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Addmio Kickstarter Campaign for ‘3D Printing for Entrepreneurs’ Online Course

As the 3D printing industry continues to grow faster, more accessible, and more affordable, it’s important that businesses continue learning about the many benefits it can offer them. We’ve seen classes on 3D printing for entrepreneurs before, but the application-focused, efficient course that the Netherlands-based e-learning company Addmio is soon launching will be easier to access because it’s on an online educational platform.

Robin Huizing, a former 3D printing engineer for Shapeways and additive manufacturing designer for Additive Industries, lives in the Dutch city of Eindhoven and ran his own design studio for nearly 12 years, before deciding to launch the Addmio platform.

Addm.io founder Robin Huizing

“I started Addmio to help the 3D printing industry flourish and to educate all of the entrepreneurs and creatives worldwide,” Huizing said. “I want to help them to create better products and businesses with 3D printing.”

Huizing trained and taught hundreds of people about 3D printing in his former jobs, giving lectures, master classes, presentations, and workshops to many large companies. But he realized that sharing knowledge in these ways was “not scalable,” and not making enough of a difference for entrepreneurs interested in learning more about AM. That’s why he decided to found Addmio.

Once things got started, he began researching existing courses and training programs, and found that the high-quality ones were costly, time-consuming, and only on-location. Classes that were more affordable provided, at best, general information about the technology, and did not offer attendees a quality experience. So Huizing determined that to really make a difference, Addmio should offer less expensive, higher quality courses that were focused on specific 3D printing applications.

“Because we can make our courses available for thousands of people at the same time, we can keep the costs very low. The value for money we’re able to offer is unparalleled,” he wrote in a press release.

The first course Addmio is developing is called 3D Printing for Entrepreneurs, which features three unique aspects:

  • extremely efficient: it condenses five years of work in the 3D printing industry into just three days
  • application-focused: the course provides many examples in showing users how to choose the right application
  • 100% online: it is a mobile-first, web-based course so learning can take place anywhere, at any time

“We’re developing the course “3D Printing for Entrepreneurs” for creatives and startups, to learn about all the opportunities 3D printing has to offer for your startup or side business. We want to make sure that you have everything you need to learn and start your business, all from home,” the website states.

Huizing will be the main instructor, and the course will provide on-demand, video-based lessons relying on knowledge from industry experts. In-course assessments are included, and at the end of the class, participants will receive a digital certificate. In addition to the course, Addmio will also be offering 3D printable files and a support program for 3D printing startups that includes a tailored advisory report with advice and tips to help startups get on their feet.

Rather than working with investors or banks to get the Addmio course up and running, the company is turning to crowdfunding “because it seamlessly fits our philosophy.” Its Kickstarter campaign launched this morning, so creators and makers from around the world can contribute. In return, the company will help startups create successful 3D printing businesses.

“This is why we came up with an online platform. This is the only medium that is ultimately scalable. Our courses can help people 24 hours a day, in 100 countries at the same time,” the campaign site states.

“All you need to follow our course is a phone, tablet, or computer with an internet connection. That’s it.”

The campaign goal is just €2,500, and there are multiple reward levels – for example, an early bird pledge of €82 means you can get the complete 3D Printing for Entrepreneurs online course for a discount of 40%, while a €137 pledge gets you the early bird course and STL files of objects used in the course.

Discuss this news and other 3D printing topics at 3DPrintBoard.com or share your thoughts in the Facebook comments below.

The post Addmio Kickstarter Campaign for ‘3D Printing for Entrepreneurs’ Online Course appeared first on 3DPrint.com | The Voice of 3D Printing / Additive Manufacturing.

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Interview with Zach Kaplan of Corazon Capital, mHUB and Inventables

Zach Kaplan

Zach Kaplan is the founder and CEO of the company Inventables, a 3D carving company offering a powerful machine, intuitive software, and unique materials that make carving easy and inspiring. Kaplan is also a member of the board of directors for mHUB, Chicago’s first innovation center focused on physical product development and manufacturing, and a founding partner at Corazon Capital. He has a vested interest in the entrepreneurial economy that can be afforded through 3D printing and product manufacturing as his company helps to enable entrepreneurs within this field.

