I will discuss our constraints on supernova progenitors from early time supernova light-curve observations and the new SOXS instrument we have designed to study young transients. The first days of emission from a hydrogen-rich supernova encode important information about the physical system, and it is possible to relate the early-time light curve to the radius of the progenitor star by using shock-cooling models. I will show the first systematic application of these models to data from the Palomar Transient Factory (PTF). I will also discuss improved observing strategies to obtain more constraining results in the future. One important question is the effect of circumstellar material on the light curves, motivating future systematic spectroscopic sequencing of these events. To this end, we have designed a new medium resolution UV-VIS spectrograph. The Multi-Imaging Transient Spectrograph (MITS) is the R~4500 UV-VIS arm of the Son Of X-Shooter (SOXS) spectrograph proposed for ESO’s 3.6 m New Technology Telescope. Our design divides the spectrum into several channels, allowing optimization for each narrow part of the spectrum. We estimate a 50-100% improvement in throughput relative to a classical 4-C echelle design. Our design passed a preliminary design review in July 2017 and is expected on the telescope in 2020.