Introduction
Entrepreneur and motivational speaker Jim Rohn once said, “If you don’t like where you are, move. You are not a tree.” But that’s often easier said than done. With home prices and inflation both continuing to rise, not many everyone can afford to uproot and move.
Azure Printed Homes is working to make housing more accessible and more sustainable with its 3D-printed living spaces. We spoke with co-founder Ross Maguire about his inspiration for starting this company and the advantages of Azure’s prefabricated units.
Note: This interview was conducted via phone and email. It has been lightly edited for clarity and length.
Yasmin Sharbaf
What inspired you to take the leap and start Azure Printed Homes?
Ross Maguire
A passion for making a change to construction industry habits that have been accepted for decades as other industries have moved forwards in leaps and bounds, for the betterment of the current global population and future generations. My first daughter’s arrival was a big catalyst!
Yasmin Sharbaf
Who is on your team and how did you come together?
Ross Maguire
I co-founded the company with Gene Eidelman who I met shortly after moving to LA shortly after relocating from London, UK. We first met in a Starbucks in Santa Monica Blvd, and we discovered that we shared frustrations for the same pain points in the construction industry. We created the company in 2019 and have built a team of 12 — 0ur head of growth, three project managers, bookkeeper, skilled field crew, and one robot!
Wall Street has Morningstar, S&P, and Bloomberg
The equity crowdfunding market has KingsCrowd.
Yasmin Sharbaf
How is Azure Printed Homes transforming the accessory dwelling units (ADUs) industry?
Ross Maguire
By creating ADUs more affordably, faster, and better for the environment. Unique designs, uniquely fabricated, taking away the headache of traditional builds and bringing enhanced speed, precision, affordability, and environmental consciousness.
Yasmin Sharbaf
What does the competitive landscape look like, and how do you differentiate?
Ross Maguire
3D printing competitors tend to print on site using cement-based materials, moving printers from site to site. Inefficient and unsustainable.
Compared to other ADU and small home providers, nobody produces faster, more efficiently, or sustainably than an Azure Printed Home.
Printing the entire self-supporting structure in one go — in one day — and combining multiple traditional trades into one day print is a huge advantage.
Yasmin Sharbaf
How durable are Azure Printed Homes materials and units? What weather conditions can they sustain?
Ross Maguire
The print material contains an ultraviolet (UV) stabilizer. We then add a further UV coating to the exterior surface of the printed material, which provides up to a 25 year warranty. The print geometry has been designed to withstand 95% of the states’ wind and snow conditions — the remaining 5% can be accommodated with structural upgrades. Insulation levels can be tailored to the necessary environmental conditions and energy requirements across the states.
Wall Street has Morningstar, S&P, and Bloomberg
The equity crowdfunding market has KingsCrowd.
Yasmin Sharbaf
Can you tell us about the company’s revenue so far? How many units do you expect to sell this year?
Ross Maguire
Our legacy business of Azure Construction (which is now owned by Azure Printed Homes) had revenue of $3.5 million in 2021 and forecasts $4.2 million for 2022. As it stands, we have pre-sold more than $16 million worth of printed units and anticipate being able to produce the first of these by the end of November next year.
Yasmin Sharbaf
How do you intend to use the money you raise this round to scale the business?
Ross Maguire
Our first printer will come online later this year, and it will have capacity to produce $8 million of revenue per year. This raise enables us to purchase printers two and three, along with the associated team and inventory to support them — so that our current LA facility can be a $24 million revenue location.
Yasmin Sharbaf
What do you want potential investors to know about you and/or your company?
Ross Maguire
We’re the first to market 3D printing homes with recycled materials, and we’ve assembled the team that will generate $100 million in revenue in three years.
Wall Street has Morningstar, S&P, and Bloomberg
The equity crowdfunding market has KingsCrowd.
Yasmin Sharbaf
As you think about the business 5-10 years down the road, what do you see exit opportunities looking like? Have you set any future goals for the company?
Ross Maguire
Our ambition is to grow across the country and then beyond US borders. We already have interest from multiple other countries and continents for the future. We’d plan when the time is right to take the company public.
We look forward to seeing where Ross and his team take the company. Azure Printed Homes is currently raising on Republic.
About: Yasmin Sharbaf
Yasmin is passionate about the intersection of business, art, and science. Prior to KingsCrowd, Yasmin worked on a cryptocurrency investing research project for Wellesley College Investment Office where she assessed the risks and rewards for university endowment investment into cryptocurrency. She has also previously worked in a neuroscience lab studying language and memory of songbirds. Yasmin’s dream is to make investing and financial education accessible to everyone. In her free time, Yasmin enjoys going on adventures, learning new languages, and exploring different cultures. Yasmin studied Neuroscience and Studio Art at Wellesley College.