Bre Pettis

My parents had a software company making children's software for the Apple II+, Commodore 64 and Acorn computers. They hired these teenagers to program the software, and these guys were true hackers, trying to get more colors and sound and animation out of those computers. ”

We got involved with the RepRap Project, a community focused on making 3-D printers that could make copies of themselves and help create a world without money. We started making prototypes. ”

One of my psychoses is that I feel like I can do anything. Actually, I believe anybody can do and make anything, even things that don't exist. The making isn't the hard part; it's having faith. If you do only reasonable things, you'll never start your own business. ”

Learn how a 3D printer works. Get inspired. Make your own stuff. It is a wonderful time to be innovative. Connect things together. If you're into electronics, get an Arduino. ”

Before I started MakerBot, I was creating cool stuff and sharing it with the Internet. That's how I knew all the folks at BoingBoing, at Engadget and Gizmodo. ”

What I like on Kickstarter is when I see real innovation and I see people building something new. It makes me sad when I see things that are just the same technology; you aren't passing the technology forward. ”

The people who are getting 3-D printers at home are pioneers, kind of like the people who bought Apple IIs in 1981. Adults are usually the last people to get it. The kids are like, 'Get out of my way, I want at this thing.' They immediately start getting creative. ”

For me, when you put a MakerBot in a school, you add a manufacturing education to the environment where I think we can really empower the next generation to compete in the global economy. ”

My personal mission has always been to empower people to be creative. But the Holy Grail of a tinkerer is to make something that makes something. ”

Customized jewelry is one of my targets with Bold Machines. ”