Nestled near the Hudson River on 28th Street in New York, Quirky's office has all the trappings typically associated with a venture-backed startup: hardwood floors, exposed-brick walls, rows of millennials toiling away on Apple computers, conference rooms cordoned off by panes of glass -- and a cocky 20-something founder.
But there are also saws, vise grips, levels, protective goggles, a high-pressure washer, industrial stainless-steel sinks and a sewing machine. Down a flight of steel stairs there is an Objet Connex350 -- a 3-D printer that runs about $250,000 retail and a Universal Laser Systems PLS6MW -- a laser cutter that costs $55,000.
While other companies receive multibillion-dollar valuations for creating digital platforms populated by millions of nonpaying users sharing photos of cupcakes, Quirky is busy creating physical products. They cost real money and are bought by real people with real dollars.
"I'm not in the internet crowd," said Ben Kaufman, Quirky's 26-year-old CEO, brusquely.
That's only half true. While Quirky makes real-life products, they are the result of a process that starts online. Inventions are reliant upon a loyal base of self-proclaimed inventors who pitch ideas. Quirky and its online community then vet and perfect those ideas. The best ones Quirky mocks up and sends to China for large-scale manufacturing. With Quirky's system, anyone can turn their everyday ingenuity into a mass-produced good found on shelves at Target. Most internet startups sell users on the idea of free-flowing information. Quirky sells them on the American Dream.
Mr. Kaufman's outsider attitude extends uptown to Madison Avenue. Quirky, he said, will never engage in a traditional ad campaign. Instead, the company wants to expose itself to the world and let people decide if they want to be part of the democratizing "movement" it's leading. "We think it's very important to tell the world about what we're doing," Mr. Kaufman said. "We don't think it's important to sell the world on what we're doing."
Enter Marina Hahn. In January, Quirky hired the 24-year marketing vet and exec behind PepsiCo campaigns featuring Ray Charles, Cindy Crawford and Magic Johnson. Her goal: Turn Quirky into a globally recognized brand billed as a platform that rewards everyday ingenuity. Despite having brought 80 crowdsourced inventions to market and designing almost 200 more, Quirky has yet to establish a well-defined brand experience, Ms. Hahn said.