The machines themselves can take anywhere from a few weeks to several years to build, says Elliot Naess, a 10-year kinetic veteran who has built three race-ready sculptures from scratch.

CNN: Art in motion at the Kinetic Grand Championship

Mr Lee helped create an Asian junk-bond market from scratch, and Peregrine built a reputation for its skill at raising cash for fast-growing companies.

ECONOMIST: Peregrine Investments

For this inaugural first episode, I interview Rose Cole, who built a high-six-figure health coaching and wellness business from scratch after dropping out of college, through her own style of self-education.

FORBES: The Education of an Entrepreneur, Episode 1: The Story of Rose Cole

Self-made entrepreneurs, both built their companies from scratch and clawed their way up.

FORBES: Billionaire Battle: Meet Charlie Ergen, Whose $25.5 Billion Bid For Sprint Would Bump Japanese Billionaire Masayoshi Son's Deal

Having built up a leading company from scratch, many would expect Mazumdar-Shaw to have her mind fixed solely on the business.

CNN: $800 million biotech business started in a garage

Some of the houses are designed from scratch, although many are built according to studio-generated templates.

WSJ: A-cero's Modern Planes in Spain

The introduction of electric light-railway systems might bear some of the transportation load, but these need to be built from scratch, and within the context of a completely new social infrastructure.

FORBES: Could Australia Go Carbon Neutral By 2020?