Success story – Maketime acquired by Xometry
“Almaz is a fantastic partner. From the beginning they were a 24 hour a day operation dedicated to the success of our business. Daniil and team from day one dug in, opened doors, connected dots, and did whatever it took to assist in making MakeTime a success.” Drura Parrish, CEO and founder of MakeTime
What is Maketime in a nutshell?
MakeTime is an on-demand manufacturing platform that connects buyers of small-batch jobs with idle machine shop capacity.
As the founders of the “online machining revolution,” MakeTime’s focus is on making the disruptive technology of today — like machine learning, AI, IoT and cloud computing — accessible to U.S. manufacturers of all sizes and industries.
History, masterminds behind the company and how did they come up with the idea?
Drura Parrish first thought of creating MakeTime while studying architecture at graduate school. He noticed that many classmates, such as artists and designers, needed to manufacture projects, but didn’t have the equipment to do so. He began buying unused capacities at various fabrication facilities and matched artists and designers with appropriate partners. Drura already knew that sometimes there wasn’t enough work to keep machines running at full tilt, having witnessed this at his family’s fabrication shop when growing up in Henderson, Kentucky.
When he decided to launch MakeTime, several people advised that he needed to locate in Silicon Valley or a similar locus of technological innovation. But his experience had shown him otherwise, as Central Kentucky’s agricultural and industrial roots, coupled with its centralized location and, in many cases, its underutilized talent pool, have proven to provide many tangible advantages.
“And what’s very special about Kentucky, is you’re one degree out from being touched by manufacturing in your family. It’s that rare resource of being able to say, ‘Oh, I’m a software programmer, but my uncle is a machinist.’ Those types of stories are around here” – Drura says.
What is the unique factor that sets Maketime apart?
MakeTime is an on-demand manufacturing platform that connects buyers of small-batch jobs with idle machine shop capacity.
As the founders of the “online machining revolution,” MakeTime’s focus is on making the disruptive technology of today — like machine learning, AI, IoT and cloud computing — accessible to U.S. manufacturers of all sizes and industries.
Relationship with Almaz
“Maketime immediately caught my eye. It is rare to see an opportunity for a disruptive play in the trillion-dollar industry that is yet to be changed by the Web in a major way. I got even more excited when I learned that the team combines generational manufacturing industry knowledge with innovative technology vision required to affect such a change. As a pioneer introducing a marketplace model to manufacturing ecosystem, it gave Almaz a chance to bet on creating a unique business with powerful network effects. This was further solidified when Maketime and Xometry, a main competitor, combined teams and networks to create an undisputed industry leader.” Daniil Stolyarov
Almaz Capital initially invested in Maketime in 2015 and supported the company in the following round in 2016 led by Foundry Group.
“Almaz is a fantastic partner. From the beginning they were a 24 hour a day operation dedicated to the success of our business. Daniil and team from day one dug in, opened doors, connected dots, and did whatever it took to assist in making MakeTime a success.” Drura Parrish
Acquisition story
In July 2018, MakeTime was acquired by Xometry, a company with a very similar mission and model. The acquision was followed by $25M round to fuel future expension led by Foundry Group one of MakeTime investors.
Founded in late 2013, Xometry has more than 10,000 customers in industries ranging from automotive and medical devices to aerospace and consumer products. Parrish joined the company’s leadership team as the President of Xometry Supplies. The combined assets from the acquisition grew the company to roughly 170 employees, as well as to more than 2,500 manufacturing partners in its network.
“We probably did one of the quickest dating to acquisition passes that you can imagine. It was completely copacetic,” Parrish said. “It was an almost identical mission, which is we want to make manufacturing better for both sides. The customer wants more now, and the supplier is not seeing enough of it. How do you fix that? You fix it through technology.”
“We’re thrilled to combine Xometry’s online manufacturing platform with MakeTime’s proven success in building a distributed network of over 1,000 manufacturers,” said Randy Altschuler, co-founder and CEO of Xometry. “This acquisition will provide our customers with access to massive capacity through the industry’s largest distributed manufacturing network as well enhanced product features.”
Xometry will also incorporate a MakeTime program that gives machine shops in its network access to special offers on cutting tools, software, computer equipment and manufacturing equipment financing programs.
Looking forward
“When I started MakeTime, it was one stop on a long path of solving a critical problem, which is how do we make design and making the same thing?” Parrish said. “Pride comes in the delivery of the solution, so whatever that path is, as long as you have mutual velocity that is increasing and you create a platform for multiple people to benefit—like millions, billions of people—that’s all I’ve ever cared about. It’s the same thing with [Xometry co-founder and CEO Randy Altschuler], too. This is big. And it’s going to be bigger in terms of a solution and how we’re going to reconfigure the world, and we need to work together on it.”
Combined company raised $50M led by Greenspring Associates
Hunter Somerville, General Partner for Greenspring Associates, will join Xometry’s Board of Directors. “Xometry has quickly become a key player in the $80B custom manufacturing market,” said Somerville. “We’re thrilled to invest in helping them expand the reach and breadth of their marketplace and the services it offers.”