Our

Manifesto

We have a Manifesto because we are not the usual start-up: we are engaged.

We do good: There's a famous company whose motto is "don't do bad". Our attitude is much more: we do good. In business schools they teach you that every company should have a mission. But this is a bit yesterday for modern society.

Companies when defining their missions basically define their goal, the goal that ultimately will enable them to make money, possibly loads of money.

Apple's mission is for example: "To bringing the best user experience to its customers through its innovative hardware, software, and services."

But its mission is not saying how they are going to treat their employees, where they are going to make their products, if they are going to respect the environment, if and where they are going to pay their taxes.

Micro-production We believe that in the near future, everyone will be able to purchase a file online, download it in seconds, and produce it at home or at a nearby lab.

Over the last few years 3d printing and other computer controlled means of production like laser cutting and cnc milling, have become readily available almost to everyone. Additive manufacturing is now faster, produces better and durable results and most importantly is easy to use.

Furthermore, internet speed is increasing all over the world: This means that in the near future people will be able to purchase a file, instantly download it and produce it.

Local production: We aim to open our labs and to cooperate with existing labs to enable people to produce locally what they need.

Why should we keep importing low quality items from countries where the workforce is underpaid, has little rights and the environment is polluted? This affects other countries as well, keeping the wages of the workers dangerously close to poverty levels.

Fees for the Makers will be proportionate to their location. The closer they are to the customer the lower will be the fee we charge.

A new market for figurative arts and design: With the help of digital distribution and distributed production, a whole new market for arts is possible.

As futuristic as it sounds, one needs simply to think of what happened to the Music and Book markets in a very short period of time: the digital revolution has slashed the costs of production and reduced the time of distribution, in many cases down to zero… Now we have the means to open these distribution channels to other areas of the artistic production, like figurative art, design and DIY.

At ScanAndMake we believe that "beauty will save the world" and art and design should be available to everyone.

A new market for makers and artisans: ScanAndMake helps professional figures like Makers, Artisans, Artists and Designers to improve their monthly income, by providing a wide range of innovative services:

• A Marketplace: Where makers can quickly find job offers.
• A Directory: Which makes easier for customers to find local labs or makers.
• A Shop: Where artists and Makers can sell their files and make their own personalised shop. Everybody will be able to download and make their own artefacts and sell them at markets to create extra income.
• Machines: Machines is the new service provided by ScanAndMake, where owners of computer controlled machines, like 3d printers and Laser Cutter, can "rent" some machine-time to people, using our internal booking system.
• Art Contests: Through Making Art 4.0 over 10000 has been given out in grants and prizes to artists, directly by ScanAndMake.

With our platform we aim to create thousands of jobs and an extra income for makers and artists all around the world.

Supporting local retail: Purchasing locally, especially local produced and sourced products, helps the environment and the local economy. What we have seen in the last years is a gradual but steady replacement of the physical shop with faceless websites that has drastically accelerated by the 2020 global crisis. Here in the UK these days for example, there are no electronic components shops left: we find this appalling and alarming at the same time. ScanAndMake provides the files and services to bring production and distribution back to the cities.

Being profitable: We don't work just for money even if we want to make money. We don't believe in companies that call themselves "social engaged" but that struggle to make profits and that survive only thanks to funding. If we don't make money is because people don't like what we do... and if that's the case why should we survive?

There is the expression of selfishness and there is the expression of selflessness - but economists or theoreticians never touched that part. They said: 'Go and become a philanthropist.' I said, 'No, I can do that in the business world, create a different kind of business - a business based on selflessness.' - Muhammad Yunus

Multikulti: ScanAndMake is an open-minded company that actively promotes multi-cultural interactions. We strongly believe that the future relies in integration, cooperation and tolerance. We proud ourselves of an international multi-lingual core team and activities ran in 5 different countries: Uk, Italy, Spain and Venezuela. Our makers are from all over the world: ScanAndMake is a place where people from all over the world can meet and work together.

Social Marketing: We could make marketing conventionally, using advertising on social media and search engines, making rich companies even richer... or we could invest in the society.

The entire promotional budget in our first years of activity has been invested in projects that engage communities, like the art contest Making Art 4.0, the crowdfunding campaign One-man Cathedral or the opening of the new design professional school EDAT - Escuela de Diseño y Artesanía Tecnológica in Merida, Venezuela.

We believe that field-work is a much better way of promoting our services, the results are not as immediate as with the conventional means of promotion, but they are longer lasting and more effective.

Shorter weeks: All our employees work less than 30 hours a week. So they have time to develop other skills different from the ones required at work and foster other hobbies. We think this will have a beneficial effect on what they can bring back to the company: More creativity, more productivity, a wider range of skills and a better working environment.

Workers that have more free time can be better parents, better partners and better citizens; will be more concerned about the environment and consume less resources avoiding stress related habits like gambling, smoking, excessive eating.

A motivated and relaxed man makes in 30 hours what a stressed worker can't do in 40 hours.

With extra time people can dedicate to DIY, building their own furniture, decorating their own house or growing their own vegetable and be active part of the community.