Born to Design takes you inside the most fascinating stories coming out of the design and manufacturing world. The surprising backstories of amazing creators. Harrowing near-failures that became overnight successes. Uplifting examples of the many ways our community is changing the world for the better. Presented by SOLIDWORKS, Born to Design is a podcast for dreamers, designers, and creators of all kinds.

Born to Design Series

SOLIDWORKS Born to Design podcast, a Podcast of inspiring stories about those who create, build, invent and engineer new ideas into actual new products.
Interview with Christian Bagg, of Icon Wheelchairs, who is an outdoorsman, who had an injury that left him unable to explore the outdoors as he had before.  He’s has had an amazing journey since then getting back outside.

Transcript and Shownotes:
http://bit.ly/2OxjsT0

No Excuses To Get Outdoors with Christian Bagg - Ep1

SOLIDWORKS Born to Design Podcast, a Podcast of inspiring stories about those who create, build, invent and engineer new ideas into actual new products.
Interview with Betty Baker at SOLIDWORKS World, who has a very inspirational story about her journey from working on the assembly line to becoming the first female mechanical engineer at her company.  She is a SOLIDWORKS User Group leader, and Champion for Women in STEM.

Transcript and Shownotes:
http://bit.ly/2QDF9C3

Just Say Yes To STEM with Betty Baker - Ep2

SOLIDWORKS Born to Design podcast, a Podcast of inspiring stories about those who create, build, invent and engineer new ideas into actual new products.

I will be talking to Dara Dotz at SOLIDWORKS World 2018, who is an industrial designer and co-founder of Field Ready, which designs and manufactures parts in crisis-zones.  I’m sure you will be amazed at what Dara and her team can do to help others who are in great need after natural disasters or political catastrophes by developing very practical solutions on-site.

Shownotes and transcript:
http://bit.ly/2OvH5LB

Designing In Crisis with Dara Dotz - Ep3

I will be speaking with Paul Ventimiglia, who is the BattleBot team leader for team Bite Force.  Paul has been building robots since he was 14, and is now a 3 time BattleBots champion.  He also works building robots in the high tech industry.  Paul will be talking about his experience building robots and share some insight from the BattleBots events.

Kicking Bot and Taking Names with BattleBots Champion Paul Ventimiglia - Ep4

I have an inspiring story that combines design, innovation, a few SolidWorks employees, a monster truck rally, and one incredible young boy named Jonah.   They all teamed up with an incredible organization called Magic Wheelchair.
I’ll be speaking with Chin-Loo Lama, a SolidWorks employee, and  also the team leader on the project with Magic Wheelchair.
Transcript and Shownotes: http://bit.ly/2BgYjai

Designing Monster Truck Magic - Ep5

We are speaking with US Navy Veteran Hernán (Air-non) Luis y Prado. After returning home Hernan realized that many of his fellow veterans were not getting proper opportunities in the workforce. Given the skills gap in American manufacturing, Hernan saw a chance to address both needs. Hernan shares his very passionate story about how he risked his own career to help veterans gain the skills they needed.
Transcript and Shownotes: http://bit.ly/2GaxrhG

Born to Design Podcasts

Filling Americas Skills Gap with Veterans - Ep6

Interview with Grant Delgatty who is the inventor of the URB-E, an educator, and designer.  Grant has a very interesting background and some great advice for designers and entrepreneurs for any point in their career.

The Hardest Part Of Design with Grant Delgatty of URB-E - Ep7

Interview with Easton LaChappelle, who as a young man had a vision of designing state-of-the-art prosthetic arms for children, which he started designing in his bedroom with a basic 3D printer as a teenager.  You would not believe where this idea has taken him and who he has met along the way.  It’s an amazing journey in a short amount of time.

A vision for creating better Prosthetics with Easton LaChappelle - Ep8

I am talking to Rick Becker and Dennis Dohogne who started a movement on the SOLIDWORKS Forum that changed SOLIDWORKS applications.  The Movement was simply called: One and Two, which came from the top two enhancement requests from users on the SolidWorks forum.

