1. Emerging Industries
Maker Movement

2. PantherlabWorks – Who We Are
PantherlabWorks is one of the centers at the Institute for Entrepreneurial Excellence
Two team members:
Jessica Sinclair
Chemist, 12+ years in product development/product management
Significant experience working on DoD products/projects
Contract and grant experience
Katie Schaible
Industrial Designer
Small business founder/owner
Significant experience in product design, design for manufacturing

3. PantherlabWorks – What We Do
We offer:
consulting services
educational workshops
networking with industry experts
We serve business owners/entrepreneurs looking to bring new technologies, services, and products to the market

4. PantherlabWorks – Some Examples
Consulting services
Grant opportunity identification/strategization
Defining a minimally viable product
Pricing strategies
Market and competitor analysis
Product launch plans/go-to-market strategies
Education
Makers to Marketplace
Effective Production Series
Networking
Identifying sources for prototyping, manufacturing, product testing
Facilitate connections to manufacturers and vendors

5. Our Maker Projects
EDA i6 Grant – Create a manufacturing accelerator program at the Manufacturing Assistance Center (MAC) in Homewood
RK Mellon Funding – technical management consultant housed at the MAC to help with product ideation, prototype development
Scaling for makers through the use of technology (educational programs)
Makers to Marketplace – helping makers to create/improve e-commerce business

6. What is a Maker?
Simplest form: a person who makes or produces something
Our experience: A person or small business that produces unique consumer products through handmade or technology-based production techniques at small batch scales
Anything from food to handcrafted goods to technology
Three types:1
Micromakers – activities contribute to city’s artistic/cultural vibrancy
Global Innovators – contribute innovations to products, processes, materials
Emerging place-based manufacturers – make products in place and contribute to goal of employment growth
1. The Maker Movement and Urban Economic Development
Laura Wolf-Powers, Marc Doussard, Greg Schrock, Charles Heying, Max Eisenburger & Stephen Marotta
Journal of the American Planning Association Vol. 83, Iss. 4, 2017

7. Growth of Maker Movement
Sprung out of introduction of new technologies (3D printing for faster prototyping) and grew through e-commerce sites (Etsy), former manufacturing cities looking to diversify, Maker Faires, Maker Spaces, and Kickstarter/crowdfunding
An estimated 135 million U.S. adults are makers2
Impacts are expected in manufacturing, education, government/public policy, retail3
More than $29B/year is pumped into the economy from the Maker Movement4
2. How Cities Can Grow the Maker Movement, National League of Cities, 2016 3.
4. Martha Stewart, USA Today Oct, 2013

8. Top Challenges for Makers
Scaling
Business owner is sole proprietor and is the creativity, production, marketing, etc. in the business
Often might need capital
Need to find manufacturers
Business savviness
Consumer education
Lack of funding
Grants
Loans
Design competitions (for adults)
Collaboration/education between corporate culture and maker culture to lead to innovation

10. Scaling
Makers scale organically as they start to sell more goods at shows or through other methods
Need assistance in finding manufacturers to produce quantities in the 100s to 1000s
Also need support with services to drive sales: marketing, PR
Resources for scaling
Maker community
Catalyst Connection
MonMade
PantherlabWorks

11. Lessons Learned
Makers have the same issues/struggles as other entrepreneurs - they just have the added need to be creative/innovative more often
Makers often start their businesses before they actually intended to start a business.

12. Success Story
Go Carr Go

13. Kathryn Carr, Go Carr Go
Local illustrator – uses traditional paper cutting techniques (by hand) to create products
Products include nightlights, cards, prints
Katie introduced Kathryn to a high tech option – laser cutting to decrease costs/time, expand product line to other materials
We partnered with Kathryn to offer a seminar on traditional paper crafting and high tech fabrication
Attendees learned how traditional and high tech fabrication methods can partner together to produce products.

14. Jessica Sinclair/ jsinclair@innovation. pitt
Jessica Sinclair/ University of Pittsburgh Institute for Entrepreneurial Excellence /