Everyone has sat at a railroad crossing wondering how long they'll be stuck.

Most people accept it.

Andria McClellan didn't.

After years in local government hearing complaints about blocked roads, delayed emergency response, and daily frustration, she realized something shocking:

"There's no data. You don't have any data on how many times the train has blocked your road."

Now, as CEO of Oculus Rail, she's building a system to track, measure, and ultimately solve one of the most overlooked infrastructure problems in the country.

This is a story about failure, resilience, and seeing opportunity where everyone else sees inconvenience.

From getting "shellacked" in elections to building a company rooted in real-world problems, Andria breaks down what it actually takes to build something that matters.

00:00 Startup mindset and campaigns
03:39 Naming Oculus Rail and building a brand
07:01 Space, region, and innovation context
09:36 The real problem, trains blocking roads
11:28 Past startup experience and early career
14:39 Failure, shutdowns, and lessons learned
16:00 Running for office like building a startup
18:38 Losing campaigns and resilience
19:17 Becoming a problem solver again
23:23 What railroads actually know and don't
25:02 Rail industry, data, and disruption
28:43 Selling to government and AI hesitation
32:40 Building the tech and partnerships
36:20 Why prediction is hard
40:48 Managing people and leadership struggles
42:16 The hardest part, selling into government
45:51 Data as the real product
47:38 Why this problem still exists
51:15 Expansion and scaling Oculus Rail

https://oculusrail.com/