IRVINE, CA, July 17, 2015 – Finalists have been announced in the WTFFF? 3D Printing Podcast Business Mentorship Competition. Eduardo Martini of Brazil, Kelechi Ojinnaka of Nigeria and Mike Williams of the United States were selected from entrants around the globe. Orange County, California design entrepreneurs and podcasters Tom and Tracy Hazzard, hosts of the popular WTFFF? 3D Printing Podcast, opened the competition in July to offer mentorship to an entrepreneur interested in building a 3D printing business. Each of the three finalists will now have 30 minutes to pitch their business plans to Tom and Tracy via Skype. One winner – to be announced July 31, 2015 – will receive $10,000 worth of 3D Print business consulting over a six-month period.
“We offered the competition partly because nothing like this was available when we were young design entrepreneurs,” said Tracy. “We had to figure out a lot by trial and error, or by leaning on family friends. There have been many things we might have handled differently had we had the benefit of someone else’s experience in the business. We also thought it was a great way to connect with our podcast audience and share our knowledge further.”
Eduardo Martini, a physiotherapist personal trainer, Pilates studio owner and daily WTFFF? 3D Printing Podcast listener in Curitiba, Brazil, hopes to launch a 3D printing custom gift business. “Imagine that you know a person for 20 years. Remember all the gifts you have given that person. Probably you are running out of options,” said Martini. “With 3D printing, you can make many gifts, and you can add a message or a name, choose the size and color. You can bet that this is the most special gift this person will ever receive. I have thought of opening this business, but this is not my area of expertise. As I listened to the podcast driving to my clients, I heard the opportunity of my life. Since Tom and Tracy were offering their expertise and mentorship, how could I not try?”
From Abuja, Nigeria, 28-year-old Kelechi Ojinnaka says he developed the idea for his 3D printing business in graduate school. Ojinnaka, an electric power engineer by training, recently opened Nigeria and West Africa’s first 3D printing service bureau. He hopes the mentorship will enable his startup to become the largest 3D printing service bureau in Africa.
“I came across the podcast from Tom and Hazz Design during my research into the US industry,” said Ojinnaka. “I found them to be very useful and followed the trail to their website and there it was – a 3D printing business mentorship competition! Ever looking for such an opportunity to achieve my dream, I knew this was the deal and threw my hat into the ring.”
Michael Williams, 29, of Federalsburg, Md., Community Advocate for Shapeways and former houseware plastics designer, hopes the mentorship will help him launch a makerspace in his home state which would offer both online and storefront sales of 3D printed products. If selected, he plans to use the mentorship to develop his plan of attack, noting that “every resource the competition offers will be of use” in that process.
“Nothing brings me more joy than holding something I’ve designed,” said Williams. “Most consumers go to a store looking for something they need/want, not once thinking about how the things were made. But when someone does want to know how it’s made, they are shown the magic of the makerspace. That’s what I love to do, share the magic of making.”
Despite 3D printing becoming shorthand for cutting edge cool among the maker generation, software types and the esoteric world of design, much of it is driven by early adopters and tinkerers. Tom and Tracy initiated the contest to assist entrepreneurs, small business owners or inventors interested in building 3D printing-based businesses. Submissions were accepted for 21 days through www.hazzdesign.com ending July 3.
About Tom & Tracy Hazzard
When not recording their WTFFF? 3D Printing Podcast, Tom and Tracy consult with corporate and entrepreneurial clients, including with inventor-entrepreneurs like themselves, helping them solve the problems of what to make, how to competition-proof product designs, and how to make products that appeal to both women and men. Collectively, they’ve designed and developed more than 200 retail products that generate over $500 million in revenue for their clients. Tom and Tracy hold more than 35 design and utility patents with an 86 percent commercialization rate (double the average reported by the US Patent & Trademark Office). Their experiences as inventor entrepreneurs are even featured in an entrepreneurship course at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. They also serve as guest experts on design and invention at seminars, conferences, trade shows, meet-ups and maker events across the country.