Manufacturing Changes

I spent a little time this week with Bre Pettis, the brilliant entrepreneur behind MakerBot.  We were on a panel together and both honored at the MOUSE event this past Monday night.  Then of course over the next week I saw Bre everywhere I looked from magazines to blog posts.  He is not only charming and smart but what he has built changes the game of manufacturing.

I have said before that we are undergoing a revolution of change from one vertical to the next. Having the conversations with many of the entrepreneurs behind many of these companies is exciting.  I am particularly excited about the opportunities for changes in the manufacturing space.  Our economy has relied heavily on manufacturing.  The costs have soared due to unions, healthcare and many other moving parts.  With many of the new products and possibilities coming on the market there is an ability to grow this sector again and perhaps with a new perspective.

Two of the companies that have really caught my eye are Makers Row and Citizens Made. 

Makers Row is about Factory Sourcing made easy.  It is a vertical that really needs to be streamlined for the makers and the manufacturers.  When you create the ability for both sides to simply connect with an easy process it makes for better businesses the creator and the contractor.  

Citizen Made has build a software that allows manufacturers to easily customized their products.  Many enterprise companies are already built on customization for their customers.  Building out an ecommerce platform for this or even a digital platform that talks to the machines building the product is expensive.  Citizen Made has built a turnkey solution for many of these companies and plants. 

As someone who has come out of the manufacturing business from many years ago, I get it and I love it.