Starting a company isn’t always glamorous at first – sometimes you start out in a garage. But there’s something about those humble beginnings that make the payoff even more rewarding.
Daniel Hutchinson didn’t start PostProcess Technologies in some beautiful corner office in downtown Buffalo, but he knew that his startup was about to solve a major bottleneck in the 3D printing industry. Today, he has a team of nearly 40 people and office space in the TriMain Building on Main Street.
As he looks ahead to the company’s growth across North America and expansion into Europe, his principles and passions remain the same. He is committed to helping our city flourish and give new opportunities to the hard-working people that are making that growth happen.
Learn more about Daniel and PostProcess Technologies in today’s Founder Friday!
How did your startup, well, start up?
While working at a local office of a large defense contractor in 2011, I had the opportunity to see firsthand the revolutionary impact of 3D printing for manufacturing. I saw a highly sophisticated organization 3D printing advanced, complex parts, and then using archaic and tedious manual techniques to finish the printed parts. After attending an industry conference (AMUG) shortly after, I realized this problem was widespread – there was a huge bottleneck in the process after the parts were built that no one had addressed. I purchased our domain name “postprocess.com” as I sat in the audience at that conference and launched the business out of my garage in Lancaster immediately after.
What do you do? Your startup?
We’ve created the only automated and intelligent solution for the 3D post-printing industry, encompassing software, hardware, and chemistry. In fact, we are the pioneers of the automated 3D post-printing industry. Prior to PostProcess, producing a customer-ready additive manufactured part was done manually or with traditional manufacturing equipment not suited to 3D printed parts. PostProcess provides a complete solution that transforms parts off the printer into customer-ready parts.
When was the ‘aha’ moment for your startup when you realized this could actually work?
There was never one ‘aha’ moment, but there were countless attempts at perfection. When we were still working out of the garage, there were many times when I would wake up in the middle of the night to work on challenges that needed to be overcome. This method of learning is called ‘Failing Fast.’ Perfection will come later – early on, having a larger data set is needed to be a pioneer.
What has been the biggest accomplishment for your startup to-date?
There have been many accomplishments of course, but we are most proud of our company culture and the job growth we have created here in the great city of Buffalo. In January of 2016, we hired our 4th employee, CEO Jeff Mize. As of June 2018, we are at 39 team members, as well as a number of interns via our partnership with University at Buffalo through the STARTUP-NY program. This cover many disciplines and departments that are critical to building the business, including software development, mechanical and electrical engineering, sales and marketing, and training.
Goals for the next year? Three years?
We have a lot of plans in the works, this year focused on continuing to build the team and infrastructure as well as expanding the sales network with North American distributors and entry into Europe. In addition, we’ll need to stay ahead of the curve in innovating our technology to keep up with the constantly evolving 3D printing market. Efficiently and effectively transitioning from a small startup into rapid scale-up mode is a key objective the next few years.
Why Buffalo?
Buffalo and the people here hold a special place in my heart. I have a lot respect for the people who work everyday to make the city better. I really enjoy working in the city. One goal I always had was to be able to tell customers where we are located was “Main Street, Buffalo” and not give them an address in the suburbs. All of the region is great, but there is something to be especially proud of to be in a resilient and authentic city like Buffalo.
How do you do it? What drives you?
A lot of support from family, mentors and customers. I only sleep 4 to 6 hours a night. I am invigorated by doing what I love, creating opportunities and helping people. Being a husband to my beautiful wife while being father to my son and daughter drives me to work hard.
What advice would you give to aspiring entrepreneurs?
Aspiring entrepreneurs need to live and breathe persistence, preparation, and dedication to the business. When PostProcess was created, it wasn’t so I could have a title or be a leader in the company. It was created to give others the opportunity to do things better, things that no one had done before. Some of my best mentors gave me great advice early on such as “Hire slow and assess fast” and “Low profile, high profit,” and I still try to live by these words.
