Ivan Sun is empowering creators to turn their ideas into physical products. As the founder of ARQ, a mobile platform combining AI-powered design with on-demand manufacturing, he’s creating the foundation for the next generation of creator-entrepreneurs. 

His focus? Breaking down traditional barriers that have restricted product design and manufacturing to a select few.

From Film to Technology Innovation

After studying film at Emerson College, Ivan Sun chose technology over Hollywood. He joined HubSpot, where he witnessed how digital tools could transform marketing. This experience shaped ARQ’s mission to make product design accessible to everyone.

“Before 2010, marketing was very different,” Ivan notes. “Even people I went to school with at Emerson College were learning about these big ad campaigns with millions of dollars spent and doing billboard campaigns. HubSpot taught me to throw that entire playbook out the window. Instead of forcing people to view your content via paid ads, the powerful inbound marketing strategy emerged: provide free value or content to your target customer and let them come to you.”

This experience influenced his perspective on technology’s role in creative industries: “In the world of technology, I saw an amazing pathway to reducing entry barriers for people to create content, start brands, and eliminate the gatekeeping. That’s one thing at ARQ that we’re very passionate about.”

Addressing Market Limitations

Ivan observes that platforms like Shopify and TikTok Shop simplify online selling but fall short in one crucial aspect. They don’t help creators design original products, leading to market saturation with identical items.

“Shopify and TikTok Shop are easier-to-use e-commerce products, but they don’t help you design new products,” Ivan explains. “They build bots that see what other people are selling so you can spy on your competition, and then you figure out the product, and then the bot tells you where to buy it in Alibaba. Now, everyone’s just ripping each other off and selling the same thing repeatedly.”

On the other hand, Ivan describes ARQ as “a platform that lets anyone create custom products and sell them online within minutes.” Their goal is to let creators become their own fashion, art, toy, and luxury designers in minutes, not months.

Innovation Through AI-Powered Design

ARQ’s mobile platform addresses these challenges by integrating AI-assisted design tools with on-demand manufacturing. Available on iOS and Android, users can create custom products ranging from jewelry to stuffed animals through an intuitive question-based interface.

“Our flagship product is our mobile platform,” Ivan explains. “Instead of having a desktop computer with Shopify and dozens of tabs open, we’re trying to simplify it. Just as you could play a game or post on social media, we think the creator economy should also be that simple.”

The platform uses a guided approach to design. “Sometimes, AI tools give you this blank, intimidating canvas. It’s a big blank sheet of paper,” Ivan notes. “We think it’s more fun, more engaging to prompt with questions. It’s like, ‘Hey, what material do you want to use? What do you want the feature of your piece to be?’ We have different models – one for animals, delicate jewelry, planetary themes, and an open free form.”

Users can monetize their designs through multiple channels. “You can purchase them if you want for your personal use, or you can flag those and add them to your store,” Ivan details. “At that point, it’s just like Linktree. You can take that link for your private store, add your bio, upload your branding, and then boom. That individual link you can share with anyone around the world.”

The platform integrates with established e-commerce platforms. “We have a Shopify plugin, so if you already have a Shopify store or TikTok Shop, you can push from the application to those locations as well,” he says. “We’re like a central hub. If you’re just starting, maybe you want something simple. But then, if you want to grow your Shopify store, you can still use the mobile app to design your products and then push to these endpoints.”

Ivan emphasizes the platform’s social aspects. “The design process is fun. We want to make that as fun as possible,” he says. “We also have competitions where you can vote on people’s designs. A Tinder-like feature lets you swipe on people’s designs to upvote. We’re trying to make that community appealing to different creators.”

Advanced Manufacturing Solutions

ARQ distinguishes itself by producing individual items cost-effectively using AI and 3D printing. 

“With newer technologies such as artificial intelligence and 3D printing, we’re able to let people design one-off products,” says Ivan. “This necklace I’m wearing; with ARQ, you can make one just for one person. That’s very important because normally, to start a jewelry company, I must order 100 or 1,000 of the individual products.”

Their manufacturing network spans global locations. “We have different manufacturers—stuffed animal manufacturers in Mexico, jewelry manufacturers in New York City, Chicago, India—so we can manufacture items and ship them anywhere in the world,” Ivan explains. And then we have 3D printing nodes located in many other places.”

The quality of modern 3D printing has opened new possibilities. “If you’re making pop figures, action figures, or collectible figurines, it’s almost indistinguishable if something’s 3D printed or if it was injection-molded in a giant factory in Asia,” Ivan notes.

Their jewelry production combines traditional methods with modern technology. “Even the jewelry itself is 3D printed. First, we 3D print the wax molds, and then you make like an actual cast of it,” he explains. “Those technical developments have been fascinating. We couldn’t do this a couple of years ago.”

Quality remains central to their operation. “We spend a lot of time sampling the products of every manufacturer we bring on, working directly with their founders and the people running those locations,” Ivan says, but points out that “none of this works if we don’t have the quality.”

Expanding Creative Possibilities

Ivan states that ARQ is built for creators who lack traditional startup capital, aiming to equalize opportunities between established celebrities and emerging creators.

“On the higher end, you have celebrities, people who are already wealthy, who have capital that they can invest, and they can start their vodka brand or jewelry brand,” he explains. “You have to reach a level of success to have the ability to invest in starting a pipeline for those new products. We want to take that creative freedom rich people, influencers, and celebrities have and offer it to everyone else.”

“I want to see the next massive brand coming from Nigeria, not California,” he adds passionately. “I want to see a 19-year-old girl in Nigeria able to start her own fashion company and make it massive. We’re looking to give the people the tools to be that blank canvas.”

The Base Layer

While in beta, user feedback shapes ARQ’s development priorities. Ivan envisions ARQ becoming an essential part of the future creator economy infrastructure.

“We’re definitely a startup, so we have a roadmap, but sometimes you can either go in a million different ways and not get anything done,” he acknowledges. “It’s like eating your veggies before dessert, but there are so many cool things on the roadmap.”

“I don’t necessarily think of ARQ becoming the big brand in front of the consumer,” Ivan concludes. “I want us to be this layer one or base layer. You can build on this infrastructure on the same basis as if you’re building a website and using HTML. I want to be the people manufacturing the canvases that the artists paint on.”