Makers Gonna Make
Do you remember your first crayon scribbled drawing? The first meal you cooked? The first photograph you took?
As humans we’re wired to create. To make. It’s in our DNA. It’s who we are. Deep down we’re all makers.
The advent of the internet has turned the world on it’s head. It’s created an entrepreneurial revolution, a world where our future isn’t dictated to us, it’s under our control, we can make of it what we choose.
At the heart of this revolution are the makers, the creators, those who get stuff done. They’re the ones investing countless hours into little known side projects, lying awake at night dreaming up how great it would be if X existed, and, rather than waiting for someone else to create it, they’re creating it themselves.
The makers are at the core. Without the makers the products we know and love wouldn’t exist. So often the media chooses to focus on seed funding or series A, hockey stick growth & early exits. That’s the picture the media chooses to paint. Glorifying the billion dollar club and amplifying those who dance to their tune.
But that’s not the reality. Not for the 99%. It might make great headlines, but it doesn’t tell the true story. When you boil it all down it comes back to one simple factor, the makers. Makers making stuff. Solving problems. Creating. That’s the core of it. And that’s what we want to amplify.
For just over a year now I’ve been a part of some great communities, communities that have literally changed my life, two in particular. #Startup & MakerHunt.
These communities are full to the brim with makers. From the wannabes who are yet to launch, to those who’ve built, launched and scaled products and companies that make millions in annual revenue. They’re all here.
It’s in these communities that I’ve come to see how real, normal & attainable it is to launch successful products. It’s in these communities that I’ve come to realise that those who make them aren’t superhuman, they’re just passionate makers who work hard at what they do. It’s in these communities that I, along with my partner-in-crime, Mike, have launched seven projects in one year. That’s seven more than…ever.
It’s in these communities I’ve met great people, like Josh Muccio, Dylan Feltus & Ben Tossell (to name just a few). It’s here that I’ve seen Josh create two excellent podcasts from the ground up. Here that Mike & I connected with Dylan and built FoundersKit. And it’s here that I’ve watched Ben go from a super helpful, passionate community member to a super helpful, passionate community manager, landing his dream job at Product Hunt.
It was even a community like this that led me to landing a superb job at an exciting startup. In fact, I’ve come to realise there’s only really one downside to these communities — everyone’s so busy making.
The community gathering in groups like these has made the maker movement a lot more accessible. And what Slack groups have done for making it easier to connect, Product Hunt has done for making it easier to amplify your message.
Product Hunt has truly been a game changer for makers, providing a platform to a massive audience that simply wasn’t there before. Before Product Hunt the route to mass exposure was via the tech press, and, understandably, they were more concerned about big tech companies over small side projects. Thankfully Product Hunt has changed that and the playing field is now far more level.
Makers are now able to build & launch a side project in a week, launch it and get thousands of sign ups. Even the tech press are here, featuring these side projects in the mass media.
The opportunity to showcase your work in front of a massive audience is here, and it’s available for everyone.
So what should you expect from this publication?
This publication is made to give a platform to these makers. To highlight their stories, to find out why they make stuff, and, most of all, to inspire others to join us, to become makers too.
People aren’t born makers, they simply choose to become them by making stuff. We don’t believe you have to be a certain type of person to be a maker, but that a wide variety of people can and are building & launching stuff.
So if you’ve got a story to tell, a question to ask, or a suggestion to make, reach out, we’d love to hear from you. And we hope you’ll follow along for the journey too.
At the end of the day, makers gonna make.
Makers Gonna Make is a new publication from Fred Rivett & Mike Gatward. Follow along to stay up to date.
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