Startup Evaluation
This article comes after I watched a TED Talk by Bill Gross, an entrepreneur of entrepreneurs. In the video he discusses 5 very important aspects of startups. While watching I found myself considering AMPEL with regards to each of these aspects.
These aspects, in no particular order, are: Ideas, Team, Business Model, Funding, and Timing
Ideas: the vision behind the organization. This initial idea is the reason for which the organization exists and which sparked its inception.
Team: these are the actors who fulfill the vision and attempt to carry the idea to its extent. Note that the team also influences the idea by enriching it and allowing it to evolve.
Business Model: this is the structure around which the team builds the idea. Gross himself acknowledges that this aspect is not always necessary at the beginning of startups but can be fashioned further down the road.
Funding: this is the resource which allows the team to actually turn the ideas into reality. This process can be done without funding, but the funding is a significant accelerant.
Timing: this is self-explanatory and, unfortunately, the one aspect which is generally out of the control of the founder/team.
To paint a better picture of how AMPEL sits along the start-up timeline, I’ll examine each aspect with regards to my own operations.
The Idea
The idea behind AMPEL, which you can read about here, is based on the understanding that additive manufacturing wields significant and undeniable advantages over traditional manufacturing. These advantages will only grow stronger with time and the progress of technology, but there is still a wide field of unknowns. You can read about these unknowns here. These unknowns, when figured out and documented, will provide the data which will ignite the next industrial revolution.
Data, then, is the actual product of AMPEL. Designing and manufacturing interesting and useful objects is merely a by-product. Data is the fuel of the fourth industrial revolution, and AMPEL is a producer of this fuel.
The Team
The AMPEL team is currently small, meaning just one person (me). The structure for growth of this team, though, has had significant thought and planning put into it. You can read about it here. To summarize, the team will be diverse in expertise but must be able to communicate and coordinate between their different business units.
Though externally motivating the team is a huge focus point of mine, a significant advantage will be had by only expanding the team with individuals who are internally and intrinsically motivated. Sharing the AMPEL vision and encouraging personal growth are factors which will attract top talent. These factors are believed to be significant contributors to business growth.
The Business Model
AMPEL is currently structured as a data gathering, storage, and analysis organization. As described in the Structure and Divisions post, data is the fuel of this next industrial revolution. Researching, verifying, and organizing data for use is the product offered. There are many aspects of the business model which have not been considered yet; Gross agrees that this is just fine.
The Funding
Current funding for AMPEL is complete in-house as machinery, materials, software, administrative costs, etc. is coming from my own pocket. In recognizing money as an accelerant, I am careful to accept outside investment until principles are established. Having experienced the upsides and downsides of debt in the past, I want to ensure that AMPEL is able to make good use of further investment.
Areas which will require cash from the first round of funding: office space, equipment, payroll, and materials/software.
The Timing
This aspect refers to the tendency of good ideas to sometimes happen before their time (ex: da Vinci designed a helicopter but the society he lived in was not ready). This factor is almost uncontrollable by the entrepreneur but they still retain the ability to modify the idea to fit the demand and manufacturing needs of the day.
AMPEL exists at a time when the additive manufacturing industry is relatively new. Though I would very much like to design it, the idea of a zero-gravity 3D printing farm orbiting Earth is just not practical in today’s world (I give it 5-10 years for small-scale, 15+ years for a large-scale orbiting factory). In contrast, inventing a brand new printer and creating a version of functional software has been accomplished already and is now done by larger, more resourceful organizations.
The frontier, which I’m guessing you’ve already read my opinion about, is one which has invited dozens of large companies, many more mid-sized manufacturers, and hundreds of start-ups to utilize and improve additive manufacturing technology. AMPEL will provide an expert understanding of the technology and be a motivator for change and improvement.
TL;DR of Timing: fully additive manufacturing is not yet profitable as a competitor to traditional methods. This is swiftly changing and affords an ingenuous additive manufacturing organization opportunity for research and development. AMPEL steps into the middle and provides expert guidance and a verified materials/machinery database to fuel this growth.
Conclusion
AMPEL is a data provider and should continue to focus its development as such. Investing in people and principles will continue to be a priority. Finding or motivating others with enthusiasm about this easily implementable method of production will also be a priority.
