Erlend Wilhelmsen

LEGO

I was always a builder. LEGO was my first love. I enjoyed the sets, but more than anything I loved to build new things. I enjoyed inventing and then quickly start building. It is this ability, the ability to build something quickly, that I’ve been drawn to all my life. LEGO is great if you are part patience and part impatience. You can start quickly and then dive really deep if you are inspired by and enjoy your creation.

It's 1997, but this time I'm prepared

In 1997, I was young and unprepared for what was about to happen. I had just finished my degree at the University of Oregon and I was on my way to Los Angeles. Netscape had been around for two years, but I didn't really see tech as my area.

While I was distracted by the shiny entertainment industry, the Internet was changing everything. I noticed but I didn't pay attention. I did start my first company in 1999, but I was late to the game. I didn't have the network. I didn't know how to execute. I had much to learn.

Many people think 1997 was their (last) big chance. The big chance to "make it". It was, perhaps, for some. People got rich with bullshit. It was a bubble of course. A real bubble.

Today, some people think the recession can last for another 10 years. They are wrong. Dead wrong. It's 1997 again, but this time it's much much bigger. This time, the disruption is real. This time, the market is 10 times larger. Now, the whole world is connected and smart phones bring endless opportunities for entrepreneurs everywhere.

Consumer behaviour have changed and platforms for true social communication have connected a billion people - for the first time. Smart entrepreneurs can launch companies and products to the entire world in weeks. Millions of users - real customers - can be yours in less than one year. It's incredible! Yet, not enough people see what is about to happen.

Massive distruption of most industries are happening right now. People act differently. They consume media and content unlike anyone before them. They buy more things, virtual or not, faster than ever before. An example from my own experience: Tweens and Teens spend 80% of their waking hours clued to their phones, entertainment companies (yes, even TOY companies - we know them) spend 20% of their budget on digital. It's crazy I tell you. Crazy.

And in the middle of all this... THE JOBS ACT is here. For the first time since 1933, American's 99% - yes, those people - can invest in small startups through "crowd funding".

I'm Norwegian. We are risk averse. Americans? They LOVE risk. They LOVE startups. They think they can WIN. They are optimists. This is part of why I came here. This is why I stayed here.

In six months, all of these Americans that together hold 30 TRILLION in long-term investments can FOR THE FIRST TIME take some of that money and put it into startups. Games, entertainment, tech, web, mobile... you know, the stuff that THEY buy. The stuff they read about in the news. The stuff that makes people - and perhaps people like them - billionaries.

What do you think is going to happen? Are you prepared?

I'm looking for Pirates

You know who they are. They fight for change. They work on big distruptive ideas. They spend every day fighting for a better life, education, healthcare, and more love - less war. They are hackers. They are the Occupy movemement. They are freedom fighters all over the world. They are sometimes... entrepreneurs.

You love them because they stand for change. They know something is wrong and they will change it. They are willing to step out from the crowd and take a stand. They take risk. They don't always know what to do, but they do something. They don't give up. They stick their heads out - heads that would roll 600 years ago. They are the true heroes. The pirates.

There is so much talent in tech. So much talent in Sillicon Valley. I wonder why so few of the entrepreneurs work on problems that really matter. So few go for the big distruptive ideas. So few dare to take on the big problems. Why is that? Are they afraid? Are they trained to believe that money matters? That being acquired matters? That the world cares about the Techcrunch article?

You will die in the end and no one will care. Unless you change the world. To change the world, you have to become one of them. You have to become a pirate.

You know what you have to do.

Why Co-Working is the future

I believe we will see a Billion entrepreneurs in the next 20 years. I’m not talking about the classic definition of an entrepreneur building a big company – I’m talking about the freelancer, part-timer, and the independent. Yes, corporations will live on, but innovation, disruption, and the future lies in the hands of the entrepreneurs. At the center of this movement - and it's already here - we see major changes in how, when, and where people work. This is the rise of co-working and you should do it too.

So, what is co-working?

It’s quite simple. If you’ve ever spent more than a week working from home, you’ve likely noticed that working from home, or alone, is not as easy and wonderful as it might seem. You get bored. You are a social animal. You need people to feel good. Co-working is just working together and better with others. (If you are new to co-working, check this resource for definitions etc).

For the last twenty years, you’ve noticed more and more people working at coffee shops. If you live in San Francisco or another major tech hub, it seems as if no one has an office anymore. In the last five years, co-working spaces have been popping up all over the world. You can easily find one in this directory. It's easy to get going: You can rent a desk, a room, or just pop in for the day. Most places offer coffee, meeting rooms, and comfy couches.

While in-person co-working is terrific, co-working doesn’t have to be in-person. Loads of people co-work online and cross-borders. It's not as refreshing as the real thing, but the co-working concept is really more about sustainability and community building than anything else.

Why is it so great?

The pure creative energy that comes from co-working is just terrific. You meet new people, collaborate, and you constantly are refreshed by the environment and energy that drives co-working spaces.

Networking is super easy and some of the people in your space might buy or sell services to you – in person. That’s just a superb way of building value, right?

Our next space for Fabric will be a co-working environment. We’re looking at downtown Los Angeles and we’re looking for a street-facing retail space. If you know the perfect space or you want to join in, get in touch. Let’s make it happen!

Your kids will print their own house

Yes, I believe that will happen in my lifetime. It’s called 3D printing and in 10 years, you’ll all be doing it. You’ll print stuff you need at home and, at some point, you’ll just print your own house. Yes, I’m talking about the house you live in. (You'll need a industrial sized printer of course.)

I’ve asked many of my friends if they know that, right now, they can print their own door handles and other items they need from a printer in their own house. I always get the same reaction: “What do you mean by print it?” I mean exactly that. You scan an object into your 3D software on your laptop, then plug in the printer, and print what you need.

Here’s a 3D printer you can buy for $1,299. You can use it to print solid objects in a few hours.

Naturally, you need to buy the material (think of it as a printing cartridge) and, for now, there are limits to what kind of material you can use at home for printing objects. You can print with a vinyl type material, but there is no reason you can't print from different chemical compounds, mixed on the fly, to create different types of material – all in your house. No more factories. No more transportation.

How about printing edible food? Yes, you don't even have to go to the grocery store. Perfect. You can just stay at home and eat your printed food. (Just what we need in America.)

Within ten years, I’m certain you’ll see 3D printing enabling new markets and even whole economies. While it may be a few years before 3D printers really enter the mass market and make their way into every household, think of the opportunities! What if 10,000 Ebay and Etsy sellers owned their own printers? They would create amazing custom made-to-order products for all of us. It’s not far away.

Eventually, hospitals will print blood vessels and other body parts. You say that’s nuts. Possibly, but it’s already happening right now:

What will you print? New parents? Kids?