{"id":341655,"date":"2017-05-23T09:00:44","date_gmt":"2017-05-23T01:00:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/techcrunch.com\/?p=1494212"},"modified":"2017-05-23T09:00:44","modified_gmt":"2017-05-23T01:00:44","slug":"makerbot-co-founder-bre-pettis-buys-electronics-milling-machine-maker-other-machine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/asmawisham\/makerbot-co-founder-bre-pettis-buys-electronics-milling-machine-maker-other-machine\/","title":{"rendered":"MakerBot co-founder Bre Pettis buys electronics milling machine maker Other Machine"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

Entrepreneur Bre Pettis<\/a> and Berkeley-based Other Machine<\/a> seem like a match made in heaven. The MakerBot founder<\/a> has been through the ringer once already, leaving the company he co-founded and ran after selling it to 3D printing colossus, Stratasys. But now he\u2019s doing the buying<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Other Machine founder and CEO Danielle Applestone tells TechCrunch that her CNC Milling startup has remained purposely independent for its first few years, in order to avoid the push out outside influence. But Pettis, a long time friend from the fairly tight knit maker community, presented the opportunity to grow the company, while still avoiding corporate influence.<\/p>\n

\u201cI started thinking of acquisition as a way to grow at least half a year ago,\u201d Applestone says, in audibly good spirits following the deal\u2019s official announcement. \u201cIf you focus on selling your business, you\u2019ll build the wrong product. Bre and I had had a relationship for a little while, and when I thought about who would be the best partner from year three to year five, he was someone who I had reached out to for advice. Since he was done working with Stratasys, it\u2019s just kind of a natural thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Applestone says things will stay mostly the same for the company. She still gets to run things day to day as CEO (albeit with added input from Pettis as the owner) and the company\u2019s headquarters will stay in the East Bay. \u201cIt\u2019s kind of an old fashioned business in that way,\u201d she explains. \u201cWe work together on a weekly basis. But for the most part, operations will still remain the same.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pettis, for his part inherits a company with a bright future and a solid present. Other Machine\u2019s line of products, like the Othermill Pro, which look to do for CNC electronics milling what MakerBot planned to do for 3D printing, are\u00a0already shipping product to good reviews. The startup has\u00a0a proven audience of engineers and some real growth potential. And almost as importantly, Applestone seems to recognize the space\u2019s limitations.<\/p>\n

In its ascension,\u00a0MakerBot captured the tech world\u2019s imagination with promises of 3D printing for all. When that kind of tech ubiquity failed to surface after a few years, however, the tech press that once praised the company roundly regarded it as a failure. But while MakerBot has undergone a serious contraction, the company is still kicking.<\/p>\n

And while 3D printers are a far, far way from being a household appliance, they\u2019re still selling, believe it or not \u2013 mostly to schools and businesses looking for a quick and easy way to prototype products from a desk. Those, coincidentally, have already proven pillars for Other Machine\u2019s business. And while the company certainly sees growth potential, Applestone seems to have a level-headed view of the company\u2019s market. At least for now.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re a product for engineers and people who want to be engineers,\u201d she explains. \u201cI have a very broad opinion of who can be an engineer if they want to be, but it\u2019s not going to be sitting next to a toaster oven or anything like that. I don\u2019t see it as a consumer product.\u201d<\/p>\n

The startup executive pauses from explaining her vision for a moment. \u201cHold on,\u201d she says. \u201cI\u2019m going to let someone into the building.\u201d A male voice can be heard faintly through the phone. It\u2019s someone there for a job interview. She\u2019s couldn\u2019t have timed it better if she\u2019s tried.<\/p>\n

The company\u2019s already expanding. Applestone is hiring an executive assistant and there are a number of openings for engineers of various stripes. There are already plans on the books to expand the company\u2019s product offerings. It\u2019s an exciting time for the startup and the CEO isn\u2019t making any effort to disguise that fact in her voice, telling me, \u201cI\u2019m psyched. So psyched.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other Machine\u2019s existing products and Pettis\u2019s industry experience should be a solid fit. Assuming the company continues to grow at a measured pace, it could have a bright future ahead of it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\"\" Entrepreneur Bre Pettis and Berkeley-based Other Machine seem like a match made in heaven. The MakerBot founder has been through the ringer once already, leaving the company he co-founded and ran after selling it to 3D printing colossus, Stratasys. But now he’s doing the buying. Other Machine founder and CEO Danielle Applestone tells TechCrunch that her CNC Milling startup has… Read More<\/a><\/p>\n

\n<\/img><\/a> <\/img><\/a> <\/img><\/a> <\/img><\/a> <\/img><\/a> <\/img><\/a>\n<\/div>\n

\"\"\/ <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5817,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[59,66,26],"class_list":["post-341655","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-technology","tag-media","tag-techcrunch","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/asmawisham\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/341655","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/asmawisham\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/asmawisham\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/asmawisham\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5817"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/asmawisham\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=341655"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/asmawisham\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/341655\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/asmawisham\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=341655"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/asmawisham\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=341655"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/asmawisham\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=341655"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}