The Engineering Entrepreneur Podcast

Creating Software Products – Jay Gibb – Ep57 Jay Gibb is a software engineer, but he is also an entrepreneur. He has started 2 companies, Arizona Bay and Cloudsponge (links are at the end). Arizona Bay is a consulting firm that builds custom software. Cloudsponge is a digital asset (a product) that makes it easy for people to recommend your website to a friend. The easiest way to explain it is, im...

The Patent Process Explained – James Wilson – Ep56 This episode is one that you inventors out there should definitely listen to. Most people know what a patent is but not many understand the process it takes to get one. In this episode I talked with James Wilson from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). James is the Assistant Regional Director of the Elijah J. McCoy Midwest Regio...

Innovation Freak Podcast – Nathan Kemmerer – Ep55 It’s not often the title of my podcast is about another podcast, but that is the case this week. Nathan Kemmerer (also a mechanical engineer like me) runs the Innovation Freak Podcast, which is a podcast that covers new innovation/technology around the world that has a positive impact. Some of his episodes cover topics such as: Trash collection mac...

The Dadsak Invention and the Startup Bus – Jeremy Losaw – Ep54 Jeremy is the engineering director for Enventys Partners. He just got back from Startup Bus where his team, Sak Labs placed 2nd in the competition with the Dadsak, the world’s first fully integrated infant carrier and backpack diaper bag. I have worked with Jeremy on quite a few other projects. In this podcast, we talk about the Dadsak...

How Does 3D Scanning Really Work? – Matt Holling – Ep53 Matt Holling is the engineering manager at Dezignworks . His company specializes in reverse engineering using both laser scanning and bridge CMM. If you don’t know what that is, listen to the podcast, we go over it. Matt and I have done a lot of work together. While there are many ways to reverse engineer a part, laser scanning is becoming on...

From 3D Printed Dive Masks to Business Development Lead at Formlabs – Ryan Turk – Ep52 Ryan Turk and I first met about 3 years ago on Upwork.com . He was looking for an engineer to assist in his new business venture. His idea was to create custom dive masks using 3D scanning and 3D printing. He ended up hiring another engineer, but he did successfully make custom masks. We talk about how he accomp...

The Million Dollar Collar Invention – Rob Kessler – Ep51 Five years ago (2013) Rob was getting married in Jamaica. Everything went well except when Rob saw his wedding photos, he was shocked. His shirt collar was a sloppy, droopy mess. He does not like wearing ties, so he started looking for another solution. He searched online but every existing product was a collar stay and that just didn’t work...

Freeeup Your Time – Nathan Hirsch – Ep50 We have hit 50 episodes of the podcast! Nathan Hirsch is a serial entrepreneur, hiring expert, and the CEO of  FreeeUp.com . He has hired hundreds of freelancers to build his companies and has been featured on over 100 business podcasts sharing his knowledge on hiring and entrepreneurship. We talk about entrepreneurship strategies and marketing. Nathan has...

Million Dollar Side Hustle with a Full Time Engineering Role – Tony Whatley – Ep49 Tony Whatley is a mechanical engineer from Houston, Texas. He is also a serial entrepreneur. Since he was 18 years old, he has worked in the oil and gas industry. He started out as a pipe fitter. He earned his college degree while working full time in the oil and gas industry. Tony has worked his way up into a proje...

All about Drones – Johnny McLendon – Ep48 Johnny McLendon is a Photographer and Certified Drone Pilot. He uses a Phantom 4 Pro. He uses his drone for creating maps and videos for large industrial facilities. We discuss the technical aspects of drones. I don’t personally own one, but I have some friends that do, and I have seen them in action. I’m impressed with how stable the video is and how they...

Low Filament Alarm Invention and other 3D topics – Michael Graham – Ep47 This week my guest is Michael Graham. He is an engineer with HP, working on the multijet fusion printer . In his spare time, he works on his own inventions using Cubify Software and a Prusa i3 printer at home. I found him when I was looking for a solution to knowing when my filament was about to run out mid print. He invented...

Open Source SLA 3D Printing – Dean Piper – Ep46 This week my guest is Dean Piper. He is the founder of mUVe 3D, which is the manufacturer of open source SLA printers. The website is muve3d.net. I have quite a bit of experience running the Form2 resin printer for over 6 months now, so this conversation was very interesting to me. We talk in detail about DLP versus laser printers. We discuss why SLA...

