Mitch Free is a college dropout who partnered with Amazon’s Jeff Bezos to build MFG.com, the first online marketplace bringing together product designers and manufacturers. The serial entrepreneur is now seeking to improve the way every machine part in the world gets made. He’s currently the founder and CEO of ZYCI (pronounced “ZEE-key”), a CNC-machining, plastic molding and additive manufacturing company serving the aerospace and defense industries.

In this podcast, Mitch reminisces with Jon about his unusual career path from refurbishing used aircraft for Northwest Airlines to running his own design software business to figuring out how to cut Ferrium M54, one of the toughest steels ever made.