While growing Urban Workshop into a successful makerspace, we looked everywhere for guidance and for ways to leverage the experience of those who came before us. What we realized is there are no real resources out there to help entrepreneurs and makers not only start a makerspace but to grow it and be successful so it can make a massive impact on the community. So after six and a half years, and millions of dollars spent, we want to support the worldwide maker community by sharing the lessons learned, good and bad, so that your makerspace can leap ahead to be come successful and sustainable and have the impact you desire. This Trailer episode will introduce you to Steven Trindade, the founder of Urban Workshop, and explain how the experience and lessons learned bootstrapping Urban Workshop have become The Makerspace Blueprint.
Hi Everybody, I’m Steve Trindade. Welcome to the Makerspace Blueprint podcast. This aim of this podcast is to provide answers to all the questions you have about starting, running, and operating a successful makerspace so you can make the most impact in your community. It doesn’t matter if your space is big or small, old or new, for-profit or non-profit. It’s all about impact and how to make it without going broke, making yourself crazy, or running your team into the ground.
So let’s start with a little back ground on me. As I said before my name is Steve Trindade. I grew up in Rhode Island, went to college in Texas at the University of Texas, and now reside in Southern California. I am a mechanical engineer with a ton of experience in machine design, operations, manufacturing, and motorsports. The love of motorsports and competition in general has motivated me through out my career to always learn and challenge myself. As a result, I have had a very successful career as an engineer and business owner over the last 25 years.
I also consider myself to be a serial entrepreneur after starting and running four companies in the last 15 years. The first was just me as an independent engineering consultant for machine design and product development. I noticed quickly that my customers always asked the same question at the completion of an engineering job, where can I get this built? That lead to me formally creating an engineering and manufacturing company called Automotive Technology Group. As the name implies it was primarily automotive but we also provided product development. I bootstrapped that company to be the top hybrid and electric vehicle engineering company in North America. Along the way, one of our professional motorsport customers was struggling so I figured out a way to purchase the team. Within 18 months I turned it around and grew it into the largest independent Porsche race team in North America. We won multiple professional championships and enjoyed a very successful run before I left the team to run Urban Workshop full time.
Currently I run Urban Workshop in Costa Mesa, CA. It is a large full scale commercial makerspace that has successfully and sustainably has helped thousands of members and students achieve their goals of learning and making. It has over 340 active dues paying members, offers over 120 adult classes per month, runs nearly 1,000 kids a year thru four levels of youth programs, and is a very successful business accelerator. Our small business members generate on average $20M a year in revenue and hire from the local community. They have also raised over $40M in angel and venture capital since our inception in 2014. People have called Urban Workshop the most successful business incubator that is not a business incubator.
So why does any of this matter to you? What I have come to realize since opening Urban Workshop in 2014 is that there is no support system or collective resources for makerspace operators. Each one of us has to figure it out from scratch each time when we should be focused on operational excellence and how to serve our communities and maker members. How much easier would it be for you and your makerspace to be successful if you had a partner you could ask for help or a place to start.
Really what we are all looking for is a support system similar to what we are trying to provide for our members. A place where we can go to for advice, tips and tricks, to learn from other mistakes, and get the resources we need to be successful as quickly as possible so we can get on with helping our members and building a sustainable makerspace.
That is the goal of Makerspace Blueprint.
The Makerspace blueprint program will start with this podcast and expand to include intensive hands-on in person training at Urban Workshop, the licensing of all of Urban Workshops operational systems and procedures (aka blueprints), adult class documentation and youth program documentation. An ongoing support program will also help Makerspace Blueprint licensees to be successful by providing call in support, regular training webinars, introductions to our existing suppliers, and eventually an annual event.
I have faced it all as the founder of Urban Workshop and the owner of 3 prior businesses. It is this experience, good and bad, that will fuel this podcast and provide the real-life lessons and examples. Urban Workshop has weathered plenty of storms and has remained a very viable business that supports an amazing community of makers, small businesses, and students. I wish you all the same success we’ve had and hope that enjoy my stories.
Thanks for listening. See ya next time.