Medical Applications for 3D Printing – Jan Witowski – Ep45 This week my guest is Jan Witowski. He is a medical student in Poland and has taken the lead for developing medical applications for 3D printing in his university. The main application so far has been for surgeons working with liver surgery. We talk about how he creates the 3D files using CT scans. This was very interesting, as I had no id...

Improving the Education System with 3D Printing – Brian Federal – Ep44 This week my guest is Brian Federal. Brian is a Futurist, Keynote speaker, Filmmaker, and Designer.  He has two companies: Prana Communications and Innovative GlasDesign Brian spent a lot of time in the past few years interviewing leaders in the 3D Printing industry and has nearly completed a documentary film about 3D printing....

3D Printing for Investment Casting - Jerry Lepore – Ep43 This week we have Jerry Lepore. He is the CEO of Spectra3D, which is a 3D focused development company located in Asheville North Carolina (my home state). Spectra3D specializes in 3D printed investment casting patterns and tooling, as well as Cosplay props & more. They use Stacker and Fusion3 Design 3D printers. Some topics discussed inc...

3D Professional Networking - Chris Kaminsky – Ep42   Chris Kaminsky runs  MI3D.co, which is a professional networking association focusing on all things 3D. The group is located in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Chris is a Mechanical Engineer by degree, currently working for GM. He started the MI3D so he could get together with other 3D printing enthusiasts. They meet once a month and have had guests suc...

Fusion3 F400 3D Printer Review – Ep 41 This week I will do a review of one of my 3D printers. The printer is the F400 from Fusion3. Fusion3 is a relatively new and small company based out of NC. The F400 was my 2nd 3D printer I purchased. My first printer was a Cube3 from 3D systems. That machine was so bad that 3D Systems does not even sell it anymore, but it did teach me the basic of FDM printin...

3D Printed Miniature Roller Coaster – Coaster-track.com – Ep40 Lee Williams and Steve Guilmetter are the founders of coaster-track.com. Their invention is a miniature roller coaster that consists of mostly common hardware parts but also some 3D printed parts. The coaster is a fully functional mini replica. Both Lee and Steve are mechanical engineers that have a passion for roller coasters. Their b...

3D Printing Video Game Cases – Justin Shook – Ep39   Justin Shook was featured on episode 3 of the podcast and he is back, just about 1 year later. Last time we talked, he was running his business Shookideas.com . Me and him were both basically doing the same thing, running a product design and 3D printing service company. He has shifted his focus to a new business. He is now running a very succes...

Inventing his own 3D Printer – Julian Merghart – Ep38   Julian Merghart is the founder of Blackened Industries (inspired by the Metallica song). His company sells CNC cut aluminum phone cases. I’ve never see that before. He also started and is still working on his own 3D printer. He desired to make his own printer after being disappointed with the size of the desktop Makerbot Clone he had. He look...

The Window Wizard Invention – Robert Bowerman – Ep37 Robert Bowerman is the inventor of the Window Wizard, which is a tool to line up window frames and curtain rods to make sure they are level. The product is quite simple, but like any product, the process of getting it finished for sale is not simple. Robert hired my company off of Thumbtack.com and from his sketches and information, we were able...

Bottle Cap Light Up Invention– Bart Briggs– Ep36 Bart Briggs is currently an engineer for Newell Brands (formerly Rubbermiade). Like myself, he graduated from Virginia Tech (he got a degree in Materials Science and Engineering) After college he took a job with Halliburton, but despite excellent pay was experiencing job burnout. He decided to take a 40% pay cut to do what he really loves, which is...

Integrating 3D Printing into Video Game Design– Amie DD– Ep35 Amie D Dansby (she goes by Amie DD) is a software game programmer, previously at Marvel Studios, working on Captain America and other titles. She then transitioned to Research and Development working with the PlayStation and Xbox. Currently she works at ATAT Tech, a robotics, augmented reality video game studio in Dallas, TX. She went t...

Unique 3D printing innovations (like printing furniture) – Eugene Pentland – ep 34 Eugene Pentland runs Pentland Designs (as a side job), a company that uses 3D printing to create every day mechanical solutions. He has come up with solutions like a quick access wallet, a solution to never needing to tie your shoes again, or sorting your spare change. We discuss his role at Pico Turbine (his full t...

How to Validate Your Product Idea – Daryl Gibson– Ep33 Daryl Gibson is a thought leader and consultant in future trends, lean startup/agile methodologies, and building cultures of innovation. He is a serial entrepreneur, having start multiple businesses. His current project is InnovativeX , which is a site that provides the tools and resources to enable anyone to develop an idea from concept to ma...