Maker Sphere

Overview

I dream big but struggle to start
(but I still build cool stuff!)
I need a push (Collaboration, Inspiration, Expectation)
Most people need a push to get started
I am not alone in this
There are many cool builders out there
but no one is pulling us together today!
We should build a community
Chat, inspire and collaborate
We've seen this works for adults
YC, Thiel fellowship, hampton, producthunt, ... etc
(This doesn't exist for kids)
What these companies do
Expertise and collaboration
CoLab overview
Marketing
Sign up forum
What others see
What users see
Timeline
End Slide

I dream up many ideas (but never start them)

I come up with grand designs and plan out all the steps. However, I almost never start. There are many reasons that I do this:

I forget about the ideas

I have no one to work with them on

I don't have the needed expertise

Own sketches

I need a push (and so do many others)

From friends

If someone else I know is very interested I will work with them. We will push each other to the finish.

Inspiration to get me jump started

Seeing others create magnificent projects that are similar to mine gets me working.

To increase my portfolio

I need to make my portfolio look bigger and better to other people and schools.

Inspiration

Seeing beautiful or well built projects that are similar to my ideas gets me excited to get started.

Collaboration

If someone else I know is interested I will work with them. We will push each other to the finish.

Expectation

I feel a need to make my portfolio look bigger and better for the world and university applications.

Own images

We are lucky enough to be at NuVu

The timeline at NuVu can be challenging. We typically have just three weeks to develop our ideas and only one or two weeks to complete them, often resulting in unfinished projects.

There are many projects I’ve wanted to continue, but finding the motivation to work on them outside of the studio has been difficult.

Still, we are fortunate to be at NuVu, where we have access to incredible support and resources. However, not all students have access to spaces like this.

My View of NuVU

I am not alone (there are many teen makers)

There are many interesting kids out their that want to build or have built many things.

Shubham Banerjee: Built a braille printer using lego mindstorms and now creates cheap braille printers.

Remya Jose: Created a pedal-powered washing machine to help others without electricity.

Emma Yang: Developed an app that helps Alzheimer's patients recognize their loved ones and stay connected.

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/meet-13-year-old-who-invented-low-cost-braille-printer-180956659/

https://inhabitat.com/8-teenage-inventions-that-could-save-the-world/teenage-inventions-pedal-powered-washing-machine/#:~:text=14%2Dyear%2Dold%20designs%20pedal%2Dpowered%20washing%20machine,-When%20assigned%20with&text=Jose%20made%20her%20clever%20washing%20machine%20with%20recycled%20bicycle%20components,who%20lack%20access%20to%20electricity.

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/timeless-a-mobile-app-for-alzheimer-s-patients#/

Team that won lego robotics 2024

-https://www.mrt3216.org/about

Two entrepreneurs that built AI study guid

https://www.linkedin.com/in/pradyu-kandala-694b42247/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/abhay-chebium/

Bunch of teen makers

I want to create a community for teen makers

There are so many interesting kids out there. Whether it is motivation or resources this community can help turn their ideas into reality.

In this space everyone supports each other and helps build out amazing creations.

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/meet-13-year-old-who-invented-low-cost-braille-printer-180956659/

https://inhabitat.com/8-teenage-inventions-that-could-save-the-world/teenage-inventions-pedal-powered-washing-machine/#:~:text=14%2Dyear%2Dold%20designs%20pedal%2Dpowered%20washing%20machine,-When%20assigned%20with&text=Jose%20made%20her%20clever%20washing%20machine%20with%20recycled%20bicycle%20components,who%20lack%20access%20to%20electricity.

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/timeless-a-mobile-app-for-alzheimer-s-patients#/

Team that won lego robotics 2024

-https://www.mrt3216.org/about

Two entrepreneurs that built AI study guid

https://www.linkedin.com/in/pradyu-kandala-694b42247/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/abhay-chebium/

Bunch of teen makers

Existing communities for builders are powerful

Y Combinator funds and helps entrepreneurs during 3 mth programs.

First lego league robotics is a robotics competition for teens.

Other examples:

YPO

Hampton

Arstechnica

Make

These are actually big businesses with huge outcomes!

(but none of these spaces are for teens)

dd other websites and communities around teens not just adults

Users want freedom

I talked with a few potential users and thought about what I would want in the website.

Creative freedom was an enormous item that they wanted.

Additionally, they wanted one page with all the projects shown.

Events are great ideas as well. It would give people short and interesting projects.

(by the way YPO makes $100M yearly!)

How to keep the community booming:

Interact with it yourself! Don't let others do it. Shout out cool people and if you need to pretend to be someone
Shout out others
Let cool people in
Newsletter(Cool projects and new people who joined and their spiel
Events: Ask people, big project sprints, competitions
Create new experiences
Spotlight people
Ask for feedback(Polls)

Talk abbout what I want and what my users want

Maker Sphere will bring together teen builders

Community features:

Website and marketing pages
Application form and approval process
Private online forums for members
Public user profile and portfolio pages
Ongoing project pages
In the future:
awards
fellowships
sponsorship opportunities

Main take aways from that

If they are interested they can sign up

If people become interested while looking through the portfolios they can sign up.

To do so they would have to finish a form with questions about what they have done in the past, how they interact with others, and what they have built.

What is seen once signed up

Users have access to all the different areas. They can talk through forums, create projects together, and set up their own portfolios.

The Forums can be either public or private and can be linked to ongoing projects.

Project pages will have areas to post documentation and work.

The portfolios will show everyone on one page. They will be clickable to show personal descriptions and projects users have made.

Others will only see public projects and portfolios

While the creators get to talk amongst themselves and put their portfolios up, others won't have as much interaction. They can:

1. look through the portfolios

2. see the projects that are public

3. not put their own information up

We will build this a piece at a time

Starts with around 5 students building and talking.

Users talk about it online

Others join creating their own projects and portfolios.

More people are invited and graduates mentor them.

Time passes

Schools recognize this as a prestigious community.

We can start setting up investments for projects.

Community that helps each other and colleges recognize.

5 stages:

5-30 people inviting others
Big community not really noticed though
Other notice community
Colleges recognize it as prestigious place
Maybe funding for bigger projects

Next steps & concerns

user research - interview potential members(contact me if you know anyone or would want to be part of this)
community research - interview people who run similar communities
v0: get first 5-10 people on a discord or other social media group.
v1: build simple website with 10 people and talk about it publicly
v2: advertise on social media, linkedin and twitter and insta pages,

Concerns

do people want this?
can we be engaging?
how will we find our first users?

Teen makers

title slide

tell me what this even is

OI? final report? date? team members? name of it?

Maker Sphere

Bringing Teen Builders Together

By Gabe Murray

Or