New Delhi 3D Printing Startup Botshape Technologies Hosts MBA Student Delegation

During spring break of my junior year at college, I visited London for a class I was taking on the history of theatre. Not only did I really enjoy the class, but the trip was also a fantastic educational experience – our group had the opportunity to see two professional shows, take a short class and stand onstage at the Globe Theatre (an experience I will never forget), and also do a little sightseeing in some remarkable places, like Stonehenge and the city of Bath; I even went on a nighttime Jack the Ripper tour! These kinds of educational trips are really great, because they can get students out of their comfort zones: they get the opportunity to see and learn new things, in a totally new environment, but with friends and teachers they’re already comfortable with. Recently, a group of MBA students from Emory University, attending the Goizueta Business School, traveled to India and visited 3D printing technology startup Botshape Technologies, in order to learn from a successful organization how to conduct business in the region, and also to better understand some of today’s top industries.

Botshape Technologies hosted the international delegation of 19 Emory MBA students in its New Delhi headquarters on March 1st. The startup works with B2B and B2B2C companies in India, in a variety of diverse sectors, to fulfill requirements for rapid prototyping. Botshape also assists people in remote areas by teaching them how to set up low-cost 3D printing facilities, in order to start their own business models.

Emory University delegation

The delegation was led by Theodore Rodgers, Associate Professor in the Practice of Accounting, and Heather Lynn Holland, Senior Director for MBA Admissions of Goizueta Business School. The student delegates met with Botshape for less than two hours, but walked away with a lot of new information. Botshape Technologies tells 3DPrint.com they had “insightful discussions” with the student delegates, and during the session, presented on the following topics:

• overview of 3D printing technology in India
• 3D printing industry scenario, both in India and worldwide
• its own operations
• challenges, opportunities, and social impact of 3D printing technology
• latest trends and technologies

Although Emory University has been involved in 3D printing research before, even examining the effect of its emissions on air quality and human health, these students did not have much prior knowledge about 3D printing. According to Botshape Technologies, they showed a lot of enthusiasm in learning more about the process, and actively participated during the talk. They were also eager to learn more about the unit economics of competing with the global market, and to discuss technology’s future in India and around the world.

The student delegates were asked what object they would like to 3D print, and the answers, ranging from pieces of art and a miniature skeleton model to customized glasses and replacement parts, were pretty exciting. The co-founder of Botshape Technologies also shared the startup’s journey, and discussed how much it had grown since opening its doors in April 2015:

“We have scaled up 4x amounting to more than 200 customers in a time span of 8 months to emerge as a leading 3D printing providers for unorganized manufacturing sectors with a clientele in India, USA and the UK.”

The student delegates asked questions ranging from the scope of recycling waste filaments, manufacturing both 3D printers and raw material in India, and the future of 3D printers as desktop machines, which has been a bit of a hot button issue over the last several months. There were also questions relating to the startup’s operations, such as the number of recurring versus one-time customers, its major sources of revenue, and what approach Botshape Technologies takes in order to handle last-minute design changes to 3D models.

Once the presentation was complete, they had the chance to walk through the startup’s 3D printing lab. The student delegates witnessed multiple 3D printers hard at work, and got to see and handle lots of 3D printed objects for many different industries, including education, architecture, medical, and manufacturing. Overall, they “felt that the session was a perfect blend of technology and business strategy.”

“I will take the knowledge gained from the session back to the classroom for more insightful discussion about the economics and business strategies relating to 3D printing with the students at Goizueta Business School, Emory University,” said Rodgers.

Each student delegate also received a special gift – a 3D printed miniature model of the Taj Mahal. They also got to leave their thoughts on the presentation on a special Feedback Wall at Botshape Technologies, and all of the comments look to be pretty positive. Botshape Technologies was happy to host the Emory University student delegates, and it seems like they’d be willing to host other such delegations in the future.

“We encourage more such initiatives to bring the international communities together for exploring the 3D Printing Technology and discovering its potential,” said Botshape.

Discuss in the Botshape forum at 3DPB.com.