Simon and Markus met while they were both studying for their MBA at HKUST, and instantly clicked over their can-do spirit and thirst for new challenges. Both were stationed in China at the time and had been progressing smoothly up the ladder in the consulting industry. After hitting new milestones in their careers, they felt that it was time to try their hand at something new, and many discussions over drinks later, they decided that 3D printing would be the next game-changer that had the potential to revolutionize the manufacturing process as we know it. 

In 2014, Simon and Markus launched their brainchild, 3Faktur, a company specializing in making 3D-printing accessible to all. 3Faktur offers the entire value chain from 3D modeling to post-processing of the prints, which enables customers to get a highly individualized 3D printed product without having the specialized skills or equipment. Markus and another friend are stationed at 3Faktur's headquarters in Germany, where they handle business development, sales and product launches; while Simon works on the technical backend and oversees the company's Hong Kong office. 

It was tough for the duo at first, their biggest challenge being to identify the right target market for their services. 3Faktur's first few business lines were ahead of the times and not as well positioned as they could have been. Another hurdle that Simon and Markus had to overcome was how to maintain clear communication channels between Germany and Hong Kong.

Despite these set-backs, Simon and Markus' strong personal networks, global perspective and past experience with 3D printing and manufacturing have helped them stay ahead of many competitors. The team has made good progress in just a few short years: they purchased their first printer in April 2015, and more recently in January 2016 they have begun replicating their business line in Hong Kong.