Give us a bit of info on your background?

I got started in digital manufacturing at Glenbrook North High School.  That experience inspired me to get a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

What was your first experience as a maker?

My first experience as a maker was probably playing with construction toys as a child.  We had LEGOs, Construx, and cardboard brick blocks. The first electrical project I remember was a soldering an autonomous robot together in 6th grade.

Chicago has deep roots in manufacturing, what effect has that had?

Manufacturers in Illinois account for 12.6 percent of the total output in the state, employing 9.5 percent of the workforce. Total output from manufacturing was $103.75 billion in 2017. In addition, there were 572,700 manufacturing employees in Illinois.  I think that has helped us build an ecosystem to advance digital manufacturing.  

Chicago has been the center of gravity for digital manufacturing.  We’ve shown a lot of leadership when it comes to the growth in the movement. The Museum of Science and Industry was one of the first to have a fab lab.  Chicago was the first big city to build a large scale makerspace in a library. Pumping Station One started in 2009 before it was fashionable to build a makerspace or hackerspace.  Today mHub and DMDII are buzzing with activity and have brought together the traditional manufacturing industries, the startup community, with digital manufacturing technology. It’s a great place for Inventables to be.

X-Carve by Inventables

As a member of the board of Directors at mHUB, what excites you about developments within Chicago and the additive manufacturing sector as a whole?

mHUB was a glimmer of an idea 5 years ago when we first started talking about it at the GE Garage during Chicago Ideas Week. Today it’s a 63,000 square-foot facility that contains 10 fabrication labs, including electronics, plastic fabrication, metals, textiles and rapid prototyping, as well as a microfactory for small production runs.  What excites me is it’s buzzing with activity.

You have a manufacturing background but also have involvement within the VC world as a founding partner at Corazon Capital. Could you give some insight on what it means to go from an entrepreneur to an investor?

Going from an entrepreneur to an investor happens pretty organically.  As you go on your entrepreneurial journey other entrepreneurs start asking you questions or for feedback on fundraising.  I gradually started getting more and more deals sent to me and eventually started investing. Corazon has a team of people and I’ve become a venture partner.  My role is to help identify investments, evaluate them, and help other founders in our portfolio by making introductions or sharing my experiences. In terms of my own investment thesis I like to invest in people working on problems in big markets where the product is just starting to be defined.  At Corazon we invest in seed and early stage deals so the product is still evolving.

What advice do you have to people who are working with startups in the additive manufacturing space?

Fail often to succeed sooner.

What advantages does Chicago have in terms of the global maker scene?

Chicago is well connected in the global maker scene because of O’Hare airport.  Almost every city is a direct flight away. We sometimes take that for granted living here.  We have McCormick Place which brings the IMTS (International Manufacturing Technology Show).

International Manufacturing Trading Show

What are some trends to watch out for within the maker world?

Low cost distributed digital manufacturing with CNC machines is going to dramatically increase over the next 5 years.

 

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The Entrepreneurial and Maker Community

Maker Movement

What is the maker movement? The maker movement is a unique combination of artistry, circuitry, and old-fashioned craftsmanship. This is not new to us a society. Societal advancement has been predicated on people being able to create inventions that take us to the next level. We progress as humans due to our ability to make tools. I believe though that the recent resurgence of the maker community points toward some interesting implications overall for the global economy. In this article, I will point out my thoughts on the maker community as it relates to entrepreneurial activity as well as the global economy.

