Drew Taylor, founder of AstroPrint - a software and app ecosystem described as “the Android of the 3D printing world”. Listen as Nathan and Drew talk 3D printing, making money, and how to dominate an emerging niche.
Famous 5
Favorite Book? – Crossing the Chasm
What CEO do you follow? — Tony Hsieh
What is your favorite online tool? — Trello
Do you get 8 hours of sleep?— Absolutely not
If you could let your 20 year old self know one thing, what would it be? —I don’t know. I’m a fan of taking life’s lessons as they come.
Time Stamped Show Notes:
01:11 – Nathan’s introduction
02:00 – Welcoming Drew to the show
02:30 – AstroPrint started because Drew saw that 3D printing software needed to improve
03:00 – Two products: software, and cloud-based app store
03:25 – Free for personal use; charge for commercial use
03:50 – 70/30 split on profits from app store
04:10 – Founded in 2015 - with a different idea
04:45 – $150k total revenue in 2015
05:00 – 9 team members
05:10 – Raised $500k in convertible note
05:50 – Fundraising with accelerators including BetaSpring and 500 Startups
06:20 – How do you get enough sales to dominate?
06:45 – Partnering with larger companies
07:30 – Can provide the entire software base for existing printers
09:00 – Adds value to machine by connecting it to an app system
11:00 – Consumer revenue is entirely from app sales
11:50 – Currently almost no revenue from app sales - expected to take off around 2017
14:00 – Would be happy with a pre-money valuation of $10 million
14:30 – Currently in the middle of a fundraising debt round
16:40 – Famous Five
3 Key Points:
Be creative about making money - what revenue models are working in other areas? How can you generate multiple revenue streams from one product?
Accept that your start-up idea will change as you sound out the market. Learn from what doesn’t work.
Don’t worry about making mistakes when you’re young - it’s all part of growing.
Resources Mentioned:
Freshbooks - The site Nathan uses to manage his invoices and accounts.
Host Gator – The site Nathan uses to buy his domain names and hosting for cheapest price possible.
Leadpages – The drag and drop tool Nathan uses to quickly create his webinar landing pages which convert at 35%+
Audible – Nathan uses Audible when he's driving from Austin to San Antonio (1.5 hour drive) to listen to audio books.
Show Notes provided by Mallard Creatives