Maker Portal Mission Statement

who we are…

Maker Portal is a New York City-based company dedicated to inspiring young innovators through a maker-based approach with written articles, products, and collaborations using Raspberry Pi, Arduino, and computer programming tools such as Python and MATLAB. Topics range from heat transfer, acoustics, robotics, data analysis, sensor design, and much more. Difficulty levels range depending on the topic and there is an extensive focus on open-source software implementation, however, articles focus on software design as well. Maker Portal’s mission statement is to demonstrate applications of engineering that are repeatable at the intermediate level without requiring colossal resources.

Company Values

Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM)

STEM is the cornerstone of Maker Portal’s mission. The dissolution of information regarding the science and proximal fields is what drives all the products and projects carried out here. The marriage of STEM and the tools that make learning STEM have a huge impact on the work done at Maker Portal. That is why all of the projects listed on the site are accessible, repeatable, and educational.

Education

The second focus of Maker Portal is education. Education is a fundamental core of the tutorials and products on our site, and we aim to make every project hinge around some learning related to science, engineering, and related fields.

Collaboration

The third core value of Maker Portal is its dedication to collaboration and communication of information. We value the work and opinion of others, which is why our blog has an active message board. In addition, we also value social interaction, whether it be through social media or other avenues. We are highly active and interactive on our social media platforms, where much of the interest in our products and projects is drive.

2018/2019 Revenue

2018

~ $1000 USD (Affiliate marketing, Apple App Revenue, Google Adsense Revenue)

2019

~ $3000 USD (Affiliate marketing, Apple App Revenue, Google Adsense Revenue, Social Sponsorship, Product Sales)

Marketing Strategy

Maker Portal’s marketing consists of an active social media presence and integration with ad-based marketing tools. Maker Portal has active accounts on:

We are also active on Google Ads and an Amazon Affiliate member. Most of our traffic comes from Google’s organic search, with others funneling from online sites and social platforms. Our site currently has multiple #1 Google search positions related to the content on our page.

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Scale/Distribution Strategy

Project Scaling

Much of the popularity attributed to Maker Portal is due to the projects related to STEM learning. As a result, the scaling of said projects hinges on content. Therefore, as a scaling method we plan to include more projects to increase the amount of content produced and interaction on the site in general.

Product Scaling

As a direct result of project scaling, we also plan to increase the inventory of products. As the projects scale, the viewership will scale, resulting in more eyes on our products. With the increased viewership, we will also be able to customize our products, resulting in greater revenue.

Team Scaling

We intend to expand our team by 3-5 part-time employees. Maker Portal has had guest writers and collaborators, however, the progress of our mission relies on consistency and quality. As a result, we plan to expand our team to include more writers, engineers, and product specialists in order to scale efficiently and steadily.

Detailed Plan for $30K Prize Money

Purchase Materials and Products

First, Maker Portal plans to expand its materials related to its laboratory and maker space. We would like to purchase a few more 3D printers, soldering irons, a table-top CNC, and more components. We also plan to increase our inventory on some our more popular products (see: https://makersportal.com/store).

Publish Ebook

One of the areas where Maker Portal intends to explore is the area of eBooks. We have been assembling an eBook based on the STEM-based work done on our site for quite some time, and with some of the funds we plan to release the book and sell it exclusively on our site for a fixed cost. The $30k will help with publishing, marketing, and some design aspects of the content.

Part-Time Hires and Commissions

Another area of much needed expansion is the area of increased content production. Maker Portal intends to upkeep its content quality by hiring engineers and makers in the STEM community to write articles and publish content for its blog. As a result, the products that we sell will have more interaction and visibility due to the increased content dissolution and relationship to our name. Because we strive for quality content and the STEM relevance, it is not easy to find viable creators that meet that standard. However, with the $30k, we will be able to pay our writers their deserved fee.

Marketing and Promotion

Maker Portal has been self-promoting for most of its history. However, it has been using marketing tools intermittently between Google Ads and Facebook Ads. With a noticeable uptrend of visitors and revenue with the marketing tools, Maker Portal plans to increase its marketing presence in the future. With the allotted funds, we will be able to increase our impact and visibility to a higher degree and ultimately expand our brand.

Android App Development

A portion of our revenue comes from our app on the iOS app called BLExAR on the Apple app store (link to it here). With such success from the app, we plan to outsource the Android version of the app and predict huge revenue as a result. And with much of our viewership coming from the Android community, we think this is a wise investment and predicted source of passive income.

STEM Outreach

One of our points of pride is our attention to the STEM and open-source communities. As a result, we plan to dive into outreach programs that teach students how to get involved with science, technology, engineering, and math. The widespread applicability of the maker world is unbeknownst to many, and we want to change that. As part of our prize plan, we want to share our maker space with others and create a community where all feel that they can learn about STEM without the massive tools that were traditionally required.

Projected Breakdown of Funds: