Bre Pettis's MakerBot has attracted millions in financing and is selling its 3-D printers as fast as it can. So how big can his business get? (And why does the world need more crap made out of plastic?)
onsider a random yet routine domestic mini-tragedy: The paper-towel holder in your kitchen is busted. Wouldn't it be nice if instead of making a trip to the mall or waiting for a delivery from an online retailer, you could simply produce a replacement, right at home, right now? For years, this idea hovered at the edge of plausibility. Just as you transfer words and images from your computer screen onto a piece of paper, so-called 3-D printers promise to allow you to transform digital blueprints into physical objects, on the spot. So far, the number of people doing this in the real world has been modest--mostly tech-oriented artists and superimaginative hackers, engaged in experimental projects, and, really, goof-offs. Using homemade devices, they "print" everything from anthropomorphic coffee cups to plastic replicas of Duchamp urinals. In the look-what-these-zany-kids-are-up-to media coverage that 3-D printing tends to attract, that's the stuff that gets attention. But MakerBot Industries is no art project. A young startup in Brooklyn, New York, it has emerged as the leading brand in the nascent consumer-oriented 3-D-printing realm and has recently closed a $10 million round of venture-capital funding. More than 6,000 MakerBot 3-D printers have been sold. That may not sound like a lot, but bear in mind that most sell in the form of a kit--the company's current flagship model is the $1,300 Thing-O-Matic--that is ordered directly from MakerBot and requires 12 hours or more to assemble. Now that's customer dedication. In less than three years, MakerBot has gone from three tinkering guys to 50-plus employees and counting. "If I had 20 people outsi...
[Source: Fast Company]
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