Insight From Netflix

I just finished watching , "The Print Legend" on Netflix and there was some really great insight on this movie. It talks about tech and start-up companies and how people and companies can shift. If there's anything that I've got out of this movie, it's that staying true to who you are doesn't need to be compromised. You may need to wait a few things out a bit longer but you can attain and stick to the goals you set out. Makerbot Industries originally believed that anyone can make stuff. They started out as an open source community based company and was trying to revolutionize the 3D printing world. I even had my own experience with working with makerbots printing machine by interning at the Newark Public Museum. We taught students in chartered high schools basic principles of engineering and paired that with design. Bre Peittis was the former CEO of the company and people gravitated toward him. They had empathy - they believed in the product. Peittis didn't believe 3d printers needed to be 800,000 plus dollars. It should be open and available to the public. Maker Bot struggled with rapid growth and infrastructure. They struggled to know who they were making these machines for. Eventually they learn that their market was designers and engineers. They grew the company to about 260 people and in search of the thing that makes everyone want us. In marketing you learn you can't be for everyone. Eventually someone comes along and develops a 3D printed Mag believing anyone can have a gun - causing disruptive technology And unintended uses. Maker Bot rebranded and shifted from open source to propriety control- no longer for the hacker, the consumer (I was wondering what happens to those that already purchased?). Time and time again you see there are differences in values, increased time constraints and constant turnovers for Maker Bot. Thingiverse.com is the open source website where files can be uploaded and the 3D printed mad files were taken down. Nothing was new. All the technology already existed. A few of the Competitors in the space were form labs, 3dsystems, form one, defcad, 3D stratsys. Eventually 3D Stratsys buys out Maker Bot and goes public and Bre is removed from his role.Bre raises an important question seeing when others enter the 3D tech space and asks - What did they do differently?One of the competitors has a hard time communicating eloquently, has delays in delivering Kickstarter products and you learn that Design and marketing helps drive a company. It gives brand perception and value. Barriers and beauracracy and lack of transparency cause a shift in culture and characters are realized to be driven by emotion - greed, fear, or protecting what is  perceive to be theirs.There's always conflict as a small company grows - but it makes me wonder how smaller companies are sustained. The biography of Steve Jobs is mentioned several times and one person points out that it makes people believe it's ok to be a jerk - absolute power corrupts really but I believe power shows who you really areLearn to Ask and Evaluate is this worth what it's taking out of me. Know that Ethics and ideological strength play a huge part in companies and corporations and it's hard to sustain a culture through rapid expansion. Should you chose to focus on culture there is a need of trust. You learn personal relationships are what matter most and those are developed in smaller companies.  Sacrifice who you are, making compromises with their deep seeded beliefs - that's a personal choice. If you feel that a company needs to thrive off that then it will reflect in the company. I learned Self reflection is important. Only compare to your previous self and not to someone else. Anywho, I'm not sure if this is a great review but I'd highly recommend watching the movie.