How the User Forum Changed the Course of SOLIDWORKS Software - Ep9

Interview with Shelly Gruenig (the mentor) and Derek Sanchez (the student, now mentor).  Shelly started teaching her children robotics at home to prepare them for their future, but ended up mentoring thousands of students (like Derek) on not just robotics, but many skills needed to manage challenges they will face once leaving home.  Shelly has an incredibly positive attitude and great advice on mentoring our youth that you need to hear.

Mentoring our future Entrepreneurs - Ep10

Show notes and Transcription: http://bit.ly/2U9a6yG
Marc DeVidts is the Co-Founder and CTO of Double Robotics, who turned his passion for building robots into a career.  Marc, as a teenager, loved designing and building fighting robots, and eventually created IceWave for BattleBots.  Marc has a true start-up story with plenty of lessons learned for those looking to build their own business from scratch.

From Fighting Robots to Helpful Robots with Marc DeVidtz - Ep12

Cesar Gutierrez is a teacher who is literally changing the futures of his students lives every day.  Cesar is changing the mindset in his community by showing underprivileged students a future they could not have imagined is possible.  It’s almost unbelievable what Cesar has done in his community in just seven years.

How One Teacher is Changing mindsets, One Student at a Time, with STEM - Ep13

Braden Reiber is an inventor who stumbled upon an idea, which in turn turned into a better idea that then eventually evolved into a business: RemUV, a company that develops small devices that can clean water using the power of the sun.  Braden shares his story of how he came up with his innovative idea and turned it into a product that could help those around the world easily clean their water supplies.

The Evolution of a Good Idea: from Concept to Company - Ep14

Interview with Leland Melvin at SOLIDWORKS World 2019.  Leland shares his incredible story from playing football in the NFL, to becoming a NASA astronaut and  experiencing space travel.  It’s an amazing journey, and Leland shares where his success came from.

SolidWorks

One Man’s Journey: from the NFL to Space with Leland Melvin of NASA - Ep15

Interview with Jeremy Fielding, who turned his interest for engineering into the creation of a successful YouTube Channel, which evolved into actual engineering jobs.  He has a passion for teaching technology to his large YouTube channel audience as well as his own children.  He has a lot of great advice for any budding engineer or inventor.

Engineering Tips from the YouTube Engineer - Ep 16

Interview with Marie Planchard, which is a familiar name in our industry, as Marie spearheads the Education programs here at SOLIDWORKS, however, you may not know how involved she is in this growing community.  Let’s listen in to Marie’s story to learn more about how this growing community has benefited so many...

Educating Engineers Outside of the Classroom Ep 17

What's the most important part of a start-up?  Meet Josh Aviv, the CEO of SparkCharge.  Josh took his idea, which he started in college, and turned it into a quickly growing business.  Josh has some great advice for any young entrepreneur, and it might surprise you what his keys to success are.

The Most Important Part of a Start-Up with Josh Aviv - Ep18

Jonathan Schultz is an entrepreneur and the Team leader for the BattleBots team HUGE.  Jonathan made a name for himself in 2018 when he created a revolutionary new fighting robot. Listen in to hear his advice for any designer who wants to step away from the norm.

Designing outside the box turns into HUGE wins [BattleBots]

We often hear that high-tech companies are always worried about having enough engineers and that not enough young people today are interested in pursuing careers in technology.  Not to worry, as there is one person working very hard to teach our next generation of engineers and creators.  Danielle Boyer works to inspire the youth in her area in STEAM and technology, and came up with several great ideas to do this, including her own program “Every Kid Gets a Robot” (EKGAR), for which she created and built her own Robotics start kit that she gives away.  She has also developed STEAM-focused coloring books, and spends a lot of time teaching children on STEAM and technology and helping many student Robotics teams.  But what’s most amazing is that she is only 18 years old.

How an 18 yr Old Ushering in the Next Generation of Creators

Eric Spurgeon is an inventor and entrepreneur who owns his own business. Perhaps above all he is a problem solver with some interesting ideas on best practices for solving a design problem, and how to solve a design problem quicker, which I believe you will enjoy hearing...

Born to Design Series

Born to Design - SOLIDWORKS Podcast