Twenty-three-year-old Entrepreneur Featured as Keynote at CADD Edge Product Design Event

Quirky Incorporated Founder Ben Kaufman to Speak at CADD Edge Northeast Tour 2010 Event in New York City

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- From “CNBC News” to the New York Times, social product development company Quirky and its visionary 23-year-old founder Ben Kaufman have been celebrated in the mainstream media since its launch in June 2009.

Kaufman confirmed today that he will make an appearance on October 7 in New York City as keynote speaker at the CADD Edge Northeast Tour 2010 product design event, kicking off a series of educational events that the SolidWorks^® software reseller is holding during October in Windsor, CT; Burlington, MA; Pittsburgh, PA; and Philadelphia, PA.

The objective of the events is to help enhance the skills of anyone who participates in the product design and development process, with a focus on using SolidWorks and other technologies to accelerate design and development cycles.

In his keynote Kaufman will share insights about the market trends that inspired him to create Quirky. He added that he will also explain the Quirky product development philosophy and methodologies, reveal key technical challenges, and discuss some of the behind-the-scenes work that the Quirky design team performs daily.

“CADD Edge is integral to our rapid product development cycle here at Quirky and I am pumped to be part of the conference,” said Kaufman. “CADD Edge’s awesome support and technology make it all possible. They helped us get up and running quickly with SolidWorks software, which lets us build product prototypes on our Objet 3D printer in hours.”

Speedy design is a critical piece of the Quirky phenomenon. The company compresses the typical product design and development cycle from months to weeks. Since its inception, Quirky has brought 50 products through development stages and manufactured 16 products. Several of these products have been featured on “The Today Show.”

Marcel Matte, COO at CADD Edge, commented, “We think that what Ben has to say will be of interest to all of the event attendees. The innovative processes he and the Quirky team have devised and the group collaboration made possible by Quirky.com are changing the way people think about product development.”

Matte added that while the focus at Quirky is consumer products, he expects that Kaufman will offer ideas and insights of value for all product designers and mechanical engineers in the audience.

About CADD Edge

CADD Edge is a software and services provider offering all the tools, know-how, and technical staffing needed by manufacturers to better meet the changing needs of their customers. The largest reseller of SolidWorks software in the Northeast region of the U.S., CADD Edge helps product design professionals and manufacturers speed production, increase the quality of their products, and achieve a leadership edge in their industries.

About Quirky

Quirky is a social product development company founded in June 2009. Each week, Quirky engages its online community of more than 20,000 individuals from around the world to collaborate in every aspect of a product’s creation—from ideation, design, naming and marketing, right on through to sales. Anyone can participate in this process, either by submitting their own ideas, or by evaluating and contributing to others' ideas. The final product becomes available for presale in Quirky’s online store (http://quirky.com/products), and if it reaches a certain sales threshold, it goes into production and becomes available worldwide. Quirky then shares its product-based revenue with all the community members that positively influenced the product.

The CADD Edge Northeast Tour 2010 will offer two separate tracks for attendees, one for experienced SolidWorks users and another for managers and users who are new to SolidWorks. Of particular interest to SolidWorks gurus will be an optional session highlighting improvements in SolidWorks 2011, the newest release of the software. Attendance is free for the first 100 people who register for the CADD Edge Northeast Tour 2010 in each of the five locations where the event is being held. To register or get details, visit www.caddedge.com/gototour.

On October 1, less than a week prior to the CADD Edge event in New York, Quirky Founder Ben Kaufman is scheduled to make an appearance at the Tahoe Tech Talk conference, where he will join a lineup of six other expert speakers on the topics of start-up funding and entrepreneurship. The event will take place at Harrah’s Lake Tahoe, near South Lake Tahoe, NV, kicking off with a reception on September 30. For more information about Tahoe Tech Talk, visit http://tahoetechtalkconf.com/.

SolidWorks is a registered trademark of Dassault Systèmes SolidWorks Corporation or its subsidiaries in the U.S. and/or other countries. Other brand and product names are trademarks of their respective owners. Copyright ©2010 CADD Edge Incorporated.