What It Takes to Rebuild a Manufacturing Business

What happens when a digital manufacturing company is pushed to grow like software. Marleen Vogelaar, co-founder and CEO of Shapeways, shares what it really takes to scale hardware without overbuilding, overspending, or locking into the wrong decisions too early.

She also breaks down why venture incentives often clash with physical businesses, what led to Shapeways’ collapse in 2024, and how the team rebuilt the company from the ground up.

In this episode, we cover:

• Why prototyping is easy, but responsible scaling is hard
• The gap between VC expectations and manufacturing reality
• What went wrong with the public listing and cost structure
• How Shapeways rebuilt after bankruptcy with a tighter focus
• How AI is changing who gets to build hardware
• Why sustainability and profitability can reinforce each other
• What “measured growth” looks like in digital manufacturing

Episode Guest: Marleen Vogelaar, co-owner and CEO, Shapeways

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🎥 [WEBINAR] - The CFO-Proof Marketing Playbook

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👉 Watch The Replay

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📚 Episode Resources:

• Website: https://www.shapeways.com/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/shapeways/

Interview with Marleen:

• 👉 https://www.npws.net/podcast/rebuilding-a-manufacturing-company

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🌍 Podcast Created by New Perspective Marketing

This podcast is proudly created by New Perspective Marketing, a dynamic growth marketing agency in Boston, MA, celebrating 20 years in business. We help sustainably focused B2B organizations grow their brands and scale up revenue. If you or your organization is looking to grow, visit https://www.npws.com for more info.

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💚 Green New Perspective Team:

• Host & Co-Producer: Dunya Jovanovic
• Executive Producer: Marko Bodiroza
• Creator: Nathan Harris

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