Meet Lewis, an 18-Year-Old 3D Printing Entrepreneur with Big Plans

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Every week, we get tips about new 3D printing startups, ideas for stories, and guest post submissions. But once in a while, a submission really stands out among the rest. And that was the case with Lewis Casserley.

His email to team@on3dprinting.com started out like most email submissions, with an introduction.

I’m the Founder of a newly incorporated organisation called The 3D Printer Company.

And an ambitious goal.

I started the company with the mission to become the biggest reseller of 3D Printers and accessories in the UK and I have 4 of the biggest global manufacturers on board already.

But then Lewis really stunned us.

The reason for the email, is – I’m 18 years old. I want to become the most successful entrepreneur of the 3D Printing world.

Wow! An 18 year old who wants to become the most successful 3D printing entrepreneur! We had had to know more. So we sat down with Lewis, pictured below on the right, and his partner Deege Carse on the left, both from Somerset in the South West of England, to learn more about their aspirations.

On 3D Printing: Lewis, you are 18 years old. When and how did you first get introduced to 3D printing?

Lewis Casserley: Quite recently actually, I think I first heard about it in the early months of this year while I was still studying at school. I remember coming across a statement by Bre Pettis from Makerbot, saying something like ‘you can make anything you want.’ I couldn’t get my head around the idea of literally being able to print a 3D object off just like that! I looked into the whole idea in much more detail and what it will be capable of. I’ve been fascinated and excited by it ever since!

Myself and my business partner Deege Carse started researching the market shortly after leaving school in the summer; everything looked very exciting, so we incorporated ‘The 3D Printer Company’ in October.

I think the beauty of the Desktop 3D Printing industry is that it’s really early days. It’s fast moving, innovative and exciting, plus the majority of people in the industry are also newly established so the barriers to enter the market are still very low. Therefore, anyone thinking about starting a business in 3D Printing, I’d say now is the time to start.

On 3D Printing: Tell us about your vision as an entrepreneur.

Casserley: I have a tendency to think really big! I want to be a big part of a big industry. However I think it’s important to understand that you can’t build a multi-million pound, market leading business overnight. It takes years. I like to think long-term too, so the next few years will be about establishing ‘The 3D Printer Company’ brand within the industry and learning the market inside out, so that when the market does explode, we will be at the forefront of it all.

For me, success in business is about being able to make peoples’ life better and I believe 3D Printing will have the power to do just that. That’s what drives me more than anything.

On 3D Printing: How has 3D printing impacted your life? What have you been most impressed by?

Casserley: From a design point of view, I’ve been most impressed by how quickly desktop 3D printers have started manufacturing objects that people genuinely need; for example, an iPad stand, or a pair of running shoes.

I guess, overall I’d say I’ve been most impressed by how quickly the home 3D printing market has progressed, considering it’s such early days.

3D Printing is becoming a bigger part of my life everyday, but when I try to look 10 to 20 years down the line, I can clearly visualise a world of customised products and 3D Printers in everybody’s homes. I believe, as a mass market we will become reliant on 3D printers; in a similar way we’ve all adopted mobile phones and computers. It’s great to be a part of that evolution.

On 3D Printing: Tell us about your company. What can we expect from you in 2014?

Casserley: We founded The 3D Printer Company with the intention of becoming the UK’s biggest re-seller of 3D Printers. But also to add value for our visitors by providing the latest news, information and guidance on 3D Printing, not to mention the first class customer care. Meaning customers can see very specific information about each product or give us a call or email and ask us a questions about the products, helping them choose the best 3D printer for them.

In 2014 you’ll see us supplying the very best 3D Printers that are available on the market combined with bringing all the newly released, innovative 3D Printers from across the world into the UK, first.

Deege and I are in a very fortunate position in that a very successful entrepreneur, Adam Norris, is mentoring us and financially backing us, which means becoming a valuable asset to the 3D Printing Industry shouldn’t take too long!

Thanks to Lewis and Deege for spending time with us. We are very excited to watch their progress this year. Maybe Mr. Avi Reichental should think about a talent acquisition before they get too big!

Best of luck lads.

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