My Story

Hi, I’m Josef Průša, and I make 3D printers. Well, actually, my amazing team of over 1100 people and I make 3D printers together, but my name ended up on them, which still feels a bit surreal.

I was born in 1990 in a small Czech village called Sedletín. My parents ran a furniture business, so I grew up watching them work weekends and holidays, learning that entrepreneurship meant dedication. My dad once told me: “Save a third of what you earn, spend a third on inventory, and enjoy the last third.” Resonates with me every day.

Tinkerer

My brother Michal and I were those kids who took everything apart. Our parents bought us an old Trabant to tinker with – we removed the roof, added computer-controlled ignition, and convinced Mom it was “educational” because we were helping Dad in the forest with it. We learned welding, built remote-controlled cars, and even created a laser harp. When our parents enrolled me in an embroidery class to develop fine motor skills, all my friends joined too. Nothing says “future tech entrepreneur” like cross-stitching with your buddies, right?

University

I studied at the Prague University of Economics for a bit. Let’s just say it didn’t work out – I’m now a “proud VŠE dropout,” as I used to put on my conference slides. The breaking point came during an “Online Business” course where the professor seemed personally offended that I was already speaking at conferences he couldn’t even attend. I wanted to quit properly, but the administrative office told me they didn’t have a process for that and suggested I just get expelled instead. So I signed an honorable declaration to end the studies and left.

The Tweet That Changed Everything

The whole 3D printing adventure started because I was a DJ who needed new knobs for my mixing controller. On August 28, 2009, I tweeted: “Have a big dilemma. What should I buy? 3D printer or multitouch tablet? Please help me!” The internet voted for 3D printer, and here we are. I built my first printer from online plans, simplified the design because I’m inherently lazy (the best kind of lazy – the kind that finds efficient solutions), and shared my improvements with the RepRap community.

Founding Prusa Research

In 2012, I officially founded Prusa Research with 200,000 crowns from my dad and a firm declaration that my allowance days were over. We started in a moldy basement in Prague, packing printer frames in pizza boxes and bubble wrap. When we needed to ship orders, I’d just open our tiny window and hand packages directly to the courier on the street. Professional? Maybe not. Effective? Absolutely.

Rapid Growth and Recognition

The company grew faster than anyone expected. We went from selling a few printers to friends to shipping 100,000+ every year. And our printers are used everywhere from space companies to local hospitals printing surgical guides. Speaking of hospitals, seeing our printers help create prosthetics for kids who outgrow them quickly – that’s when I remember why we do this.

COVID-19 Response

During COVID-19’s first wave, we pivoted to producing face shields. In three days, we went from concept to shipping, ultimately delivering 250,000 shields to healthcare workers. We also turned our factory into probably the safest workplace in Czech Republic, with UV-sanitizing elevators and vending machines dispensing respirators instead of candy. We joked that it was safer at work than at home with two weekly PCR tests for everyone.

Today’s Prusa Research

Today, Prusa Research occupies an entire former heating plant in Prague’s Holešovice district. We have a “farm” of 700+ printers making parts for new printers (yes, they reproduce – it’s assisted reproduction, don’t worry, they won’t take over), the europes’s largest filament production, and somehow, we’ve managed all this without taking external investment. We’re still owned just by three Prusas.

Company Culture and Philosophy

People often ask about our company culture. Well, we have alpacas in the yard, beehives behind the factory, and a Boston Dynamics robot dog “guarding” the office. Every printer ships with gummy bears because why not? I still personally onboard new employees, we use first names only, and anyone can message me on Slack if something’s bothering them.

I am trying to be the “glue” that holds our diverse team together. I’m not the best programmer or engineer anymore – we hire people way smarter than me for that. My superpower is connecting the dots and occasionally having ideas that my patient colleagues refine into something actually workable.

Vision

What’s next? People keep asking about our vision. I used to joke about “total world domination,” but honestly, we’re just trying to make 3D printing as common as microwaves. Imagine printing a wine bottle holder for your fridge instead of driving to the store. That’s the dream – making useful things accessible to everyone.