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Ever wonder how a radically open-source company can be successful? Why do most companies live long enough to watch the hero become the villain? Sit back and relax as your hosts, Stephen and Lucian, cover some of the latest tech stories as well as interview people from hobbyists to CEOs as we discover the best and most interesting ways to succeed in today's world. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Surprisingly, there are many other reasons why an event can benefit a company besides selling units at your booth. From making industry connections to gauging what your customer demographic wants, it can be a great place to gather data that could help you shape your company's direction. In this episode, Stephen and Lucian tell you about the trade s…
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Packaging requires considering what you might need in the future, which is not as easy as you think. You don't want to bottleneck your future products because they won't fit in the packaging, nor do you want to buy all new packaging for every change you make. You'd be surprised by some of the design choices made in the name of packaging. Did I forg…
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Finding the right way to offer customer support can be tricky. You can't run everything yourself forever if you intend to continue your growth. There are so many ways this can go wrong, so make sure to take the time to plan this out as best as possible before you dive in. In this episode, we will dive deep into how we handled building our support t…
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It's here! The LumenPnP V4 is finally here, and we wanted to share some of our design decisions and explain why we made some of the choices we did. From wants to necessity, it wasn't easy. It took years of feedback, but we couldn't be happier with what has come from all of it. We wouldn't be where we are without the help of our community and the ha…
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You did it! You worked hard to prepare everything for launch day, but now it is time to put it all into action. Take what you have learned from the last two episodes and prepare for one of the most fun and stressful days you will ever have. Stephen and Lucian have experienced their fair share of ups and downs with different launch days and are read…
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As we gear up for launch day, listen to the conclusion of Preparing for Launch. (If you haven't listened to Part 1, we highly recommend doing so before diving into this episode!) Stephen and Lucian will cover topics like internal work instructions, setting up your PLM software, press kits, and so much more. This is really fun to talk about because …
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What actually goes into launching a hardware product? What can be worked on in advance, and what has to be perfectly timed with the launch date? We'll explore how to structure the necessary planning and share some of the things we have learned through multiple launches we have done ourselves. There is so much to unpack here that we had to break up …
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What does it mean to license something in a way that works for you and your project? Does this fall under copyright or a patent? (The answer may surprise you!) The president of the Open Source Hardware Association, Thea Flowers, stopped by to school us on open hardware licensing, and it was much needed. We start by going over the scope of permissiv…
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It is challenging to succeed with open hardware while keeping it sustainable and still making enough money to pay the bills. But there are ways to do it! In this episode, we dive into how you can succeed in doing open hardware. Plus, we talk about how vastly different open hardware is compared to open software. Do you have any questions, comments, …
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Pricing your product can be a daunting task. Set the price too high, and you risk alienating potential customers. Set it too low, and you may find yourself struggling to sustain your business. While there's no "one-size-fits-all" formula, our experience in this field has given us some perspective on how to approach it! Adafruit Blog Post: https://l…
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Trying to find the best way to incorporate community feedback can be tough, especially when that feedback is criticism. You have to be the director of your project's path, know where it has to go, and be opinionated. You have to assume they mean well in their criticism and you need to really show off the work that was done when a community member a…
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When do you decide to sign a commercial real estate lease? Do you truly need one? These are challenging questions, but in this episode, we're here to help. Stephen and Lucian will walk you through what's acceptable, what's not, what factors to consider, what could be deal breakers, and all the other aspects of this decision. Getting this right is c…
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What is the process of reducing costs in your supply chain without making your product worse? This is a tricky subject and needs to be handled with care. Luckily for you, we have already gone through this many times and can help you successfully cost down your supply chain by helping you find another way to potentially save money and what to look f…
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Ever wonder if your product is truly worth the time and effort it takes to bring it to market? How can you ensure it resonates with your target audience? This episode delves into the significance of a PRD and discusses how it can pave the way for your product's success from the very beginning. PRD Template: https://github.com/opulo-inc/prd-template…
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In this episode, we sit down with Thea Flowers, a huge advocate for open source who has done many things to be a beacon of light for others who believe in open source and open hardware as well. From running her own open-hardware synthesizer company to working at Google, Thea has contributed to many big projects and has even been a paid musician. Sh…
