Last spring, my sister, a singer/songwriter in LA, was raising money for her first album on the crowdfunding platform Indiegogo.
She had most of her campaign figured out. But one aspect she had a lot of trouble with was coming up with fundraising perks for her contributors.
She wanted her giveaway to be unique, personal and meaningful — not the typical branded t-shirts, mugs and keychains that EVERYONE else does.
“What if I could give away a ring that looked like my guitar wrapped around your finger?!”
She was only half-serious, but it just so happens that I was getting into 3D printing.
I knew her idea was possible, and I knew how to make it happen.
I reached out to a CAD designer I had met online and we created a 3D model of the guitar ring. After a few quick iterations, we had them 3D printed in a stunning gold infused steel by a company called Shapeways in New York. The rings ended up being the first bonus to sell out on her campaign.
In any other circumstance, my sister’s idea would’ve been an impossible dream — or possible only at astronomical prices — nothing you could afford to pay for as a crowdfunding perk.
But, because of 3D printing, Maddie was able to drive contributions to her album and create a unique, personal and memorable perk for her supporters.
We Are All Makers
We have all had great product ideas like my sister’s guitar ring. Ideas that could mean a little to millions across the world, or that could mean the world to just one person — we just rarely execute on them.
Here’s why:
There is NO GOOD WAY to customize an existing product or create a new one from scratch, especially in small batches.
If you want a custom product today, there are a few ways to do it (and they all suck) including:
1. Mass production…or you could just set your money on fire
This method might make sense if you plan to sell your product to thousands of people, but to mass manufacture something, you first need to create a mold, which typically costs well in excess of $10,000 to make even one part. Unless you know you have a large, paying audience, you might as well take that money, and as Usher said, let it burn.
2. Buying generic, mass-manufactured crap that has been post-processed…
I don’t know about you, but I have enough startup t-shirts, corporate branded keychains and “Best Son Ever” coffee mugs to last me a lifetime.
3. Search the globe for an artisan who can hand-make something KINDA similar to what you wanted :-/
On the high-end this can be really expensive, on the low-end (Etsy, etc.) you’ll likely have to message 25 different artisans to see if they can even make your product, all with different minimum order sizes, shipping times, and material options.
Then if you sort through that mess, you’ll just have to cross your fingers and pray that your product turns out how you wanted.
4. Do It Yourself (The old way)…if you have the time AND skill to make it happen
I spoke to a wedding planner recently who gives 10 DIY hours to each of her clients.
She is regularly driving to Home Depot, buying wood, cutting it with a table saw, painting it, sprinkling glitter on it (and then cleaning glitter that inevitably got EVERYwhere) then hoping her creation doesn’t break en route to the wedding.
Let’s be real…
We Believe
- There should be a better, easier way to bring your ideas to life, whether big or small.
- Custom products are more personal, unique and meaningful.
- And, product design and manufacturing should be accessible to everyone.
So we have put our own twist on artisanship and DIY and have made this our mission:
To use technology to amplify our human potential to design and make.
You dream it, we make it — 43Layers
43Layers is the online marketplace for on-demand DIY, starting with event decor and gifts.
Tell us your idea and we connect you with digital artisans to bring your idea to life. First as a digital preview. Then, as a physical product.
Hundreds of engaged couples, event planners, designers and other creative professionals have used 43Layers to design and make custom decorations, gifts and accessories without spending a fortune or countless hours on crafting/DIY.
We can do custom products in quantities as small as one OR in a batch of hundreds, where each individual product is customized.
How We Do It
Our products are made using computer aided design and manufacturing (3D printing and laser cutting).
When a designer works on your project, first they send a digital rendering of your design. Like an MP3 is a digital version of a song, this rendering (and accompanying 3D model) is a digital version of a physical product.
43Layers then uses 3D printing and laser cutting to turn those designs into your physical product.
Our products are easier to customize than with traditional manufacturing because the product design itself is digital. The customization is done with software and manufactured precisely to spec.
How We Got Here
Investment Banking → Startup Founder
43Layers was founded a year ago, but the journey began in early 2014, when I quit my investment banking job to find something more meaningful to do with my life.
