Louisville, KY – FirstBuild, the global cocreation community of GE Appliances, a Haier company, is celebrating its first decade as a destination for makers, engineers, and everyday enthusiasts to cocreate what’s next.

Launched in 2014 as an experiment to see if product innovation could happen faster in the open than behind closed doors, FirstBuild has helped renew the pace of innovation for GE Appliances. FirstBuild has attracted a community of over 245,000 cocreators, enabling the launch of more than 100 products and features, with 37 of those ultimately graduating to GE Appliances’ house of brands. This success has solidified FirstBuild as a benchmark for corporate innovation – an example it plans to share with other businesses looking to harness the power of their own communities.

Where traditional corporate innovation typically involves costly R&D, marketing and tooling expenses, FirstBuild functions like a fast-paced start-up. Its on-site microfactory, open makerspace, and online community operate independently from GE Appliances and are the keys to achieving zero-distance to its consumers. 

Anyone with an idea can submit to FirstBuild.com’s cocreation platform or contribute to concepts in development. The public is also invited to join the FirstBuild team in person at its public makerspaces to work on projects of their own or to collaborate with its in-house makers. These product ideas are then shared publicly from inception for validation and further development. FirstBuild’s microfactory is optimized for small-batch production, which keeps product development costs low until demand is achieved, making innovation more cost-effective compared to traditional mass manufacturing.

Products that resonate with the community are put into production and make it to market or crowdfund in an average of six months. The most successful scale to GE Appliances’ house of brands for larger manufacturing and support capabilities. This has led to significant commercial successes like the viral Opal Nugget Ice Maker – now the bestselling small appliance for GE Appliances and primary driver for GE Appliances’ re-entry into the small appliances category in 2020 – to the Monogram® Hearth Oven and revolutionary GE Profile™ Smart Indoor Smoker.
“We believe that the traditional innovation models are ineffective and expensive,” said GE Appliances CEO Kevin Nolan. “FirstBuild was created to reinvent innovation, challenging the notion that R&D is a cost center and innovation can only happen behind closed doors.”
By working directly with passionate communities both external and internal, FirstBuild can directly listen to what consumers want and develop products that meet their needs

“FirstBuild exists to find passionate communities and to cocreate solutions, products, and services with them,” said FirstBuild President André Zdanow. “This is a place where the communities are in charge, inspiring us with their ideas and helping firsthand to bring a product to life.”

With its continued success, in 2023, GE Appliances opened a FirstBuild location in Stamford, CT, at the company’s new CoCreate facility. 

FirstBuild remains dedicated to driving innovation and cocreation and inspiring and teaching others to inspire their own communities. With a decade of success behind it, the company is poised to continue pushing the boundaries of what’s possible.

To learn more about FirstBuild or to join the co-creation community, visit FirstBuild.com.

About GE Appliances, a Haier company
At GE Appliances, a Haier company, we come together to make "good things, for life." We're creators, thinkers and makers who believe that anything is possible and that there’s always a better way. We’re a company powered by our people, made stronger through our diversity — allowing us to grow closer than ever before to our owners, anticipate their needs and enhance their lives. Today, our appliances are in 50 percent of all U.S. homes, and our business is committed to serving every family in the country. We manufacture and sell products under the Monogram®, Café™, GE Profile™, GE®, Haier™ and Hotpoint™ brands. Our products include refrigerators, freezers, cooking products, dishwashers, washers, dryers, wine & beverage centers, air conditioners, small appliances, water filtration systems and water heaters. For more information on our company, brands, and corporate citizenship, visit www.geappliancesco.com.