With the invention of 3D printing, people are able to create objects and parts with their imaginations. It takes a little bit of time to either find a part, or draw a part for production. With a couple of button presses we are able to create simple and complex geometries. These can then be leveraged for larger scale projects. People have the autonomy to build products for themselves and not need to be tied to any corporation that is making things. So what is important about that previous statement? Well, it shows that there can be a market for those who are able to create. There is a subtle shift when one learns that the means of production can be shifted from a large manufacturer to a consumer even if this is on a small scale. That leads naturally to people and smaller organizations questioning the status quo. This then can lead to entrepreneurial thought processes and new innovation.

2019 is the lowest global growth since the Financial Crisis

According to the United Nations, global growth is expected to remain at 3.0 percent in 2019 and 2020, however, the steady pace of expansion in the global economy masks an increase in downside risks that could potentially exacerbate development challenges in many parts of the world, according to the World Economic Situation and Prospects 2019.  The global economy is facing a confluence of risks, which could severely disrupt economic activity and inflict significant damage on longer-term development prospects. These risks include an escalation of trade disputes, an abrupt tightening of global financial conditions, and intensifying climate risks.

Here are some even more fascinating statements from the United Nations:  In many developed countries, growth rates have risen close to their potential, while unemployment rates have dropped to historical lows. Among the developing economies, the East and South Asia regions remain on a relatively strong growth trajectory, amid robust domestic demand conditions. Beneath the strong global headline figures, however, economic progress has been highly uneven across regions. Despite an improvement in growth prospects at the global level, several large developing countries saw a decline in per capita income in 2018. Even among the economies that are experiencing strong per capita income growth, economic activity is often driven by core industrial and urban regions, leaving peripheral and rural areas behind. While economic activity in the commodity-exporting countries, notably fuel exporters, is gradually recovering, growth remains susceptible to volatile commodity prices. For these economies, the sharp drop in global commodity prices in 2014/15 has continued to weigh on fiscal and external balances, while leaving a legacy of higher levels of debt.

I am going to analyze the following statements and relate them to the maker and entrepreneurial world:

  1. The global economy is facing a confluence of risks, which could severely disrupt economic activity and inflict significant damage on longer-term development prospects.
  2. Despite an improvement in growth prospects at the global level, several large developing countries saw a decline in per capita income in 2018. Even among the economies that are experiencing strong per capita income growth, economic activity is often driven by core industrial and urban regions, leaving peripheral and rural areas behind.

 

The first statement above refers to an underlying fear of global economic recession or depression from my analysis. The risks that this statement refers to are downside risks. Downside risks refer to estimations of a security’s potential to suffer a decline in value if the market conditions change, or the amount of loss that could be sustained as a result decline. Essentially if global growth stagnates and regresses, we do face global regression and depression possibilities. So why is this important for the maker community?

Democratized Product Development

Democratization of skills and making abilities is crucial for people within a depression or regressed state of economy. Jobs are cut thin during this time period for different institutions within global recessions. Those who are still very fortunate are the people who have the ability to create or make products as they can now be more efficient as well as build products that serve people at cheaper rates, as well as help to build up their own businesses. This can then lead to the market economy over time correcting itself. Then the cycle continues over time.

As outlined earlier in this article, I believe society progresses as innovation and inventions progress. This refers directly to the maker movement. In the times before an economic regression or depression, individuals who can leverage their skills to create are in less trouble than people who do not have these skills. The makers have the ability to transform society. Being able to create with the imagination and a couple of tools is the new means of production within the world. With individuals able to iterate with 3D printing, open source software, and a variety of info, it can revitalize an economy as these people may be employing others in the future due to their ability to create. Creation and innovation lead to a ripple effect. Value creation ensues when new products are made. We serve society when we are able to make. Hence it is important that makers are seen as the main drivers of the market economy if they decide to make their products for others and not just for themselves within their own environments. The ability to use items such as a 3D printer is immense. People and organizations in the maker community can now build. They are the ones who have the power in the market. If one wants to be ahead of the curve in terms of the macro-economy, it would be a strong argument for one to be versed in 3D Printing as the past, present, and future has always lied within people who control the means of production.