Starting a business

[Soñadora]

We are on the verge of diving into this...again.
I have made several attempts to strike out on my own. Some fizzled out. Others were spectacular failures. Even though the last one left me saying, "never again" I knew in my heart there was no way I'd be able to shake this thing until I was successful.

I think the biggest challenge has been admitting that I'm just not good at running a business. At least not running it alone. I need a partner who knows business or at least is much more pragmatic and responsible than I. I believe I've discovered that person. This person has been reluctant in the past and it has tempered my trust of her with my passion. Being the practical, pragmatic person she is, her advice to me has always been, "put it out of your head - you suck at it." So, I kept my ideas to myself. But no matter how much I try to put it out of my head, it's still there. "Like a splinter in my mind," observed Morpheus.

We talked about this today. About trust and passion and how I felt so compelled to pursue this. That I'm not afraid to fail again. And that the last time we failed we still managed to make it and in fact thrived. But the point isn't to fail. It's to succeed and I feel with her as my partner we can do that. I'm referring to my wife, of course.

I have been working on this concept for the past two years, so it's not just a flash in the pan. I have hesitated opening up to the market for fear that I'd be inundated and I'm not prepared for a surge in demand. And if I can't meet demand, that would certainly be the end.

Our concept is to service the 3D printing industry. We will offer:

• 3D printers of our own design
• 3D printer parts and supplies
• A 'Design Bar' or 'Design Cafe' (not sure what to call it) which will include
  
  • 3 levels of membership allowing users access to our 3D printing equipment
  • Classes in 3D CAD and 3D Printing
  • Prototype design and printing services
  • An espresso bar

One of the things I'd like this company to offer is an opportunity for engineering students to get their hands on the end-to-end process of designing and manufacturing parts. We will also be looking at web enablement and automation so I will also have opportunities for CSci people. These would be internship opportunities. Interns would be provided with their own 3D printer at the end of the internship.

My question around interns has to do with IP. What happens to IP with interns? Does it typically stay with the company they worked for or do they own it? I assume in the case of the former, they'd need to sign some sore of NDS or other binding contract.

[BeauV]

Rick,

I think you'll find all sorts of successful businesses which provide analogous services to what you're proposing. You could, for example, take a look at a place like Kinkos (now FedEx). Large scale printers and copiers are expensive, so folks used Kinkos to run their jobs when they needed it. Similarly, there are electronic ways to send CAD files to machine shops and get parts made, etc.... It's a model that works.

At the root of the model is that you have the capital to invest in the equipment and are willing to receive the profit stream as your return on that investment. Therefore, it's pretty critical to know what that return will be and to ensure that you investors (you and your wife) are happy with that return. I'm sure you've done calculations on that return with various utilization rates for the equipment.

The one red-flag I'd have is that you want to design and manufacture 3D printers. I know NOTHING about this market. But, given I have built everything from disk drives, to graphics workstations, to supercomputers I have some pretty serious scar tissue in the area of high-tech manufacturing. I'm certain you know all the competing 3D printers in the market and have solid reasons for your confidence in your own design. I would only suggest that you model the capital that you'll need to carry inventory, work in process, receivables, and all the various costs for scrap, bad debt, etc... If those all work, and you are willing to invest your capital in that part of the business at the returns you think you'll get, then it could be a good business.

What makes this part of your proposal a red-flag for me is that you'll need to amortize your R&D costs across the product profits. By this I mean that you need to spread your cost of development across all the 3D printers you sell. More difficult, you'll need to spread any on-going rework or redesign that is required, not to mention recalls if there is a serious problem, across that product revenue stream also. Many companies fail to face their true R&D costs and most companies aren't particularly honest with themselves about on-going design problems that result in a great deal of support or repair costs. You need to be brutally honest with yourself about this.

To put this in perspective, before we started to ship our servers in quantity back in 1984 we built 100 of them. We put those 100 servers in a warehouse which we heated to the max spec temperature and chilled to the min spec temperature repeatedly. The qualification test was that all 100 servers run for 100 days with zero failures. It took us a year to actually meet that goal. If we hadn't fixed all the problems we discovered, then when we fulfilled the 5,400 unit order that we were required to ship to the US Army we would have gone bankrupt trying to repair the bad servers in the field.

