Anouk Régnier - "77% of girls between the ages of 5 and 10 love science and technologies"

Passionate about human interactions, Anouk started her career in human resources. After discovering 3D printing through her husband, founder of Dagoma, Anouk saw an opportunity to reconcile her professional life with her creativity.

After experiencing 3D design and printing, she forges the conviction that families are at the dawn of a new revolution. A revolution that allow families to do some saving, while producing at home through an educational tool: the 3D printer.

Passionate about nature and hiking, she is proud to work with Dagoma, which focuses on preserving the planet using starch consumables.

Today, Anouk is part of the US development of Dagoma, which aim to make 3D printing accessible to all.

Anouk, could you let us know about your background and what brought you into 3D printing in the first place?

I’m a French woman who dropped out of technology even though I liked it; probably because it was not ‘girly’ enough. So, I went in a law school instead, and I have a Master’s Degree in public law, employment law and in HR management. I worked a few years in HR for Decathlon (sporting goods retailer) in China and in France. When living in China, my husband discovered 3D printing when prototyping a foldable bike. He loved the technology so much he decided to quit his job, and start his own business with a friend. And that’s how they started to design, 3D print, and sell 3D printers. 2,5 years later, they made me an offer to join the company, which I accepted with pleasure.

What was your very first experience with 3D Printing?

To be completely honest, I experienced 3D printing through my nail polish remover. I guess you might wonder… what does that have to do with 3D printers? Matt, my husband, was prototyping his first 3D printers, and he found it very convenient to use my nail polish remover to clean the bed of the 3D printer. Of course, I only discovered it the day I wanted to remove my nail polish… and couldn’t find my nail polish remover…

More seriously, when Matt started his company, I didn’t completely trust him when he told me 3D printing was the future. I wasn’t sure 3D printing was so revolutionary that I would need one, or would anyone else. Slowly, I got a foot and then my full soul into it!

Could you explain furthermore what Dagoma is and the products you offer?

At Dagoma, we’re convinced, that making 3D printing accessible to all is necessary!

If you are eco-friendly; you’ll find It saves tons of CO2. If you are a kid; you’ll have fun while learning. If you’re an artist; you’ll find a new way of expression.

That’s why our mission is to make 3D printing accessible to all. At Dagoma, we design, manufacture and sell 3D printers and accessories which are both affordable and easy to use. Our main 3D printer is: the Neva which was featured in a very successful Kickstarter campaign last spring.

What differentiates Dagoma from others desktop 3D printer manufacturers?

There are a few points.

First: we are involved in the local community and we 3D print our own 3D printers locally.

We source our components locally; we hire people locally and we manufacture locally.

We deeply believe that 3D printing changes the way we consume products. It’s collaborative because we share designs with everyone in the world while at the same time produce locally.

Second: we print more than 50% of the parts for our NEVA printer NEVA and it is totally made in the USA. That experience makes us expert in our products and in the state of the art of 3D printing. The Dago Customer benefits because the same people who make the printer also do the customer service too.

Do you have any (fun or not) story about your career to share with us?

Actually, there is something that attracted me to Women In 3D printing. I always loved technology and science but when I chose my university major I decided to go to law school instead of engineering.

I think I’ve was influenced by society, telling me that I should not use a screw; that Engineering is tough and I would need to be strong. I didn’t do the thing I was meant to do because I believed it was not my place.

A few years ago, I saw an ad saying 77% of girls between the ages of 5 and 10 loved science and technologies. At the age of 14, that percentage dropped dramatically to only 13% who still consider it as something they can do for a living.

This make me think of my past, and I know I want to do more. I’m now happy to be in a tech environment. And I want to encourage all girls and women in the world to do what they want to do. If they want to be Engineers, they should!!

Anything exciting coming up you’d like us to know about?

We just finished our Kickstarter campaign. And starting from this week, we have company stock for sale! We just launched our US website, and next month, we will organize the official launch of our factory in Goleta (near Santa Barbara, CA. Let’s the US adventure begin!

What is the most impressive or impactful use of 3D printing you’ve seen so far?

One thing is important to me: Family. And that’s why female infertility is a topic that I care about. So, I would say, having the possibility to 3D print cells, and ovaries is the most impressive and impactful use of 3D printing I’ve seen so far.

What makes the 3D printing industry particularly interesting for you? As a business person? As a woman?

In business today, most small companies and people don’t know or don’t even have an interest in 3D printing. I think that’s fantastic because it gives Dagoma a role to educate them about this technology so that they can use it in their everyday life at work and home. As a woman: I love to create. With 3D printing, I can create my own jewelry, decoration and gifts. I really love DIY, and 3D printing is a fantastic tool to do it.

In your opinion, how could we encourage more women to become involved with 3D Printing?

By showing women all they can do with 3Dprinting and that it’s easy to do. We need to tap into women’s passion to create. Right now, too many of the free designs for 3d printing are ‘male oriented”. In designing beautiful jewelry and home decorations I had to struggle to find striking designs and easy to use instructions. The solution I believe is to offer some free 3d design lessons and to show women that designing and printing really doesn’t require a lot of technical skills.

Thank you for reading and for sharing! 

We invite you to join Women in 3D Printing on LinkedIn and to like our Facebook page for further discussion.