Maker Faire ran 200 events in 40 countries — then its company ran out

Maker Media grew out of Make magazine, launched in the mid-2000s as the bible of DIY technology, and in 2006 staged the first Maker Faire in San Mateo, California — a county fair for the hardware era. It grew into a global franchise of about 200 owned and licensed events a year in more than 40 countries, drawing 1.45 million attendees in 2016 alongside 125,000 paid magazine subscribers.

The money never followed the crowds. Corporate sponsorship fell away — Microsoft and Autodesk did not sponsor the flagship Bay Area Faire in 2019 — production costs in expensive cities climbed, and free online DIY content ate the magazine's reason to exist. Venture-backed with $10 million raised, the company laid off staff in 2016 and again in March 2019; CEO Dale Dougherty admitted the business had 'always been a struggle'.

In June 2019 Maker Media laid off its remaining 22 employees and halted operations — 'failing as a business but not as a mission,' in Dougherty's words. Licensed Maker Faires around the world went ahead without it while he tried to buy back the assets and restart. The world's biggest maker event had outgrown its own organiser.