I've long believed that if you're not embarrassed by your first product release, you've released too late.
If you are not embarrassed by the first version of your product, you've launched too late.
Because startups often accidentally build something nobody wants, it doesn’t matter much if they do it on time and on budget. The goal of a startup is to figure out the right thing to build - the thing customers want and will pay for - as quickly as possible.
Startups are now creating specialized 3-D printers capable of producing everything from synthetic hamburgers to multi-story apartment buildings.
I'm an investor in MakerBot, which is a good example of the 'thingiverse'. The idea of applying collaboration and rapid iteration to things that we interact with and hold in our hands every day is super revolutionary.
Similar to computer technology in the '60s, 3-D printing is a universal technology that has the potential to revolutionize our life by enabling individuals to design and manufacture things.
The lean startup method is not about cost, it is about speed.
Doing it wrong fast is at least better than doing it wrong slowly.
Speed is absolutely key to creativity. The more time it takes to create something, the less likely you are to create something.
Early in my career, I was involved with engineer-led projects, where designers came in late in the game and were expected to put lipstick on an existing code base. This almost never works.
The community of developers whose work you see on the Web, who probably don't know what ADO or UML or JPA even stand for, deploy better systems at less cost in less time at lower risk than we see in the Enterprise. This is true even when you factor in the greater flexibility and velocity of startups.
He who makes the quickest, coolest prototypes reigns!
I take a lean-startup approach: creating agile, interdisciplinary teams that get the minimum viable product to market as soon as possible. It's my job to be entrepreneur-in-residence, an internal change agent.
Get your product into users' hands as quickly as possible and incorporate the crowd's feedback to iterate. Your customers will provide the data you need to chart the best course for your company and bury any competitor that goes it alone.
I've always drawn a lot. I like the idea of turning a 2-D sketch into a 3-D thing very quickly. And clothing is really good for that.
Just how do I design if not with prototyping? An excellent question. The short answer is 'on paper.'
In a start-up company, you basically throw out all assumptions every three weeks.
Our intention is that people use MakerBots to have a positive impact on the world.
If you're not embarrassed when you ship your first version, you waited too long.
Test fast, fail fast, adjust fast.
Decades before we were able to articulate the value of 'getting out of the building' and the Lean Startup, the value in having skunk works controlling their own distribution was starkly evident.
The next episode of 3D printing will involve printing entirely new kinds of materials. Eventually we will print complete products - circuits, motors, and batteries already included. At that point, all bets are off.
3D printing is already shaking our age-old notions of what can and can't be made.
F1's ability to problem-solve is second to none and our ability to make rapid prototype parts is again second to none.
Basically, any material you can squeeze, melt or generate into a powder, you can print.
