The Micro 3D printer (M3D) is what Michael Armani and David Jones consider to be “the first truly consumer 3D printer.”  This innovative product is a relatively small 3D printer that can sit on a desk and allow anyone to begin 3D printing.  These two millennial entrepreneurs began their journey for this innovation in a basement back in 2012 where they brainstormed and designed a variety of different technologies.  This brainstorming led to the idea of a consumer 3D printer.  They turned to Kickstarter for support in making this idea a success.  According to their website, this “quickly became the largest crowdfunded printer in east coast history, and even more exciting, the world’s first truly accessible consumer 3D printer.”

Although Armani and Jones weren’t the first entrepreneurs to design and develop a 3D printer, they were the first innovators to create a truly consumer-oriented 3D printer.  This has widened the market for 3D printers substantially because students, artists, and everyday consumers can now begin 3D printing at a low cost with an easy to use design software.  The M3D is now being sold through their website beginning at the low price of $349 and will hopefully be released for retail sale soon.

This innovation proves that there is great potential in emerging industries such as in the 3D printer market.  This encourages me as a Computer Information Systems major to keep my eyes peeled for opportunities in the technology industry, which is changing and improving at a rapid rate.

More information regarding the M3D can be found here at their website.

TrackR is a small tracking device that can easily attach to valuable items such as wallets, keys, and bicycles.  This innovative device was developed by millennial entrepreneurs Chris Herbert and Christian Smith who met while attending UC Santa Barbara.  The idea for TrackR was born when Chris almost lost his car keys while spending time at the beach.  The entrepreneurs pitched their idea in the UC Santa Barbara business plan competition and won.  Immediately after graduating, they began work on the idea.

Over the past several years, the team has grown and they now have several different varieties of the product including TrackR Wallet, TrackR Sticker, and TrackR Bravo.  Each variety is a different shape, but they all have Bluetooth functionality.  This allows the device to connect to one’s smartphone and get an accurate GPS location.  One can easily locate his valuable items using the smartphone app, which has features such as a distance proximity indicator, item ringer, and crowd GPS.  The distance proximity indicator measures how far away one is from the lost valuable and the item ringer allows one to make the TrackR ring.  The crowd GPS is a feature that can be activated when the lost item is out of Bluetooth range.  If the user’s TrackR comes in range with another smartphone with the TrackR app installed, the original user will be instantly provided with an updated GPS location.

Although this idea appears to be very similar to the another innovative product called Tile, it manages to differentiate itself by offering new features.  For example, TrackR has a replaceable battery and allows one to find his phone by pressing a button on the product to make the phone ring.  It also has a separation alert feature, which informs one when he is forgetting to take his phone with him.

The work of these entrepreneurs encourages me to continue looking for new niches even in large markets.  Although many new and innovative products may already exist in a field such as technology, there are always new ways to learn from and improve upon the work of other entrepreneurs.

To learn more about TrackR, click here.

Although smartwatches may appear to be a common technological device in today’s world, it wasn’t more than

The Original Pebble Smartwatch

several years ago that the first smartwatch was released for Apple’s iPhone and Android phones.  The name of this smartwatch is Pebble, and it was founded by Eric Migicovsky.  This millennial entrepreneur came up with idea for the innovation while he was living in the Netherlands and faced the challenge of finding a way to hold his smartphone while cycling.  He was driven to find a solution that would allow him to take advantage of features on his smartphone even when holding a phone may not be convenient or possible.  His solution was a high-tech watch.  After returning to the United States, he started a small, independent company in California, so that he could raise support and begin developing this revolutionary product.  Since his small company had limited resources, they resorted to crowd-funding on Kickstarter to get the idea off the ground.  This campaign was so successful that they raised ten million dollars and broke Kickstarter’s record for the most successful campaign.  Since raising this tremendous support, Migicovsky now has a team of more than 130 people working for his company and has shipped more than a million Pebble smartwatches.

This entrepreneur’s idea is great because it solves a problem that most people with smartphones have.  Eric Migivosky explained his success commenting that “there’s 14 billion wrists in the world.”  This innovator wisely chose a large target market with great potential for expansion.  The huge success that he experienced on Kickstarter confirms that many people experience the same problem as him.  Pebble was one of the first companies to jump into the smartwatch market and therefore continues to experience great success even after other large companies such as Apple and Samsung have launched their own versions of the watch.

This millennial entrepreneur’s success inspires me to continue searching for new opportunities in the technological realm.  Although not all innovations may be as successful and influential as Eric Migivosky’s development, his story shows that big innovations and changes are possible.  It will be only a matter of time before the next great technological device is created.

The quotation used in this blog post was taken from an article that can be viewed here.