{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"How a Gold Star Military Spouse Built a 3D Printing Company Around Real Math","description":"Paula Thomas left Amazon after 14 years as a software engineer. She's now running Viter Manufacturing\u2014a 3D printing company focused on custom retail displays. But she's not a typical startup founder. She's a Gold Star military spouse, which means her husband died in service. Her approach to building a company around grief, resilience, and curiosity is the opposite of the hype-and-speed culture that dominates tech.  In this conversation, we talk about why most 3D printing startups fail (the hidden costs nobody tracks), how to know when to push through and when to walk away, the power of learning out loud and getting called out publicly, and why innovation actually requires the customer sitting at the table with you from day one. We also discuss: \u2022 Why resilience is a skill you build early, not something you develop in crisis \u2022 The brutal math behind 3D printing pricing and why so many entrepreneurs get it wrong \u2022 Gold Star families, TAPS and the resources most military families don't know exist \u2022 From software engineering to 3D printing: what skills transfer, what doesn't \u2022 Beta programs that flip the script on R&D costs \u2022 How military spouses are the most underemployed demographic in America \u2022 Why listening is harder than talking,and why it matters more Paula links: Weiter Manufacturing  weiter-mfg.com  Paula Thomas on LinkedIn \u2014 linkedin.com\/in\/paula-thomas Jason links: The Jason Cavness Experience thejasoncavnessexperience.com  Jason on LinkedIn \u2014 linkedin.com\/in\/jasoncavness Cavness LLC \u2014 cavness.io ","author_name":"The Jason Cavness Experience","author_url":"https:\/\/thejasoncavnessexperience.com","html":"