Milpitas HS junior Alena Kononenko starts up own 3D Printing business

Milpitas High School junior entrepreneur Alena Kononenko wanted a new 3D Printer with more capabilities than the old one she had received after attending a summer class at Stanford University a few years earlier.

Her parents were willing to listen, but they wanted to know how serious Alena was to determine if it was a sound investment. So the now 17-year-old developed a business presentation that eventually won over her parents who purchased a new Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) 3D Printer with Automatic Material System (AMS) for Christmas.

“I started selling my prints just to my friends,” said Kononenko, who would print fidgets and other small items upon request. “They would pay me $2/hour plus the cost of plastic, and I would print anything for them.”

The Randall Elementary School and Rancho Middle School alumna then turned to her teachers at Milpitas HS and asked them if they needed any small items for their classrooms.

“That’s my network because teachers need a lot of little things that cost a lot of money,’” shared Kononenko, who has since expanded her enterprise. “I started slowly making a little bit of money. I haven’t broken even yet. I have made $300 so far for the last three months. I’ve made about 50 or so prints.”

Another big sales boost came when she made a toy snake (the old school wooden one that coils up but made of plastic instead) for her little sister who brought it to her third grade class at Rose Elementary School and showed all of her friends. 

“She came home and said that 10 of her friends wanted snakes like that,” said Kononenko, who can print one toy snake in three hours. “The next day she brought back $60 so I started pumping out those snakes like a factory.”

Kononenko now has her own Instagram account (@_artska_) and Discord account (artska) dedicated to her 3D printing, and her business continues to grow.

“What I now sell is my printer service. It’s not the models. If you give me the model, I’m charging you to use my printer,” she explained. “I hope more people see what I’m doing, even if they don’t buy it, I just want people to see what I’m doing because it’s so cool. I post a lot of stuff.”

Kononenko will have a stand set up at Milpitas HS this March 29 from 3-7 p.m. at the Trojan Olympics Night Market to share her creations with anyone who stops by.

“I can make anything,” said Kononenko, who plans to attend Milpitas Middle College High School for her senior year. “My parents are proud of me and I’m proud of myself for taking the initiative.”

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