Personally, I would like to see you focus on less capital intensive operations than building your own 3D printers. I agree, that there will be a market for services and all manner of enhancements etc.... as small design firms start to take their products to production. I would suggest you start there and only get involved in manufacturing a 3D printer of your own if that is going extremely well.

Just my thoughts, they're worth what you've paid for 'em

[Soñadora]

Thanks BV. Your thoughts are greatly appreciated.

As for the printers, I have a somewhat unique model. These printers are designed to make printers - they are meta-printers. Around 80% of the printer is made of printed parts. The raw material for which is low-cost PLA (PolyLacticAcid) plastic. For each $14 roll (more like $10 wholesale), I can get 3-4 printers. The other 20% of the printer is off-the-shelf mechanical and electronic components. Add that I have made my designs available as open-source. The printer itself is not the main showcase product. It's more like a 'gateway drug' to 3D printing. As we continue to develop the design (which is actually quite mature at this point), we will be offering kits and mods. In addition, the design we are offering is based on a very popular, low-cost 3D printer called a QUBD TwoUp (http://store.quintessentialuniversalbui ... roduct=145). This machine is made from laser cut MDF. We will be offering upgrade kits that will replace all the MDF with 3D printed parts. QUBD has sold thousands of these machines and the consumer consensus is that they are rather junky.

The service bureau, training, and membership services are those I feel offer a great deal of potential. If it works out as hoped, we can consider expanding into other markets.

We have discussed many avenues for capital from loans to Kickstarter. We will be launching a Kickstarter campaign for the printer as well as the concept. It seems like there are dozens of 3D printers on Kickstarter at any moment. I need to differentiate our printer and the idea of a 'Meta Printer' does that. For each kit we sell, we will be including enough printed parts for two printers. The 2nd printer will require the buyer to purchase the mechanical and electronic components needed to complete the printer.

[Soñadora]

I have our website up. I hope to have the ordering system up as well as additional details around services soon.

http://proto-plastik.com/

I found a small hole-in-the wall space for rent that would be easy on our budget. It will be a good place for this startup. Will be meeting with intern prospects this week as well. Anyone have any pitfalls to consider when bringing on an intern?

[Jamie]

I have no idea what the labor laws are in your state regarding part-time and intern employees. I would read that section very carefully or talk to an HR expert.

[TheOffice]

Internships can be a PIA legally.

First, ANY employee/intern needs to sign a form the assigns all inventions to the company any waives any rights the employee has.

Second, depending on where you are, you may have to pay minimum wage or risk personal liability for 3x the wage plus legal fees. I have not kept up on this issue, but it is out there lurking.

Good luck!

[Soñadora]

Thanks guys!

I'll be checking with MN state regs on this.

[Soñadora]

Here's the word:

The Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) does not require employers to pay wages to interns who receive training from an employer for their own personal benefit. The Department of Labor (“DOL”) has developed a list of criteria to be considered in determining whether an individual qualifies as an intern or is really an employee who must be paid under the FLSA.

For an individual to qualify as an intern, all of the following six criteria must be satisfied:
1.The internship, even though it includes actual operation of the facilities of the employer, must be similar to training which would be given in an educational environment;
2.The internship experience must be for the benefit of the intern;
3.The intern must not displace regular employees, but instead must work under close supervision of existing staff;
4.The employer that provides the training must not derive any immediate advantage from the activities of the intern, and on occasion its operations may actually be impeded;
5.The intern must not be necessarily entitled to a job at the conclusion of the internship; and
6.The employer and the intern must both understand that the intern is not entitled to wages for the time spent in the internship.

If all of these six criteria are satisfied, then no employment relationship exists, and the minimum wage and overtime provisions of the FLSA do not apply to the intern.

This is precisely my intention with getting interns.

[TheOffice]

check your state regs too!

[BeauV]

Rick,

I have to ask, as the battle-scarred veteran of multiple start-up companies, can you state why you want to do this?? I'm not asking you to tell me (or us) why you're doing it. I just want you to be crystal clear on your reasons so that you won't wake up in the middle of the shit-fight that all start-ups turn into and ask yourself: "Why the hell am I doing this??" If you know exactly why you're doing this. I'd suggest you write it down and hang it on the wall. If you have specific goals (like money/products/fame/time/etc..), write those down too and hang them on the wall.

