An Interview with the SparkFun Team - Efficacious Engineering Ensemble
The SparkFun Engineering Team, including Mike Hord, Jim Lindblom, Chris Taylor, Mike Gruson, Pierce Melcher, and Tony Kloppenstein, discusses their open hardware philosophy, company culture, and product development processes. They detail their transition from tech support to engineering roles, the management of a large product catalog, and their aggressive open-source stance against counterfeiters. The team also covers their educational outreach, including a national teaching tour, and specific engineering challenges like dealing with counterfeit ATmega chips and managing in-house PCB assembly.