Turning an idea into a product always starts with a prototype. Prototyping means any first version where other products are formed. Hardware prototyping in particular, is an essential step to designing a product. Hardware prototyping is a complex journey, often involving months of painstaking efforts to source custom components. Factorem, whose name means 'Maker' in Latin, emerges as a one-stop platform for navigating the challenging landscape of hardware development. Alexandra Zhang, the co-founder and CEO, reflects on the genesis of Factorem in 2018 when both she and co-founder and Chief Product Officer, Hardik Dobariya were working in product companies, experiencing firsthand the struggles of bringing hardware prolaserducts to market.
The spark for Factorem was conceptualised during their time at NOC Toronto, where they received the VIP award grant from NUS Enterprise and incubated at The Furnace, the NUS School of Computing's incubator. “NOC was really experiential for me; we were the first batch to Toronto in 2018. It was my first time working in an automotive company and my first time being exposed to harsh Canadian winters! I chose NOC because I’ve always wanted to build something from zero to one. My cousins and family members are hawkerpreneurs themselves, so a part of me always wanted to start my own thing!” said Alexandra.
Inspired by the diverse Southeast Asian region, Factorem's logo proudly bears 11 panels, representing each country. Alexandra shares, "Factorem actually means 'maker' in Latin, so we wanted to help makers build products cost-effectively and efficiently." Factorem's mission is to bridge the gap between demand and supply in manufacturing. Their platform enables anyone to access Southeast Asia's manufacturing prowess in one place and within seconds. The start-up has garnered significant support, backed by SEEDS Capital, Blue InCube Ventures, Pia Ventures, Iterative, and industry angels.
A key feature of Factorem is its AI-driven cloud platform, which allows users to order custom-manufactured parts on-demand. The platform boasts 110+ qualified manufacturing partners and an impressive track record of 30,000+ parts manufactured. By tapping into spare capacities of factories, Factorem eliminates waste and accelerates the product development cycle to days and weeks, without any minimum order quantity requirements.
Alexandra, reflecting on her journey as a start-up founder, shares valuable insights. "As a start-up founder, I face challenges at the start with handling multiple things. One of the valuable lessons I've taken is to laser focus. This means prioritising tasks that have a direct impact on customers and sales growth, and not things like fussing over logo, deck design. Only 1 or 2 things are truly critical to the survival of the business. " She acknowledges the constant uphill battle of entrepreneurship, emphasising the need for founders to be physically, mentally, and emotionally fit.
Factorem's journey is not without challenges, particularly in the meticulous management of their supplier network for quality assurance. Constant refinement of onboarding processes, evaluation criteria, and maintaining transparent communication with their partners remains imperative for Factorem’s sustained excellence.
With global expansion on the horizon and ambitions to become Southeast Asia's home-grown brand, Factorem exemplifies the spirit of innovation and resilience that defines the start-up landscape. The journey from conceptualisation to building Southeast Asia's largest digital manufacturing ecosystem is a testament to Factorem's dedication to transforming prototypes into reality, one custom-manufactured part at a time.
For more info, visit: https://www.factorem.co/