I have dealt with far too many folks who overly romanticized "being in a start-up" and had no real idea why they were there except that it seemed "cool" or "fun". In my personal experience, a start-up company is never cool or fun. It is a massive amount of work to accomplish something that matters to the founder. If that something, whatever it is, isn't deeply desired by the founder, then that founder will be utterly miserable and disillusioned as the normal process of founder-abuse rolls over her/him year after year.

Never forget: Owning your own company means no overtime pay, no vacations, no money, no free time, and in my case cost me my first marriage. You have to REALLY want whatever it is you think you're getting to be able to deal with all that. Just make sure you really know what it is you want out of this.

Some reading on this topic: 9 out of 10 start-ups fail.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/neilpatel/2015/01/16/90-of-startups-will-fail-heres-what-you-need-to-know-about-the-10/#1700b9046679

[Soñadora]

BV

Thanks tons for that link. Definitely food for thought.

As for this venture, I'm not afraid to share my thoughts. You and I have talked about this on a number of occasions. To that, I must express my gratitude for your willingness to humor me and discuss with me personally about all the crazy ideas I've had. You make excellent points and as I mentioned in the OP, it would probably be best to put this out of my mind and not pursue it.

But I can't. I don't know why I feel so compelled. From the time I was a teenager, I've always wanted to have my own gig. As much of a bumbler I am with the business side of things, I've still been obsessed with having one. It's not a romantic notion. I think I see it as ultimate freedom to pursue and develop my ideas. I've always been and idea man. And I want to foist my ideas on anyone who would be willing to part with cold, hard cash to be a part of those ideas. I've always said, "companies weren't started just to have employees." That's what I usually say to colleagues when companies are adjusting the number of players on the team. But it would be great to have a business where I could get people on their way to bigger and better things to gain some real experience on their way there. I've found from teaching that I get a rush out of seeing people be successful. And if I can benefit from that at the same time, it would be a terrific symbiosis.

This latest venture is the deepest and most successful I've ever been at materializing my ideas. I finally have a 'product'. But in the spirit of the article, is it just a 'solution looking for a problem'?
Those words gave me pause. I don't want to be jaded or oblivious. Perhaps calling myself a 'startup' is a bit aggressive. I'm at the proof-of-concept stage. I'm not afraid to invest a little money and time to see if there's a there, there. On the way, it would be awesome if I could get some young minds exposed to the concepts of design, engineering, and manufacturing as well as running a business. I've considered looking at becoming a non-profit, but that just sounds like a lot of extra bureaucracy. Maybe not. I don't anticipate huge profitability. I'm more interested in being self-sustaining. I want to make and sell 3D printers. There are hundreds of different printers out there. Is there room for one more? Does my DIY angle have any traction? These are things I want to discover. I could spend a long time researching this or I could just forget the business side and call it a hobby (which it is mostly at this point) but why not try to make it a hobby that could generate some pocket change?

I'm not new to this. I have incorporated several times. My last was a sign shop. It was a disaster. I keep telling myself it was a learning opportunity. We had to declare bankruptcy. That did not cover the 2nd mortgage so even today we are feeling the pain of that move every time we pay for the house. So, what went wrong? A number of things (some of which were pointed out in that article)

• Too much doing and not enough working
  
  • I loved making signs. I loved designing them. Didn't care much for the installation, but the creative part was a blast.
  • Didn't pay attention to the 'business'. Always procrastinating paying our suppliers, rent, and all those annoying 'other' bills.
  • I want to overcome that aversion. I want to be adept at the business side. That will require time and cash flow and buy in from my wife. If I can prove to her the books are in order, I will be able to engage her as a partner vs. and adversary.
• No concept of cash flow
  
  • As a service business, we took anywhere from 20% to 50% down before starting a sign for someone. Often, the costs greatly exceeded the down payment. So we had to float the product for 30 days before customers paid. What did I learn from that? We'll take a down payment of 100% from now on.
  • I did not pay close attention to costs. I was responsible for quoting and ordering. I usually missed something. In some cases this would require re-work, consuming all profit.
• Lack of a business plan
  
  • As a franchise, the 'business plan' was a form we had to sign. We did not have a detailed picture of our costs. Makes me a little nauseous thinking about that.
  • This go around, I am trying to capture every last little cost I can come up with. Having a product makes our production costs pretty straightforward. Even there, I don't want to miss anything. "How much electricity does it cost to print this part?" That's the level I want to be.
• Lack of a mission
  
  • No mission statement. To your question, "what are you trying to do" I just figured it was 'make signs'. Wrong. I had a catchy slogan, "your image is our business." But I didn't embrace that.
  • I haven't completed the mission statement, but it revolves around providing products and services to enable people to materialize their ideas.

