses on autonomous rather than teleoperated robots.

Broad incumbents

• FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology): FIRST is the parent organization that creates and operates the FIRST Robotics Competition framework in which Team 1403 competes. It defines competition rules, distributes resources, and accredits teams globally, making it the umbrella incumbent in this space.
• Code.org: Code.org is a large K-12 STEM and computer science education nonprofit serving similar student populations through curriculum, teacher training, and outreach. It competes for the same sponsor mindshare and education-policy attention that supports programs like Team 1403.
• REC Foundation (Robotics Education & Competition Foundation): The REC Foundation operates the VEX Robotics Competition, the most direct alternative K-12 competition robotics platform to FRC. It serves a similar student and sponsor audience with a parallel competition and team ecosystem.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/Team1403
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/1403CougarRobotics
• Facebookfacebook.com/CougarRobotics1403
• Instagraminstagram.com/team1403/?hl=en
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cougarrobotics

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about FRC Team 1403 Cougar Robotics