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How do you make yourself obsolete? That question may sound odd at first, but as Opulo continues to grow, how do Stephen and Lucian handle offloading their tasks to others while maintaining the speed and precision needed to keep up with demand? This topic was a user-submitted topic from our O.H.M. Podcast Channel found on our Discord. Thank you, app…
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What does it take to own your data, and when is it okay to hand over the reins? Should you self-host or not? Stephen and Lucian discuss topics like when it is okay to give up some control for convenience and how to walk that fine line. Plus, they talk about what would happen if Discord or Google went belly-up tomorrow and how that would affect your…
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Stephen and Lucian are asked to divulge more detail about how they handle making a new hardware release and how it is much more involved than a software release. Software is changeable, but hardware is permanent. That makes a big difference when considering what goes into a hardware release, including what you should do between prototyping and rele…
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In this episode, we're excited to have guest Brad Collette! Brad is the cofounder and CTO of Ondsel, an Open-Core company working to improve FreeCAD. Ondsel is also building features on top of FreeCAD that are aimed specifically at commercial applications. We hear how Brad has been involved with FreeCAD development for over a decade, started Ondsel…
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How do you make sure that the things being sent out your door are to the standard of quality that you would expect? How do you try to overcome human error when considering quality control checks? What's a QC Buddy, and why is traceability important? Take a lesson from Stephen and Lucian as they dive into this beefy topic that is hard to contain in …
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Automation tools can be a robot you bought off the internet, or it can be something you make yourself. When should you automate a task? Would automation reduce mistakes, improve quality, or improve joy? Sometimes, but not always! In this episode, Stephen and Lucian hope you learn something from some of their mistakes and some of their wins with aut…
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When it comes to time management, everything can seem important, but what is the most important to tackle right away? Picking between these can be tricky, yet finding the balance between being efficient and not running into burnout is important to figure out. Stephen and Lucian dive into the issues they have run into and how they have found solutio…
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Ryan from V1 Engineering sits down to talk to us about how the desire for a 3D printer led to the birth of V1 Engineering. From working for free to outgrowing his jobs, Ryan had no plans to start a business and even pushed back from the idea of it. With a tremendous amount of attention and desire for his CNC design on Thingiverse, he finally listen…
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In this episode, we guide you through what is essential to prepare for when buying stock. Whether you're just starting to sell your product or managing it while your company is already in full swing, Stephen and Lucian share their personal experiences and answer some of the most challenging questions in this category. They discuss topics such as ho…
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How much are you focusing on existing products vs new products for the future? Do you stick with the customer base that is reliable or do you take a risk? In this episode, Stephen and Lucian will talk about tailoring to existing customers without losing what will bring in new customers, plus learning about 'the onion of tolerance'. They will even t…
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Communicating effectively with your community on an open source project is vital to keeping your project alive and healthy. But how do you make the right choice with so many options out there? Tune in and find out how Stephen and Lucian have made the tough calls of where to start and what they learned along the way! To learn more about what we do, …
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In this episode, we have our first guest! Chris is the cofounder and CTO of Sienci Labs, which makes the open source LongMill CNC. We hear how Chris and his cofounder Andy started the company, launching two successful Kickstarters, and what they have planned for the future. Now that we've had Chris on the show, we'll have him back for other episode…
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When is a tool worth paying for? How do you decide when a project is good enough for your company? Finding the right tool or project for your company can be tough. Lulzbot's blog post about OHAI: https://lulzbot.com/learn/introducing-ohai-kit-your-guide-to-open-hardware-assembly Opulo's assembly docs: ohai.opulo.io If you want to learn more about w…
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In this episode, we dive into sourcing! How do you find vendors? How do you vet them, and make sure you’re getting a quality part? What about duties, shipping, and minimum order quantities? This is a summary, overarching episode about sourcing. Every topic we cover here could have a whole episode dedicated to it, so let us know what you’d like us t…
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Ever wonder how a radically open-source company can be successful? What's the balance between running a company that makes money and supporting a community? (Turns out, they work together better than you might think!) Stephen and Lucian dive into the things they've seen be overwhelmingly beneficial about keeping the source of your hardware product …
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Ever wonder how a radically open-source company can be successful? What are the benefits, and what are the challenges? How do you manage version control, hiring, work instructions, and payroll? Opulo employees Stephen Hawes and Lucian Chapar cover the details of running an Open Hardware company, as well as interview anyone from hobbyists to CEOs th…
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