I had originally planned to do the job for a couple years to pay off my student loans, save some money and move on to start my own business. I got stuck in the rat race far longer than I had expected.
One night in mid-2013, I woke up covered in sweat. I was 25 years old, 1/4 the way through my life (if not more), and I was working at a job that I absolutely hated. The worst part was, the longer I stayed, the harder it was to get out.
That night I promised myself that whether or not I had the next step lined up, I would quit that December.
With a few good friends and colleagues holding me accountable, I did it. After enduring five years of soul sucking work and culture, I was finally free.
The Next Industrial Revolution
When I left, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do, but I was intrigued by 3D printing and computer aided design.
I started attending every 3D printing and digital fabrication meetup in town and reading book after book, article after article, tweet after tweet.
The book Makers by former Wired editor, Chris Anderson, provided all the convincing I needed. Software is “eating design and manufacturing” and I knew I wanted to be a part of the “Next Industrial Revolution.”
A Market Beyond Indiegogo Perks — Weddings & Events
After the guitar ring project, I quickly realized the model worked beyond Indiegogo perks — the wedding and event space had been waiting for a service just like this. I didn’t even find the first orders, they found me.
First, a friend and Notre Dame alum asked me to help him create custom, monogrammed cufflinks for the groomsmen at his wedding. He wanted each to look like a gold, three-leafed clover with the initials of each groomsman across the front. We made these in 3D printed gold-infused steel.
Shortly thereafter, another friend wanted to create a wedding cake topper that looked like a photo from a special trip she took with her fiancé. We used the photo she provided to create a lifelike “3D Selfie” cake topper printed out of full-color sandstone.
When I posted my website landing page showcasing the cake topper on Reddit (r/wedding), I saw our post shoot up from “rising” to “hot” to the single top post in the category for two days. I was onto something.
What We’ve Been Up to Since
Over the last year, we have helped our customers design and make thousands of custom products for weddings, baby showers, home decor, holiday decorations, birthdays, gifts, jewelry, catering props, trophies, awards and more — making those products more unique, personal and meaningful.
A new way for CAD and graphic designers to make physical products
We have now worked with dozens of designers around the world, giving them a new way to utilize their existing skill to earn extra income.
There are over 20 million computer aided designers that have the skill-set from various professions and backgrounds to design custom physical products, but no platform to make them a reality — until now.
Team
Along the way, we have also added some amazing new members to the founding team:
BJ Terry, Product.
BJ spent 5 years working in investment banking (where we met) and 3+ as the founder of other startups. He has a computer science and electrical engineering degree from UC Berkeley and is also somehow CFA certified. We call him the Renaissance Man.
Emerson Knapp, Engineering.
Emerson spent the last 4 years writing code for Autodesk. Emerson built his own 3D printer and he is stupid good at YoYo tricks. He holds a computer science degree from UC Berkeley. Endearingly nicknamed “Cuzz” because he happens to be my first cousin.
43Layers Joins 500 Startups Batch #14
In July of this year, we happily accepted an invitation to join the latest batch of 500 Startups, a startup accelerator program in San Francisco.
With this opportunity we received $125K of funding, shared co-working space with 36 companies from around the world and access to a network that includes some of the smartest startup professionals on the planet.
We couldn’t be more excited to be a part of the #500Strong family.
What’s Next?
Until yesterday, products were made in bulk and sold to you.
Today, we are creating the most personal shopping experience in the history of the world by designing and making every product specifically for you, with your input.
We can’t wait for tomorrow, when products are made to bring maximum value to the individual, rather than extracting maximum value from the masses. And we look forward to working with you to create that reality.
How you can join the movement
If you want to design and make your own custom products, go to our site and get started here.
If you are a graphic or industrial designer and have interest in working with 43Layers to take on custom design projects, send an email to designers@43layers.com.
Thanks for reading and happy making! And remember:
All of the buildings, all of those cars. Were once just a dream. In somebody’s head — Peter Gabriel, Mercy Street
TJ Ross. Founder & CEO, 43Layers. tj@43layers.com. @tjross2411
Special thanks to: BJ Terry, Emerson Knapp, Susan Su, Jack Yu and Brianna Dinsmore for helping with drafts of this post.
