Executive Summary

Over the past few years, 3D printing has evolved to the point that some types of 3D printing are now affordable on an individual basis and are becoming widely established in homes as well as businesses. This family of technologies dramatically changes the time and cost equation for product development. Product development that often took years using previous development and production technologies can now be done in months at a fraction of the cost. In addition, many products that can easily and economically be manufactured using 3D printing literally could not have been manufactured using conventional manufacturing approaches. Synnovation LLC is a new entrepreneurial venture that uses 3D printing technologies to develop Innovative Solutions to Real Problems.

One unusual aspect of our business model is that we are not focused on a single product line or target market. Several of our products that are already on the market or are in varying stages of development are focused on the general consumer marketplace, and there will likely be some customer overlap with these product lines. Other products are designed to solve unique problems in specialized areas, for example, a confidential development project whose product, mechanism, and name are withheld pending a patent filing. Another specialized product that comes out of the founder’s personal experience is designed to prevent major hand injuries in professional musicians who play one specific instrument.

It is also important to note that in many cases, products are already on the market that are designed to address the issues that we are also focused on. This is positive in that it helps to establish that there are problems that need solutions. However, in all these cases, previous or current products do not come close to addressing the issues that we are addressing with our products, primarily because of the limitations of the development and production technologies that were available at the time these earlier products were developed.

The founder and CEO of Synnovation LLC, Ed Harris, is an experienced serial entrepreneur with two previous successful ventures. In 1982 he co-founded and ran for nine years a software company called Persoft that became one of the leading software companies in the US during the 1980s. In 1986, he raised $2 million in venture capital (about $6 million in today’s dollars) from Frontenac Company in Chicago (and paid it back in full in 1991-92, as required under the terms of the agreement). Persoft was eventually backed by venture capital (Frontenac Company, Chicago) and was ranked as the 97^th fastest-growing company in the US by Inc magazine in 1988. He co-founded his second venture, Precision Information, in 1999, a software company that provided personal finance education software to corporations. The company, later renamed Financial Fitness Group after moving its headquarters to San Diego, was acquired in 2024.

Synnovation LLC has a much larger market potential than either of his two previous ventures, as there are many existing problems that can easily be solved given the vast capabilities afforded by modern 3D printing.

Background – Technology Paradigm Shifts

Whenever there is a major advance in technology, often referred to as a technology paradigm shift, it creates incredible opportunities for new businesses that embrace the new technology, especially for companies that are early adopters.

Here are some key examples of this over the past 50 years:

• Introduction of the IBM PC in 1981: when the IBM PC was launched in August 1981, there were a number of other personal computers readily available, including the Apple II. But the fact that IBM introduced this new personal computer allowed corporations, most of which used central IBM mainframes back then, to for the first time be willing to start investing in developing software for these new machines, but also to feel comfortable purchasing software from companies as well. By the late 1980s, there were an estimated 10,000 software companies in the US alone. Persoft Inc, founded one year later, was one of these.

• The Internet: while the World Wide Web was launched in 1991, by the mid 90s there was enough infrastructure available to allow many new businesses to take advantage of this new online platform.

• Launch of the iPhone: When the first iPhone was launched in 2007, this led to the rapid launch of many new companies that developed innovative apps for the new device.

• 3D Printing: while 3D printing has been available since the 80s, and many hobby level 3D printers have been available for a number of years, systems that could readily handle engineering grade materials were not readily available until around 2014. But, these systems were very expensive. When the first 3D printers from Bambu Lab were introduced in 2022, this was a major advance comparable to the introduction of the Apple Macintosh. It has only been a couple of years since systems capable of printing materials ranging from soft plastics to carbon fiber reinforced polycarbonate became available at an affordable price point.

• AI: 2023 was the year that AI suddenly started to boom and many new businesses were launched around this new technology.

Synnovation LLC was launched in late 2023 with first products on the market in February 2024. 3D printing is the breakthrough technology that is at the core of everything we are developing.

Overview of 3D Printing

While most people think of 3D printing as being like coil pottery, where you stack coils of clay to make walls, there are actually a number of different types of 3D printing. Here is a summary of the four most common types of 3D printing:

• FDM — Fused Deposition Modeling The most common and accessible form of 3D printing. A thermoplastic filament (PLA, PETG, ASA, etc.) is fed through a heated nozzle that melts and deposits material layer by layer onto a build platform. FDM printers are affordable, widely available, and capable of producing durable functional parts, but layer lines are visible and fine detail is limited compared to other methods. Ideal for prototypes, jigs, and end-use consumer parts.

• SLS — Selective Laser Sintering Uses a high-powered laser to fuse powdered material (typically nylon/PA12) point by point across each layer. The surrounding unfused powder acts as self-supporting structure, so no support material is needed — enabling complex geometries impossible with FDM. Parts are strong, slightly porous, and have a matte, grainy surface. SLS machines are expensive and primarily used in industrial and professional settings.

