James Webb Space Telescope: Krystal Puga and Scott Willoughby
The Art of Manufacturing
$9 billion and a million miles away: we get a special behind-the-scenes tour of NASA’s most ambitious and risky project ever.
info_outline
Hydroswarm: Preeti Battacharyya
The Art of Manufacturing
An underwater roboticist is determined to map the 70% of our globe covered in water. But exploring our oceans is much harder than you think.
info_outline
Knock Knock: Jen Bilik
The Art of Manufacturing
Comedy isn’t always easy: one entrepreneur has learned some tough lessons manufacturing irreverent gifts that don’t meet everyone’s tastes.
info_outline![Lumi: Jesse Genet [encore] show art](https://assets.libsyn.com/item/6958957?height=50&width=50)
Lumi: Jesse Genet [encore]
The Art of Manufacturing
Packaging should be your secret weapon, and this episode will show you how.
info_outline
Desktop Metal: Ric Fulop, Jonah Myerberg & Andy Roberts
The Art of Manufacturing
Meet the 3D printing company that might totally change how we manufacture, design, and even develop products.
info_outline![SmartyPants Vitamins: Courtney Nichols Gould [encore] show art](https://assets.libsyn.com/item/6901136?height=50&width=50)
SmartyPants Vitamins: Courtney Nichols Gould [encore]
The Art of Manufacturing
Amazon is eating the world! A wellness entrepreneur shares her secrets to launching a consumer product in today’s complex retail environment in this rebroadcast episode.
info_outline
Tulip Interfaces: Rony Kubat & Erik Mirandette
The Art of Manufacturing
Digitizing the factory isn’t always easy. A former counter-intelligence officer and former reality TV star, both manufacturing nerds, talk about how they hope to bring modern data tools, the Internet of Things, and Lean Manufacturing to every factory floor.
info_outline
David Charlot: Charlot Biosciences
The Art of Manufacturing
We meet a bioengineering startup with a groundbreaking new tool that might change the way we identify and treat disease.
info_outline
Wiivv: Shamil Hargovan and Chris Bellamy
The Art of Manufacturing
A startup builds custom, on-demand 3D printed shoes and gives a glimpse of what innovation might look like in the future.
info_outline
Micki Krimmel: Superfit Hero
The Art of Manufacturing
Roller derby inspires a body-positive athletic fashion brand that’s just hitting a tipping point. Though finding a factory that will take her business has gotten easier, the real challenges have just begun!
info_outlineFour experts explore the dilemma of where to do your manufacturing. It’s is an important question to ask yourself when you are launching a company, and most people assume they need to go to China or elsewhere overseas. We’ve heard a lot about Made in America and retaining manufacturing jobs over the years. But is locally-made just a nice thing to talk about? Or are there times when it makes better business sense to make it here?
We speak with Michael Corr, CEO of Durolabs, formerly head of engineering at several hardware startups in the US and China; Sean Scott, CEO of COMUNITY, formerly of VANS, ASICS, Nike, and TOMS; Clarissa Redwine who heads up Kickstarter’s hardware community on the West coast; and Jaleh Factor, who brings her accounting background to her role as founder and CEO of Sourcing Theory, an apparel factory in DTLA. The conversation was recorded live at the LA Cleantech Incubator, at an event co-hosted by MAKE IT IN LA, ArtCenter College of Design, Supplyframe, Kickstarter, and Califia Farms.
I was curious how to model your expenses, how to assess the risks, and how to consider the hidden costs of manufacturing overseas. We discuss the ethical and sustainability considerations, which aren’t as simple as they seem. We talk about how to find your suppliers. And we hear some horror stories from the trenches.
This episode is not meant as a sales pitch for local manufacturing. Every company needs to do what’s right for their business. But, as I suspected, the decision isn’t as obvious as people make it out to be. This week’s guests give some surprising answers.
Links mentioned:
Cost calculator: Reshorenow.org
Tyranny of Small Decisions: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tyranny_of_small_decisions
Episode with Jesse Genet of Lumi: http://makeitinla.org/jessegenet
Grapes of Wrath – John Steinbeck: http://amazon.com/dp/0143039431
Nomiku - sous vide cooker: https://www.nomiku.com/
Turntouch - wooden remote: https://shop.turntouch.com
Wood Thumb – woodworking makerspace: https://woodthumb.com/
PODO Labs – the first stick and shoot camera: https://podolabs.com/
Sourcing Theory: https://www.sourcingtheory.com/
Kickstarter: http://kickstarter.com
Durolabs: https://www.durolabs.co/
COMUNITY: http://comunitymade.com
For more information, bios, and links, check out the show notes at http://makeitinla.org/podcast/makeUSA.