[BeauV]

Rick,

Great set of answers. Clearly, I've appointed myself Chief Skeptic. Here is another way to look at start-ups, with a bias towards large opportunities. The authors of this website are the hands-down most successful VC firm ever. They have seen more success than anyone over a longer period of time. They have also seen a lot of failures. Their words are worth reading and thinking about.

Check it out HERE. You will find a number of sub-pages. Go take a look at them. I'd suggest starting with the "Writing A Business Plan" button. There are a number of questions buried in there that need to be answered, in writing. As I tell my teams: "If it isn't written down, it doesn't exist." If you worked for me and told me you'd "thought about it" or that you "understood it", but you hadn't written it down. You'd get the "If it isn't written down, it doesn't exist." lecture

[kimbottles]

As I said to you in my email last week: CASH IS KING.

When times were tough at my company I was tracking and looking at my cash flow report daily, sometimes twice a day as I got new information.
When times were good I was only tracking cash flow TWO or THREE times a week. But I looked at cash balances daily without fail.

I always knew where our projected year forward cash stood. Because of that I could see problems well in advance. Saved the company on at least two occasions because we were able to take corrective action early.

If you are not cash focused then that lovely Finnish Gal Minna has to be, otherwise forget it. But if it is her, YOU NEED TO LISTEN TO HER DAILY.

The company my partner and I bought was founded by a wild and crazy idea guy.........and his very detailed oriented CPA wife. Without her it would have crashed early, well before we were able to purchase it. Fortunately the guy listened to and went with his wife's opinions and concerns.

You must have a strong cash flow focus in there somewhere or forget it.

[BeauV]

Kim and Rick,

The original author of the link to the Sequoia Capital website I posted above once said to me: "Cash is more important than your Mother."

[Soñadora]

THIS is what I'm talking about.

I'm trying to decide if my preference for large firms has hurt or helped my perspective on business. I am inclined to think it has helped. At least for me. There is so much to work with and you can see it in action. At all the small companies I've worked for, egos kept everything close to the chest. If you started poking around where people didn't think you belonged, you'd get the smackdown. In a big company, at least my big company, they seem to be more willing to share. It's odd that I feel like I'm contributing more here than when I worked for a small company. There's some irony in there.

You guys are being very generous. Understanding money is one of the big reasons I want to do this. We got really burned with our last venture and I don't want that to happen again. The sign shop was tough because we had to take on big jobs in order to cover our expenses - mainly overhead. If we'd run it out of our garage, that would have eliminated a huge portion of overhead. Our sign shop was in a high-visibility area and rent was really high.

Today, I could not do what I'm thinking and run it out of my garage without some significant modifications. And then where would I put my car and boat stuff?
We are looking at renting a space. I have been putting money into an account for securities investment (beyond my 401k) and I will be diverting that to rent since I haven't had time to be a bigtime securities investor. That makes overhead for this space pretty reasonable and will give us a street presence. It has room for holding classes and a very nice area in the basement for setting up production. This will get everything out of my basement in the house and that has been a big selling point for getting my lovely bride on board.

Though I'm quite enthusiastic, I'm also uncharacteristically cautious. This pace feels right and somewhat safe.

BV, thanks for that fantastic link.

[Ish]

As someone who started a small business, watched it thrive then sink when technology pipped us...there's a couple of things I can contribute.

You need a moat. What makes your business special? Why should people deal with you rather than someone else?