• SLA — Stereolithography The original 3D printing technology (patented 1986). A UV laser or light source cures a liquid photopolymer resin layer by layer. SLA produces extremely high-resolution parts with smooth surfaces and fine detail, making it ideal for dental, jewelry, and engineering models. Parts can be brittle compared to FDM thermoplastics and require post-processing (washing and UV curing). Resin handling adds a chemical safety consideration.

• SLM — Selective Laser Melting A metal-focused powder-bed process that fully melts (rather than just sinters) metal powder — typically titanium, stainless steel, or aluminum alloys — using a high-energy laser. The result is fully dense, high-strength metal parts with mechanical properties comparable to machined stock. SLM is used in aerospace, medical implants, and high-performance engineering. Equipment and material costs are substantial, and parts require support structures and post-processing (stress relief, machining).

Each method has advantages and limitations. In some cases, complex products may use more than one 3D printing method for different components of the finished product.

3D Printing vs. Traditional Manufacturing: A Comparison

3D printing is a fundamental game changer in product design and manufacturing. The chart below summarizes some of the key trade-offs between 3D printing and traditional methods like injection molding and CNC machining.

Our approach follows directly from this comparison. We use 3D printing to design and validate a product quickly and without tooling cost, and then move to whatever manufacturing process is most economical at the expected volume, including injection molding, once demand is proven.

Product Lines and Target Markets

One of the interesting challenges of this venture is that there are MANY high-value potential problems that can be efficiently and economically addressed using 3D printing as at least a major design component. We have identified several products/solutions that are potentially highly commercially viable to date (some of these are addressed below). It is important to understand how we are approaching this potential “abundance of riches” in deciding which of these products make sense to develop and if so, in which order.

We haven’t yet discussed how we are designing and scaling production infrastructure (that is discussed a bit later), but two key points are considered in making product decisions beyond the obvious ones like market potential, competition, etc. First, any products that we develop require no specialized or challenging assembly. Specifically, if it can’t easily be (mostly) assembled at home, we will not develop it. The reasons for this will be discussed in a bit. Second, we will not launch an additional product line until the previous one is a “mature” product line. This means that the previous product is successful with a well-developed marketing and scalable production strategy. It does not mean that the previous product line is stagnant. For example, with our current Sparrow-B-Gone! product line, every time there is a release of a major new smart camera feeder, we may develop a new specialized product to fit that feeder. But the previous product line must mostly stand on its own so we can concentrate on issues that invariably occur with the launch of a new product line that is based on newer technologies.

In practice it means that it is extremely unlikely that we will ever develop all the potential products discussed below. As we reach the capacity to consider expanding our overall offerings, better opportunities may override some of these potential product lines. We expect to work with a future corporate advisory board in making some of these difficult decisions.

It is important to understand that each planned product line is best thought of as an independent business unit. All product lines will have their own website (frequently an Etsy store to begin with). There will be common facilities for product production and shipping, but sales and marketing efforts will be individualized based on each product’s target customers. With the consumer-focused products, cross sell will be likely.

Here is a brief list of potential product lines. More detailed information on each product line follows.

* product name not finalized

Committed Product Lines

The following three lines are committed and moving now, presented in order of readiness. The two bird-related lines target large, established markets and naturally cross-sell with one another.

Sparrow-B-Gone! ™

Sparrow-B-Gone! products have been on the market since February 2024. They are currently available through our Etsy store (sparrowbgone.etsy.com), our own website (sparrow-b-gone.com), select Wild Birds Unlimited stores, and through Chewy.com.

There are three current / planned products in the Sparrow-B-Gone! product line:

X-Dry ™

BassoonPerch ™

The Flagship, on a Longer Horizon

EasyEat is our flagship, the highest-impact line, on a longer and more capital-intensive horizon. It reaches early working versions quickly through 3D printing, then moves to metal and injection-molded parts for polished production once it is ready to sell.

[EasyEat]

* Product names in brackets are working names that may be revised

Prototyped, Not Committed

The concepts below are validated prototypes, not committed product lines. We do not launch a new line until the previous one is mature, so these wait their turn, and some may never launch. Several are consumer products that would cross-sell with our existing lines if we pursue them.

SpiceStack: a countertop spice system that keeps everyday spices easy to reach while protecting them from light, available in revolving and freestanding versions that stack vertically to make the most of the available space. The basic design is prototyped and would need significant development before testing. It suits high-end cooks and an influencer-driven marketing approach.

HandiChem (working name): a snap-on handle for the iconic Chemex glass coffee makers, millions of which have sold worldwide, most without a comfortable handle. It is a better grip for everyone and a real fix for smaller hands. Functional prototypes have been in use for a couple of years; the main challenge is that the pouring spout differs across versions made in different countries. It could become an accessory product in grocery and specialty retail.

