Darrel Barnette was one of the first Kickstarter backers of the original Gigabot four years ago – his bot’s serial number is GB2-028.
He got his Gigabot with no prior 3D printing experience – he had a background in aerospace engineering and a desire to use to use the blossoming technology to create product ideas he had been holding onto in his head.
It took him assembling his bot and starting to use it before he thought of the idea to make a business out of it. Two forces combined to plant the idea in his head.
One, his job at the time had him traveling a lot, which he wasn’t a fan of; and two, he began to see the power of the technology for himself. “Having the 3D printer and the capability of being able to make my own parts for the first time…was just enticing to me,” he explains.
Darrel began to realize that a business opportunity lay in the new Kickstarter product he had gotten for himself.
Entrepreneurs, inventors, tinkerers, dreamers – take note. Darrel’s got a story you’re going to want to hear.
Morgan Hamel
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