Husband

If you ask David and Kelly Schlitter, the world needs more makers.

"There are a lot of people who don't build things anymore, because they think it's difficult. It really only takes some connectors and pipes," David Schlitter said.

The husband-and-wife duo from Clemson is the founder of Maker Pipe.

The concept is simple: Schlitter designs custom connectors that users then attach to pipes to "create things that meet their daily needs."

"People can build anything they want to with our connectors," Schlitter said. "I’ve seen everything from chicken coops to bike racks. The possibilities really are endless."

Since its launch last year, Maker Pipe has raised more than $80,000 in funding and garnered a customer base that spans the globe.

For David Schlitter, building things has been a lifelong pursuit.

As a child, he would sit for hours and play with Legos. While pursuing a degree in business and economics at the University of Connecticut, he was creating surfboards and skateboards out of his dorm room.

"I get a lot of satisfaction out of building stuff from scratch," Schlitter said.

In 2001, Schlitter launched an online store for his creations called Skim Shop. He and several friends operated the shop as a full-time business for more than a decade before shutting it down in 2011 to pursue different interests.

Afterward, Schlitter decided to go back to school for a degree in engineering technology. Now he's a supply chain manager for a Greenville-based manufacturer.

"I did some research into manufacturing and found out it's the mecca for making things," Schlitter said. "It's a great job that allows you to create stuff almost daily."

Despite his career change, Schlitter continued to build things in his garage.

In 2013, he started searching for strong, convenient, and affordable ways to build furniture and other things during his personal time.

"We actually use a lot of materials on the production lines at work, but I couldn't bring them home. They were just too big," Schlitter said. "I decided to make my own."

Schlitter eventually created the Standard T Connecter out of steel and paired it with galvanized electrical conduit.

"Electrical conduit is typically used to run wires in buildings. But it's a good base material, because it's dirt cheap, accessible, and easy to use," Schlitter said. "Many people actually use PVC pipe, but it's weak and flimsy."

According to Schlitter, Maker Pipe connectors are designed to work with ¾-inch electrical conduit, which offers a "good balance between strength and cost."

The design and production process took years to perfect. In 2015, Schlitter used a 3-D printer to create some prototypes of his connectors, but the plastic wasn't strong enough for testing. That's when he decided to pay a company to 3-D print them from sheet metal.

"It cost hundreds of dollars to print the 3-D connectors through a company, so the best way to make them was by stamping them out of sheet metal myself,"Schlitter said. "You need sheet metal stamping dies to form the parts."

The husband-and-wife duo launched a Kickstarter campaign in September 2015 to raise $100,000 to purchase the machinery needed to create stamping dies. Unfortunately, they only raised $15,000 through friends and family.

"We spent about two months with our heads down, contemplating whether or not we should call it quits," Schlitter said. "But we knew had to keep trying."

The duo spent much of 2016 traveling the country to attend numerous Maker Faires, which are events created by Make magazine to "celebrate arts, crafts, engineering, science projects, and the Do-It-Yourself mindset."

They traveled to Washington, D.C.; New York City; Charlotte, N.C.; Columbia; Orlando, Fla.; and Nashville, Tenn., to showcase their product and hopefully garner a customer base.

"It was a great opportunity for us to introduce people to Maker Pipe," said Kelly Schlitter, who oversees marketing and communications. "Many people don't really know much about building with conduit, so we had to educate them a bit."

In October 2016, the husband-and-wife duo launched a second Kickstarter campaign for Maker Pipe to raise at least $10,000 for production costs.

They met their goal in just six hours, according to David Schlitter. "It was great to see our efforts pay off," he said. "There was a lot of pizza and high-fives happening."

The duo raised $87,717 from 529 backers after a month, allowing them to begin production of the Standard T Connector and create three additional connector styles.

The collection now also includes a 180 Degree Connector, 90 Degree Connector for corners, and 45 Degree Connector for bracing and reinforcement.

Maker Pipe has since sold about 40,000 connectors, which cost about $2.75 each, and partnered with several manufacturers to mass-produce them, David Schlitter said.

"We set out to target homeowners and people who were going use our connectors for DIY projects," Schlitter said. "It's become much more than that."

According to Schlitter, Maker Pipe has garnered a surprising amount of interest from middle and high school educators, especially those using Makerspaces.

Makerspaces are classrooms designed to provide hands-on, creative ways to encourage students to design, experiment, build, and invent as they engage in science, engineering, and tinkering. They can include activities ranging from cardboard construction to robotics to electronics to prototyping.

Robert Garguilo, superintendent of Estelle Manor School District in New Jersey, purchased several hundred Maker Pipe connectors for his schools earlier this year.

"Maker Pipe is great for teaching design processes," Garguilo said. "Our students are using power tools and pipe cutters to create their own workstations. It's great."

Maker Pipe has also found other purposes across the country and globe.

According to Schlitter, a California-based technology startup purchased several hundred connectors last month to create their workstations out of Maker Pipe.

It's also being heavily used in drone racing. MultiGP Drone Racing League, for instance, purchased several hundred Maker Pipe connectors for their drone racing clubs across the U.S. earlier this year.

"They’re actually using our connectors to build courses," Schlitter said. "I think it could offer us a great avenue for us in the future."

Drone racing is a sport where pilots strive to build extremely fast and agile drones to fly around a set course as fast as possible.

Leagues are popping up around the world, attracting sponsors and networks like ESPN, Bud Light, Mountain Dew, AIG, GoPro, and more.

The Drone Racing League, for instance, has secured a score of sponsorship, investment, and partnership deals since it launched in 2015. It recently announced the closing of a $20 million Series B round of financing.

Drone leagues are also starting to recruit official suppliers. In June, drone racing manufacturer Lumnier became the DRL's official supplier of drone antennas.

"Drone racing is still young, but it has a lot of possibilities," David Schlitter said. "We’re definitely open to supplying more leagues."

But for now, the duo plans to focus on the launch of their education initiatives.

"Many people don't really know how to build with conduit. It's not really a thing," David Schlitter said. "Part of our job is to educate others about the design and build process, so we’re basically planting a seed for creativity."

Maker Pipe currently sells starter kits with "build ideas." The Schlitters also recently launched a website that includes a list of parts and step-by-step instructions. And they’ve created a YouTube channel for instructional videos.

The duo also plans to introduce "additional goodies to help people be more creative with their conduit," according to the Maker Pipe Kickstarter page. In addition to connectors, Maker Pipe currently offers shrink wrap, motion casters, heat guns, Allen wrenches, pipe cutters, and more.

"We can also see a day where we create connectors for different size conduit and pipe," the page states.

https://youtu.be/8Ec-CHdBnGk

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