Comments on: Victims of Success? http://makerblock.com/2010/03/victims-of-success/ And I, for one, welcome our new robotic overlords Thu, 10 May 2012 21:33:59 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 By: Bo http://makerblock.com/2010/03/victims-of-success/comment-page-1/#comment-370 Bo Tue, 16 Mar 2010 00:44:26 +0000 http://makerblock.com/?p=1218#comment-370 I would love to see makerbot stay in business, but I am sure companies selling makerbot solutions and upgraded parts, plug and play, print heads, heated platforms etc, will stay in business, there is not very far from selling makerbot print-heads to selling print heads for all the similar printers being made just about now. I suspect we will see more sites like makergear.com offering us all kids of solutions for fine-polishing our makerbots. and god knows mine being a series 5 bot needs all the help it can get. Bo I would love to see makerbot stay in business, but I am sure companies selling makerbot solutions and upgraded parts, plug and play, print heads, heated platforms etc, will stay in business, there is not very far from selling makerbot print-heads to selling print heads for all the similar printers being made just about now.

I suspect we will see more sites like makergear.com offering us all kids of solutions for fine-polishing our makerbots. and god knows mine being a series 5 bot needs all the help it can get.

Bo

]]> By: MakerBlock http://makerblock.com/2010/03/victims-of-success/comment-page-1/#comment-353 MakerBlock Wed, 10 Mar 2010 04:13:08 +0000 http://makerblock.com/?p=1218#comment-353 That's just another reason we're probably not going to see a for-profit company swallow up MakerBot Industries. I honestly don't know if a company built on open source technology can "succeed" in the traditional closed-source sense of success. I can't say for sure what MBI's definition of success is - but I suspect it has something to do with a distributed means of production. Can a company Wal-Mart them out of business? HP could probably build 3D printers for less than MBI - but would they? They don't make money off printers - they make money off cartridges, toner, etc. So, if HP isn't making a killing off the kits or from the plastic or replacement parts... why would they bother? More importantly, how often to we see big innovation with printers? MakerBot is a small crew who has been able to improve their product several times over the last 10 batches. I don't think there's any way HP could have gone through so many generations in just a single year. That’s just another reason we’re probably not going to see a for-profit company swallow up MakerBot Industries.
I honestly don’t know if a company built on open source technology can “succeed” in the traditional closed-source sense of success. I can’t say for sure what MBI’s definition of success is – but I suspect it has something to do with a distributed means of production.
Can a company Wal-Mart them out of business? HP could probably build 3D printers for less than MBI – but would they? They don’t make money off printers – they make money off cartridges, toner, etc. So, if HP isn’t making a killing off the kits or from the plastic or replacement parts… why would they bother?
More importantly, how often to we see big innovation with printers? MakerBot is a small crew who has been able to improve their product several times over the last 10 batches. I don’t think there’s any way HP could have gone through so many generations in just a single year.

]]> By: Making passion | MakerBlock http://makerblock.com/2010/03/victims-of-success/comment-page-1/#comment-352 Making passion | MakerBlock Wed, 10 Mar 2010 03:39:31 +0000 http://makerblock.com/?p=1218#comment-352 [...] 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 [...] [...] 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 [...]

]]> By: Owen http://makerblock.com/2010/03/victims-of-success/comment-page-1/#comment-351 Owen Tue, 09 Mar 2010 21:52:15 +0000 http://makerblock.com/?p=1218#comment-351 What company would buy Makerbot when all their IP is freely shared and open source? In my impression, startups are valued on their talent and the intellectual property they own. When you don't make money off the IP, but from the objects a company, another could just "Wal-Mart" them out of business. Their problem is that the passionate artists/designers/engineers that are Makerbot Industries are creating a new paradigm in business. Can it succeed in the current paradigm? Can it grow? That is what we will all find out. What company would buy Makerbot when all their IP is freely shared and open source? In my impression, startups are valued on their talent and the intellectual property they own. When you don’t make money off the IP, but from the objects a company, another could just “Wal-Mart” them out of business.

Their problem is that the passionate artists/designers/engineers that are Makerbot Industries are creating a new paradigm in business. Can it succeed in the current paradigm? Can it grow? That is what we will all find out.

]]> By: ManDrake http://makerblock.com/2010/03/victims-of-success/comment-page-1/#comment-346 ManDrake Mon, 08 Mar 2010 22:06:24 +0000 http://makerblock.com/?p=1218#comment-346 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. 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.

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