Hardware Reference
In-Depth Information
product before it hits the market. If they love it and are active contributors, they will also
spread the word and will be happy to help its success.
“What is the most helpful aspect of open source hardware at your company?
'Re-
duced transaction cost in business. I don't have money for marketing or business
development, so I just hang it all out there and let the informed buyer choose.'”
(Andrew (Bunnie) Huang [Sutajio Ko-Usagi], profitable in 2013)
“If you build it, they will come” is a saying that does not automatically hold true with
open source hardware. It takes a tremendous amount of work to create a community that
will help support your products. Community building requires cultivation, encourage-
ment, and appreciation of those members who do outstanding work. There are numerous
examples of open source companies that have created positive communities that in turn
have helped grow their brands. Notably, Lasersaur, RepRap, Open Source Ecology, and
DIYdrones have all been intentional in fostering very positive communities whose support
has led to explosive growth of these companies.
“This is always the first thing I hear when I talked to people about open source: 'If
I open source my schematics, code, designs, I can't sell a product and make
money!'
“First, your project is not really about the nuts and bolts. The value of any pro-
ject, open or otherwise, is much more about the service, community, and support
that come with it. Great real-life examples are companies like Adafruit and
SparkFun. Their products are entirely open source and transparent, and people
buy from them because their support, community, and documentation are top-
notch. People can still clone their products, but it's unlikely that people would buy
others because they do not come with the same support, quality, and compatibility
guarantees.” (Lasersaur)
Better Employees
Some companies are using forms of openness to attract and recruit highly motivated and
qualified employees. Most people are good at what they do professionally because they
learned a lot from others. Learning happens while sharing knowledge. Being allowed to
share and interact with others enables people to improve their knowledge base. Having
your name appear next to great resources makes you visible in your community, and allows
you to burnish your reputation and grow your cultural capital. Public design files allow
people to find a product online, study it, learn something about it and the company behind
it, and take an interest in their fate.
