Mass customization doesn’t get a lot of coverage from mainstream media sources aside from the occasional mention of 3D printers. Inc. magazine has bucked that trend in their October 2009 issue by putting Ponoko founder and CEO David Ten Have on the cover and writing about the 3D printer’s ugly cousin, the laser cutter.
If you read this blog you probably know the basics about Ponoko. They give designers the ability to produce one of a kind products by taking a design that is uploaded to Ponoko.com and producing it for a simple fee. The big vision is the democratization of design and manufacturing. The small vision is that it is a neat service that helps people make fun wooden chachkas.
The article is really informative. At 10 pages long you learn a great deal about the companies origins, the struggles of the founders, and what the future holds. Some interesting facts:
- Ponoko has revenues of ~$250K. Fellow customizer CafePress has revenues of ~$100MM (One of the founders of CafePress is an investor and board member).
- If you order a product from Ponoko, it is very likely the CEO who laser cut it for you.
- Traffic does not equal sales. The press wrote glowingly about Ponoko, but customers didn’t buy. It sounds reminiscent of BugLabs which was a press darling at launch, but doesn’t seem to have a great deal of traction in the developer community yet. This might be instructive to customization entrepreneurs, if you let your customers make anything, they might not know where to start.
Overall, the article doesn’t paint a pretty picture for mass customization. Ten Have and Ponoko have slogged through tough times, face massive challenges, and are operating in an environment that doesn’t fully understand/appreciate what they are doing.
Read the article, it is inspiring and will leave you rooting for Ponoko’s success. Their team is trying to do something transformative and deserve all the support they can get.
