Penrith made STEM resources

When JP Liew joined the Launch Pad program he was working alone in his “dark and gloomy” garage, losing time and money to a Chinese manufacturer and struggling to know what help his fledgling business could receive.

Fast forward a year and a half, and STEMTera manufactures, packs and ships its products from Penrith to a growing number of schools and other industries.

The STEMTera Breadboard is a LEGO compatible open source electronics platform that reads inputs, such as light or movement across a sensor, and turns it into an output, such as activating a motor or turning on an LED.

While it has many applications, STEMTera’s main market is schools who use the products to teach science, technology, engineering and maths. In fact, it was a school project that sparked the business idea.

“My son’s primary school has robotics programming in its STEM curriculum,” JP said of the genesis of his business. “One day he came home and asked for help and I noticed the equipment was expensive, imported from overseas and came with very limited learning materials.”

This led JP to design a product which he launched on Kickstarter.com, a crowdfunding platform.

“Within 30 days I’d pre-sold 6,000 units and raised close to $200,000. From there I registered a company and started the business.”

After a few months of working in his garage, JP realised STEMTera was suffering from a lack of exposure.

“I was looking to rent some office space when I came across Launch Pad,” he said. “Up until then I’d been struggling to get advice on the government's R&D Tax Incentive.”

Within days, the team at Launch Pad had connected JP with a consultant from KPMG, one of its partner organisations, and he was able to access the appropriate incentives.

“I had my own office space, and with Launch Pad’s help successfully applied for a government grant to buy my own manufacturing equipment,” he said.

Originally, JP had his products manufactured in China because it was cheaper. However, he quickly noticed a number of significant hidden costs.

“I had to order in huge quantities, which meant my capital was tied up. The time-zone difference, language and cultural barriers translated to a lot of lost time, and the lead time was way too long.”

“Now, I manufacture the products right here at Launch Pad. If a customer wants one board, I don’t have to order 1,000. I can also react to orders quickly. In the past, the lead time was around 40 days. Now I can have an order made, packed and shipped in one day.”

JP also works with teachers to ensure his products come with customised learning materials to help students learn how to write code and make objects smarter electronically or mechanically.

“The LEGO compatibility is a popular feature and there have been some really creative uses of the STEMTera Breadboard so far,” JP said.

Students can attach the Breadboard to their LEGO creations which can then be set into motion or action.

“Another example is the EagLED wearable board I designed for a client,” he said. “Once the students have finished coding they snap the board apart and sew it into a garment using conductive thread. One student made a hat for a vision impaired person that would sense obstacles and emit a warning buzzer.”

Of his experience with Launch Pad JP said: “They offer great facilities and so much help, startups in the West would be nuts not starting their business there.”

You can find out more about JP’s experience at Launch Pad in this video.

Image: STEMTera founder JP Liew manufactures his hi-tech products in Penrith.