What prevents anyone else from coming in with twice the capital and driving you under? A local company tried that in the photofinishing world when Agfa decided they wanted a Canadian presence so they virtually gave the other lab a $500,000 colour printer and materials at cost. We lost the bottom-feeders but our quality, and the quality of our Fuji images, kept the pros coming to us. (Agfa paper is crap; it has strange colour rendition and fades quickly. If you have some treasured photos on Agfa, get them reprinted on Fuji paper). We fended off those challenges, but the introduction of digital killed us when a lot of people just stopped buying film and making prints. We had a business plan that we nailed. Our banker used our plan to show others what it should look like. At year 5, we were within 5% of our plan, to the good. The best business plan can't foresee game-changing technology that flat-out didn't exist when the plan was made.

What happens within a few generations of 3D printers when they are half the price and a quarter the hassle? Is there another technology waiting in the wings which will totally change the landscape?

Someone pointed out to us that there is a huge difference between starting a company, expecting it to grow far beyond its roots, and starting a company to give yourself a job.

[kimbottles]

As someone who started a small business, watched it thrive then sink when technology pipped us...there's a couple of things I can contribute.

You need a moat. What makes your business special? Why should people deal with you rather than someone else?

What prevents anyone else from coming in with twice the capital and driving you under? A local company tried that in the photofinishing world when Agfa decided they wanted a Canadian presence so they virtually gave the other lab a $500,000 colour printer and materials at cost. We lost the bottom-feeders but our quality, and the quality of our Fuji images, kept the pros coming to us. (Agfa paper is crap; it has strange colour rendition and fades quickly. If you have some treasured photos on Agfa, get them reprinted on Fuji paper). We fended off those challenges, but the introduction of digital killed us when a lot of people just stopped buying film and making prints. We had a business plan that we nailed. Our banker used our plan to show others what it should look like. At year 5, we were within 5% of our plan, to the good. The best business plan can't foresee game-changing technology that flat-out didn't exist when the plan was made.

What happens within a few generations of 3D printers when they are half the price and a quarter the hassle? Is there another technology waiting in the wings which will totally change the landscape?

Someone pointed out to us that there is a huge difference between starting a company, expecting it to grow far beyond its roots, and starting a company to give yourself a job.

Based on my experience in business I think Ish has given very good information here ^^^^^^^

[Soñadora]

Ish,

That's an interesting story. In the 90s I worked for Xerox. You know, the 'copier company'. The graphics industry laughed at us. I left just as NextGen was coming online. I sold the DocuColor 70 and 100 (Agfa had a rebadged version called Colorpress - all of them essentially a Xeikon). I reckon Xerox and NextGen (or whatever it's called now) pretty much own the digital print industry.

Someone pointed out to us that there is a huge difference between starting a company, expecting it to grow far beyond its roots, and starting a company to give yourself a job.

Fantastic.

I get the impression that there is very little gray area here. You either go all-in or don't even try. I have a job. A very good job. Of course, anything could happen and I could be out on my butt on a whim, but so far it's not looking like that. This idea for a business is more of a hobby than a job. But calling it a 'hobby' makes it sound amateurish. It's an extension of my creativity that I want to explore and evangelise. What will I do when 3D printers come down in price? They already have. You can get a decent, workable 3D printer for under $200. There was a kickstarter campaign that had one selling for $99. It was an incredible success on kickstarter, but the machine had some serious quality issues that they could not resolve. That just means at some point, a $99 printer is inevitable.

But I'm less about the printer and more about the concept. I want to get to a point where my printers are making printers. It's a proof of concept that closes the loop on the entire design process. The 3D printer is just one component in the whole loop. Right now, if you are a designer, you buy a 3D printer. Probably a very expensive one. Something from Stratasys, for example. It's not impossible to spend $20,000 on a 3D printer. What do you do if something breaks? Well, you have a service contract and the Stratasys guy shows up and fixes it. Not unacceptable but also outside of the paradigm I'm describing. By making the printer from parts that are printed, a designer can fix the printer themselves. Or better yet, they can modify the printer to suit their needs simply by loading up the parts in their CAD program and making modifications.

Of course, this requires design knowledge and expertise with CAD. This last part is the biggest barrier right now for full-on acceptance of 3D printers for consumers. There are a number of tiny, desktop 3D printers out there. They are struggling because they have been trying to get non-designers to use their products. The workflow is challenging as it tries to remove design from the equation. We are a long way from Star-Trek style replicators where we can say, "make my part like this..." In the meantime, how do we get people on board? Right now, that means they have to use the tools available. They HAVE to learn rudimentary CAD. There are some programs out there that people can use. Autodesk has a handful of programs like Tinkercad, Fusion 360, etc. Those are good and right now it seems Fusion 360 is one of the most popular packages out there. But a company called OnShape offers a truly, 100% web-based CAD package that is fantastic. It's from the guys who started SolidWorks and it is very familiar to SolidWorks junkies like me.

So, my concept is to close the design loop by introducing an open-source printer along with training in OnShape. From the classes I've taught, I've been surprised by the number of people who have all kinds of design ideas. My classes are usually split between people who like to put things together and people who have a million ideas for things they'd like to print with know idea how to get what's in their head onto the printer.

[Soñadora]

re-reading that it sounds like I'm not really interested in business. Not true. I want to develop this. Where does it go from there? Honestly, the vision I have is to create 3D print service centers like Kinkos. With printers that make printers, this model can scale to any degree. We would provide end-to-end service from design to manufacture of parts.

[BeauV]

Rick - The best business is primarily defined by its customers, not by its products and services. The best businesses become critically important to their customers in an area and take care of that customer throughout that area of occupation.

If you think about your customers who:
- want a part built using a 3D printer
- want a 3D printer that they'll use themselves

I think you'll find those are two different sorts of customers, and therefore you've mixed two different businesses together. From what I can see in this thread.
- There is certainly a 3D printer service bureau - I think I probably know two dozen people who'd take a file to your service bureau and get you to 3D print a part.
- I don't know a single person who wants to own a 3D printer of their own.

While my personal sample is small enough to be irrelevant, it's worth thinking about. Clearly, there is a subset of your customers who will get sick of using your service bureau and decide to own a printer. But at the moment in time that they make that decision they'll evaluate all the printers that are on market at that point in time. As you can see, the buying process is quite different between getting a part built and buying a 3D printer.

I think you need to decide which business you're going to be in and focus on it. Don't start a company that serves two customer bases right out of the blocks.

[BeauV]

A second thing to consider: How important is the product or service that you provide? Does it solve a seriously painful problem, or is it just a nice to have? One line around Si Valley is: Are you selling a vitamin or a painkiller?

You want to sell painkillers, something that customers are desperate to have.

Examples: Skis, boats, and RVs are all Vitamins. They don't solve a seriously painful problem for anyone. During every downturn people simply stop buying Vitamin products. In contrast, insulin, food, wine, are all painkillers. (mostly) People will buy food and key drugs no matter what the economy is doing.

[LarryHoward]

I've run across 3 types of 3D printer users.

Hobbyists. Who will spend $15 in material to print an inferior $2 part because it's cool. They will occasionally rise above toys.

Design/prototype folks with limited need for structurally adequate parts. Thermoplastic extrusions are "good enough." No personal safety applications.

Research developers looking to build spares to need across distances. Imagine an aircraft carrier that has a few really high end printers that can build ready to use aircraft spares.

Right now these printers are very expensive, use sintered metal and those of us in the structures world call the output "weld meld".no repeatable mechanical properties. No grain structure and no way to qualify the build process to ensure a conforming part. Yes, I know Space X prints a motor nozzle. Well they print a nozzle blank the requires post matching, X-ray inspection and ultimately performs like a quality casting sourced part for a small percentage lower cost. Black swan or face of the future?

I'm setting up a $12k MarkForged that prints with carbon and Kevlar. We are going to play with moderately stressed parts instead of bend/weld fabrication. I can get the reinforcement in a single plane so part layout is key. We will also play with repeatability of build. My niece interned at NIST 2 summers ago. She used basic thermoplastic printers and printed horseshoes at different environmental, speeds and feeds. Massive data spread in any "off nominal" conditions, including material stored at high humidity.

3D printing is a neattech and has a niche. It's going to be some time before its just solution looking for a problem and millions are being currently invested to try to mature it.

[JoeP]

We have been keeping our eye on 3D printed parts since they became reasonably affordable to produce. We have used vendors to create proof of concept models for various parts or small study models but we have not yet found a need to buy our own printer, yet. But I can see a need for one in the near future since materials and finishes are getting better. I am not sure about structural parts yet but in our business custom interior pieces like, say, switch plates or wall sconces or cabinet hardware would be a good point of entry.