CoverDome (working name): a modular frame that raises the center of an outdoor furniture cover so rain and snow run off instead of pooling, the most common way these covers fail. It is straightforward to develop with 3D printing but would move to injection molding at volume because of the part size, which carries up-front tooling cost to factor into pricing. It would sell through patio-furniture retail and directly.

Business Challenges

Staffing – Always Hire an 11

Background

By 1983, Persoft was growing fast — about one new hire per month just to keep up. When you start a company, you do everything yourself: write the code, write the manual, answer phones, ship orders, handle tech support. As things get busy, you hire people to take over those tasks so you can focus on what you do best.

But eventually you have to hand off the things you’re really good at. This is where most entrepreneurs make their first — and often fatal — mistake. They hire 9s.

Here’s what I mean. Say you consider yourself a 10 at something important, like technical writing. Most founders will hire someone who’s very good — but not quite as good as they are. The problem is, you know they’re not as good as you, so you can’t stop yourself from watching over their shoulder. Multiply that across several roles and you’ve got a constant mental drain. Worse, when those 9s start hiring their own replacements, they hire 8s for the same reason. The company slowly loses what made it great — which helps explain why 90% of startups fail.

When I finally had to give up technical writing, I realized the answer wasn’t to hire a 9. I needed to hire an 11 — someone better than me. That way, I had zero urge to second-guess them, and I could fully move on.

My first 11 was a technical writer who was simply better at the job than I was. Once I saw the work was in better hands than mine, I could let go completely. I followed the same approach every time I had to hand something off — including programming. And as the company kept growing, the 11s hired 12s. In many ways, that was the key to our success.

Forty Years Later…

Last summer (2025) we reached the point that it was time to start hiring people. There were two kinds of people that we needed for the next stages of growth. One was experts with specific skills that we were going to need, for example, someone to head marketing. We needed someone who completely understood marketing in the modern world of social media, influencers, etc., as well as the major differences in how customers of different ages needed to be approached. I ended up hiring (on a contract basis) the professor in the Business School at the University of Wisconsin who teaches the course on Internet Marketing. I also needed someone with skills in Mechanical Engineering who could help make decisions on product design, manufacturing approaches, and even material selection. Also, since excellent inventory management was going to be a key to future success, especially across multiple product lines, we needed an Industrial Engineer with expertise in exactly these areas. These positions were easily filled with contractors with the needed skill sets.

But these were the easy hires. One lesson I had learned during the year and a half of doing everything myself was that it would be impossible to find people who already had the skills that would be needed for the next stages of growth, especially as we expand into multiple product lines. What we needed was people with the demonstrated maturity and confidence that they could figure out what would be needed to rapidly adapt to unpredictable changes, whether learning how to find vendors in China, write detailed documentation that could be used to rapidly train someone in production or shipping, how to organize more than 100 components that were used to manufacture our sizable and growing family of products, and handle future issues such as shipping and receiving of components and finished products as we outgrow the days of being a home based business. We now have three employees working who have exactly the skill sets that we need for the next stages of our growth in addition to our expert consultants. And, having a group of 11s on staff who can handle current and future day to day operations allows me to focus primarily on new product development and setting the general direction for company growth over the next few years.

The Happy Influencer Problem

1986: Forty years ago, when we would develop a new software product, we would send a copy to a couple of magazines that reviewed software products like ours. If we were lucky, six months later they would publish a review, and we would gradually start getting orders for the product.

2026: You just invented a cool new product. You send a free product to an “Influencer” who posts about topics related to your cool new product. She is a mid-level influencer, so she has 50,000 to 500,000 followers. She checks out your product and does a post that says “I just got my hands on the new Magi-Prod 7000. This is the coolest product ever. You have got to get one of these!”

And over the next few days, you get orders for 10,000 Magi-Prod 7000s. That’s the good news. The bad news is that not only do you not have on hand more than a few hundred Magi-Prod 7000s, but some of the parts needed to make it come from China by boat and it will take at least eight weeks for the parts to arrive! Then you need to figure out how to make massive quantities of the product! You suddenly need more people, more warehouse and manufacturing space, etc.

