David Moodie
Making dreams become reality
When David Moodie left Victoria University of Wellington after his Bachelor of Design studies he was able to secure a position with Designbrand in Island Bay. Working in the company gave him valuable insights into the generation and production of ideas, which he utilized when venturing out on his own with his company Makegood. Setting up in the creative hub of 1st Assembly in Lower Hutt was the ideal solution, as all the creatives there would collaborate and help each other out. After two years, and the founding of a second company, David moved to his own premises in Lower Hutt. This second company, Foundry Lab, in November 2021 received major funding to develop David’s game changing idea into a commercially viable reality.
As a product designer, thinking about the economy of scale, is an important part of the design and production process, and David had found out that some aspects of the metal parts production could be significantly improved: without compromising the quality of the parts, his new process enables manufacturers to get small runs of metal parts designed and manufactured within much shorter time frames and more economically. This new process combines the digital advantages of 3D printing technologies in a unique way with microwaving and metal casting. Having produced excellent proof of concept samples in his new premises, he was able to convince an impressive group of investors to fund the costs for getting the next stage started: Peter Beck from Rocket Lab, Motional chief executive Karl Iagnemma, former Autodesk chief executive Carl Bass in addition to venture capital firms Blackbird Ventures, GD1, Founders Fund, Promus Ventures, WNT Ventures, Icehouse and K1W1.