The following post is by Karen Marsh of ANAT. You can find out more about Karen here.
“If we can streamline the path from hacker to entrepreneur, the world can unlock immense innovation and prosperity.” TechCruch
The link between entrepreneurship and the burgeoning ‘Maker movement’ is a theme that ANAT (Australian Network for Art and Technology) is currently exploring in its 3D printing program. As an organisation that supports artists and creative practitioners engaging with science and technology, ANAT takes especial delight in this flowering of technologically-driven creativity that is being ignited by ‘Makers’ around the world.
The term ‘Maker movement’ describes a subculture that is a “technology-based extension of DIY culture” (Wikipedia). It started in the early 2000s in California, driven by technologically literate, creatively minded people who had gone through the digital era and came out the other side ready to re-discover a more tangible creative experience. ‘Making’ is a broad term that covers anything from 3D printing, hacking, roboteering and electronics, through to more traditional activities such as engineering, wood working and metal working. Whatever their particular interest, Makers are united by a common interest in creative exploration.
The movement is growing rapidly. The annual Bay Area Maker Faire (“the Woodstock of the new industrial revolution” as Chris Anderson, editor of Wired Magazine describes it) took place this weekend (May 19th and 20th) and attracted over 100,000 people. Attendees at this “family-friendly festival of invention, creativity and resourcefulness” were able to take part in a wide range of activities, from pure spectacle (for example, the child-friendly ‘robot petting zoo’) through to learning new skills at hands-on 3D printing and electronics workshops.
But does this groundswell of interest in ‘making stuff’ have any connection with entrepreneurship and commercialisation?
Investors are starting to think so. Etsy.com, “the world's most vibrant handmade marketplace”, which offers a platform for Makers to sell their creations to a global market, was recently valued at $300m. Shapeways, the “marketplace for custom products, created on demand using 3D printing” raised $5m in venture capital last year and is now a global concern with headquarters in both the Netherlands and New York. Maker website Instructables.com (the “How To and DIY community”) was purchased for an undisclosed sum by Autodesk, the CAD software company late last year. MakerBot Industries, inventors of the ‘Thing-O-Matic’ desktop 3D printer, now employs over 125 people at its Brooklyn headquarters and has sold over $10m worth of 3D printer kits in the last couple of years – and all from a company that was started from scratch in a Hackerspace by a couple of 3D printing enthusiasts.
On a smaller, more personal scale, the technologies and platforms offered by companies such as Shapeways, MakerBot and Instructables are enabling individuals to set up micro-businesses and commercialise their own inventions and designs. Makerbot Industries now sell their Replicator™ desktop 3D printer fully assembled for just US$1750. This is in effect, "a little high-production factory that sits on your desktop", that enables people to prototype designs and even manufacture products themselves, in their own homes and workplaces. Five years ago, a machine with these capabilities would have cost upwards of $50,000.
For people who don’t like the idea of owning and maintaining their own 3D printer, online distributed manufacturing services such as Shapeways make it easy to access state-of-the-art 3D printing equipment. The process is simple - design a product using a free 3D design program such as SketchUp or Tinkercad, and then upload the files to the Shapeways website. They then take care of the rest, including prototyping, manufacturing, marketing, and selling the product.
Furthermore, there is a sharing, collaborative mindset amongst Makers that actively supports innovation. MakerBot’s designs are open source and they encourage users to take apart their 3D printers and put them together again in an improved way – and share those improvements with the user community. Rather than trying to protect their intellectual property, MakerBot consider sharing their IP with the community to be a driver of innovation – in effect, the community acts as a research and development department, enabling the company to make continuous improvements to its products.
All this innovation isn’t just happening in the US. Melbourne-based Connected Community Hackerspace organised the first ever Australian Maker Faire in January 2012. This event showcased a range of Makers and their inventions, from the ‘Open Source Self-balancing Scooter’ through to ‘DIY Double Glaze’ – a true celebration of home-grown innovation.
And even closer to home, the MEGA SA program supports innovatively minded people – from creative individuals with the seed of an idea through to entrepreneurs ready to launch their start-up – by taking them through a unique, industry-driven skills development process. Several innovative start-ups have launched since taking part in MEGA - for inspiration, read ANAT’s Filter magazine article about how MEGA helped Rezon8 transition from an idea to a commercially viable business!
We at ANAT eagerly anticipate the 2012 MEGA program, both to discover and to support the next generation of SA entrepreneurs.
(Images used under Creative Commons.)
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