[LarryHoward]

We have been keeping our eye on 3D printed parts since they became reasonably affordable to produce. We have used vendors to create proof of concept models for various parts or small study models but we have not yet found a need to buy our own printer, yet. But I can see a need for one in the near future since materials and finishes are getting better. I am not sure about structural parts yet but in our business custom interior pieces like, say, switch plates or wall sconces or cabinet hardware would be a good point of entry.

Joe,

Agree. Best niche for delivered parts today is short run custom work that is not structurally significant. I'm looking at low stress brackets, mounts, closure pieces, etc. Govt customer sees a future and asked us to get in the game at a low level (and on their R&D dine).

I previously used 3D for conformal internal fuel tanks for expeditionary UAVs (10' wingspan). Allowed us to fit the largest possible tank in the fuselage and gain about 12-15% in volume over cast or molded tanks.

[Soñadora]

The big boys like Stratasys, are able to make structurally sound 3D printed parts.

What I'd like to try is using 3D printed parts to make GRP parts. I think there's a great opportunity there.

[BeauV]

The big boys like Stratasys, are able to make structurally sound 3D printed parts.

What I'd like to try is using 3D printed parts to make GRP parts. I think there's a great opportunity there.

Sounds plausible, now all you need is an accurate document describing how many GRP parts are needed, by whom, who the customer actually is, and most importantly how they get those parts now. You'll probably have to build this document. The real advantage someone from inside the industry has is they know most of this already and have learned it on someone else's dime. If you can find a partner who really knows the customers, from having actually worked with them, it's a gigantic advantage.

Never forget the 5P Rule: "Poor Planning: Piss Poor Performance"

[Soñadora]

Dammit Beau, I don't care what everyone says, you're a cool dude

by GRP parts, I mean any GRP parts. Consider the many ways people contrive to create fiberglass parts using various materials for cores or molds. 3D printing a mold is a lot faster than carving out of wood or some other material or machining it out of wax. There are also opportunities for casting.

PLA has a fairly low melting temperature. Some have successfully used this to make lost castings in aluminum or to use as the pattern in sand casting.

But you are right, the documentation - the plan has to be written down. Thanks to that link Sequoia, I'm in the process of making a better business plan than the one I had.

[Soñadora]

Well, the admiral curbed my enthusiasm a bit. I had identified some property a block away from my house which would have worked out great. But we just don't have the financial bandwidth to pull it off yet.

So I'm going to pursue bootstrapping from my basement. This is the start of my manufacturing empire

This is one rack. I can get 6 machines per rack. I can get 4 racks in my basement. By my estimate, 20+ machines should be able to print 100 machines in 1 month.

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[Soñadora]

Here are some videos of the machines in action.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6w0Srmsqj3w[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFMkRZ3GsCc[/youtube]

[BeauV]

Rick this is super cool stuff. But.... (You know I've always got a "but". Sometimes I am a "butt".)

I would strongly recommend that you start with customers and work back to operations.

It is human nature to start with how to build the product, where to build it, how to organize the team who'll build it, etc... The reason we all do this is because these are the things we can plan, control, and manage. There's no risk involved. But none of this answers the most critical question in any business: "Will the customer buy the product or service?"

Until you've answered that key question, the most significant risk in any company's start-up process hasn't been answered. Please, get that question answered first, then worry about the other stuff. Believe me, the other stuff is easy. Heck, you can be swamped with orders and tell the customers: "Our product is so popular that we can't build them fast enough!" and "You, dear customers, are so smart for picking our product! Look how successful it is!"

Successfully starting any company is reducing risk as quickly as possible. Start with the most dangerous risks and start eliminating them. First, is always "Will the customer buy the product or service?" Second, is: "How many of these customers are there?" Third, is: "How much will they pay?" Please knock these three off first. I think you could do this by providing products to your first customers from the machine you already have.

Smart move using your basement. Hewlett and Packard started in a now famous garage. My second start-up stated in my den, I made the mistake of renting an office in the first start-up and it nearly killed us. Real estate isn't an asset or an investment, it's an expense.