Christina is the Co-Founder & CEO of Makelab, delivering 3D printing solutions to teams, on a mission to empower creation, and democratize 3D printing. By streamlining the innovation process for businesses
FWM: Tell us about what led to the launch of Makelab?
Well, actually, it was the acquisition of a friend’s company, whom my Cofounder, Manny Mota and I, were a top customer of. When we got the initiating text message that started it all, we had a gut feeling that we couldn’t shake. We took that as a sign to dig deeper and actually explore options. Three months later, we were the proud owners of this business! We rebranded to Makelab a few months later and never looked back! We wanted to create a brand that really resonated with our values and mission. We wanted it to exude trust, accessibility, and simple.
FWM: What are the latest technologies used?
We keep it simple in order to keep costs low and focus on our core customer group. We currently use SLA, FDM, and CJP technology. The common theme between all of them is that they take a 3D CAD file, slice it up into layers, and print it layer-by-layer. Each technology completes this differently and output the final physical object differently, but all have a similar process.
FWM: Why is 3D Printing a smart business move?
It drastically cuts down the amount of time that it takes to make something. For example, a product can take 36 weeks to fully develop. This includes a cycle of design > 2D iteration via a 3D modeling software > physical 3D prototyping > re-design > re-iterate > re-prototype. The cycle continues until you have a fully engineered product that is good to go. That prototyping stage can take weeks, maybe months. With 3D printing, you can cut that down to days. In business, as we all know, saving time is saving resources and money.
FWM: Which industries do you work with?
So many! We work with any industry that has a need to make something. This could be a cosmetic model for a display, it could be a prototype for a product, something fun as a gift to a fellow team member. The list goes on. The beauty about 3D printing is that it is able to touch almost anyone or any industry that has a creative process. It just takes some creative thinking and smart execution!
FWM: How has the pandemic helped to inspire people to use 3D printing in ways that hadn’t thought of before?
3D printing is widely known for printing knick-knacks, tchotchkes. It wasn’t so much that it was an actual, feasible business conversation. The fact that 3D printing was able to help and fill a gap in a time of such need by all humans in this world, is powerful. It proved itself to show up when needed and was reliable. It became a much more common conversation to talk about the seriousness of 3D printing, and how versatile the technology it was. I’m excited to see how this evolves as the industry continues to grow.
FWM: What are you most proud of?
I’m proud of a lot of things, but right now, one the first things that come to mind is the Makelab culture. We have an environment that is something like 97% diverse. It wasn’t intentional, we didn’t stereotype during the recruitment process. It’s just something that organically happened. Being a minority and an immigrant myself, it can sometimes be difficult to put yourself out there in fear of standing out. So we make sure to put in extra time and care into creating an inclusive workplace, where we accept differences and all have a natural curiosity to learn more. It takes a lot of nurturing to create that, and I’m proud of all the Makelab team members that have worked to perpetuate this culture.
FWM: What has been the best piece of advice you have received?
I will almost always stick by the People, Process, Product methodology. It wasn’t a piece of advice that was given to me, per say, but it was something I got from a famous investor, Marcus Lemonis. It’s something that was very striking to me, and it just made sense. It’s what helped guide us to create that people-first culture.
FWM: Please provide your social media links.
linkedin.com/in/christinaperla
