ManDrake responded to my last post about MakerBot being a victim of their own success:
Do you think the expectations difference could be at all connected to Bre’s constant overselling of the product to anyone that will listen? He’s completely disconnected from reality in the way he talks about the Makerbot and what it can do. He’s got the look and feel of the sham dot com boom types, overselling in hopes of getting some bigger company to buy them up, so they could unload their utter mismanaged and badly organized start up. In probably under an year they’ll sell out and then a corporate entity will realize their mistake and kill the product like they did as the boom died.
Here’s my response:
- I’m biased. I think MakerBot have a great product that really delivers. Thus, I don’t think Bre or MakerBot are overselling anything.
- There’s no way to really address ManDrake’s concern about how he feels about MakerBot’s public persona.
- Having never seen their books, I can’t say whether they’re mismanaged – but I doubt it. They’ve grown a lot in a year and hopefully will continue to grow.
- I sincerely doubt their plan is to hype themselves, get acquired, and cash out. There are just so many easier ways to make money.
- Even supposing they’re acquired and the new company kills the MakerBot, I’m not left in the cold. Building my MakerBot has taught me how to build MakerBots. I can go out and build another one or repair my own. There are plenty of people selling plastic. From the day my MakerBot started working I was never going to be without my very own 3D printer ever again.
This may sound unrelated, but bear with me. Tonight I had the good fortune to hear Dr. Zahi Hawass speak in San Francisco. If you’ve ever seen an exhibit, TV show or documentary about Egypt, the pyramids, mummies, or King Tut you’ve seen him and heard his enthusiasm. He gave a piece of advice at the end of his talk:
“If you like something, it is not enough. If you love something, it is not enough. Only if you are passionate about it will you make it big.”
When I see Bre and Zach and Adam talk I see people who are truly passionate about their goals. This is the kind of passion scammers imitate and others wish they had. Their passion is infused in their products and absolutely infectious.