3D printer company Makerbot experienced almost exponential growth. After a few years in a cramped Brooklyn warehouse, the team grew from 20 to 600 in a few short years and the company was bought by Stratasys, a major player in the professional printing space. Makerbot’s new CEO, Jenny Lawton, sat down with us to talk a bit about what it meant to be a global company and how it felt pushing Makerbot’s engine from 0 to 100 in what seemed like seconds.
“It’s cool to be the CEO of the coolest company in Brooklyn,” said Lawton (after some coaching). Lawton and her team are currently working on interesting character partnerships with brands like Sesame Street and Hello Kitty. The company is also working on newer versions of their software and hardware which Lawton was a bit reticent to describe.
“We’re super-excited about growing the ecosystem,” she said. They have a number of interesting announcements coming at CES, she said. The worst thing about Makerbot’s growth? The fact that she can’t be sure who works at the company anymore in the elevator, she said.