This does not make for happy customers…

Scaling up Production Carefully

We have been very aware that this is a real problem from day one. As a result, we have worked slowly and hard to build up an infrastructure and a production model that can be scaled up rapidly when the orders arrive, but we have also constrained any active marketing projects that could lead to this exact scenario and problem. As a very real example, our Sparrow-B-Gone! main products are currently carried by five Wild Birds Unlimited stores, including one that is in the top five in annual sales out of the 360 Wild Birds Unlimited stores in the US and Canada. We have been told that if we send out products to Wild Birds Unlimited corporate headquarters, they will recommend the product line to their independently owned stores. Given the magnitude of the house sparrow problem, a realistic projection is that at least 200 of the stores will want to try the products given the reviews that are almost always 5 star. We require a minimum of 10 products on an initial order, and you suddenly have orders for 2000 products. What is worse is that since these stores are individually owned (with a few multi-store owners), you are suddenly dealing with 200 new clients. Realistically, that would require a full-time person just supporting this customer base.

We are now in the process of gearing up so we can handle situations like this, implementing appropriate inventory management software that will allow us to predict when we need to order parts from China, given lead times of four to eight weeks, depending on the product.

As part of this, we have signed a lease for approximately 3,500 square feet of production, shipping, and office space in Middleton. This gives us dedicated capacity for those who prefer to work on site, alongside the flexible at-home assembly model described below.

We are also trying a novel approach to production. Our products are easy to assemble, but assembly can take more than ten minutes for some products. Rather than go the traditional route of leasing office/production space, we are instead working on a model where people can manufacture products at home. There are a LOT of people living at home with a lot of work experience, some of whom are retired and would love to make money working at home on fun products like ours. We have adopted a model where we hire people on an hourly basis, pay a reasonable starting salary (minimum of $20 per hour), figure out how long it takes to make the products that they are making, and then pay them exactly the same amount as piece work. This allows people to work at their own pace and is turning out to be a very popular way to pay them. They are paid their normal hourly wage other times.

What this leads to is that we will gradually start adding Wild Birds Stores on an individual basis so we can control order volume. Eventually we will get to the point where we can go to corporate and ultimately where we will have the ability to deal with the Happy Influencer “problem”.

Competition and Patents

Some of the products we are developing have existing competitors. That is a plus because it means that there is an established market for the products that are designed to solve an existing problem. A great example is in the X-Dry area. Anybody who washes and reuses things like plastic or silicone storage bags and flexible lid covers knows that it is a pain to dry these. Draping the bag over a wine bottle is a classic home solution. In addition, there are a few products on the market that you can buy on Etsy or Amazon that are designed to help with the problem. The problem is that none of these existing products work well. In contrast, X-Dry is a modular system that quickly and easily assembles or breaks down for compact storage, but more important is the fact that the unique design of the X-blades allows you to open the top blade up into three positions so that the bags are opened wide for much better air flow and much faster drying. We offer X-blades that are small enough to work with the tiniest snack bag and large enough to dry a 2 ½ gallon storage bag. The mechanism that allows these X-blades to easily expand and “lock” into position is actually very complex and includes two internal springs. Even with 3D printing, it took a lot of iterations to get the design perfected. Very few people have the skills or equipment necessary to design something like this, so having “primitive” competition is a benefit.

It is certainly the case that some of our products can be reverse engineered, but in many cases that is a time-consuming process. This leads to the question of whether we should focus on patents to protect our intellectual property. The answer is actually complex. For most of our products, the competitive moat comes from design complexity and speed to market rather than patents. [EasyEat] is the exception: given its potential, securing full patent protection for that product line is a high priority.

Working Capital Issues

With my initial business venture, we were able to self-finance the business for a year or so until we started to experience rapid growth. This led us to have to borrow working capital against orders. So far we have not needed outside working capital and are trying to scale up in a way so we can self-finance, but we could easily have had a similar situation with some of our potential product offerings if demand scales up rapidly.

Another issue is development cost. Most of the products we are working on will be manufactured using 3D printing and all will be developed using this technology, but in some cases, production products may need to be manufactured using traditional manufacturing methods such as machining and injection molding. As noted earlier, these traditional manufacturing approaches can be very expensive. One product where this is likely to be an issue is the Parkinson’s product. The very nature of the product is that it will likely be used for a few years and then will no longer be needed (sadly, because in some cases the patient dies). This means that renting the product may be a common model or in some cases, selling it after it is no longer needed. In order to be suitable for this type of sales model, it will need to be manufactured using stronger and longer lasting components than are typically achieved with 3D printing-based manufacturing.

The bottom line is that it may make sense to consider bringing in outside capital at some point to allow the company to ramp up more rapidly than we can do if totally self-financed.

Summary

Synnovation LLC is in a rare position to take full advantage of a major new technology – 3D printing. We can develop products very quickly and because 3D printing eliminates many of the barriers that have existed for companies in the past, we can frequently come up with novel solutions to common problems. While common wisdom suggests that companies are usually better off focusing on a single marketplace, at least initially, we believe that it makes more sense for us to instead establish that we are uniquely able to solve problems – real problems – quickly and innovatively. Once this is established, we expect a lot of people to approach us with new and potentially highly profitable problems that until now have lacked real-world solutions.