# An Interview with Andrew Seddon - Necessary Networked Novelty

- Show: [The Amp Hour](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour)
- Published: 2013-02-05
- Length: 1h 32m
- Episode: 131
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2013-02-05-an-interview-with-andrew-seddon-necessary-networked-novelty
- Listen: https://theamphour.com/the-amp-hour-131-necessary-networked-novelty/

## Summary

Andrew Seddon, co-founder of CircuitHub, explains the platform's crowdsourced electronics parts library and its integration with EDA tools like Altium, Eagle, and KiCad. He details the company's journey from a passion project to a Y Combinator-backed startup, highlighting the technical challenges of building a universal library and the business model of monetizing through manufacturing services. Seddon also discusses the difficulties of US immigration for foreign founders, which led the team to operate from Mexico, and the growing hardware startup scene in the UK.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2013-02-05-an-interview-with-andrew-seddon-necessary-networked-novelty#t=0) Introduction and Guest Background
- [12:01](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2013-02-05-an-interview-with-andrew-seddon-necessary-networked-novelty#t=721) The UK Hardware Scene and Hackerspaces
- [17:22](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2013-02-05-an-interview-with-andrew-seddon-necessary-networked-novelty#t=1042) Transitioning from Embedded to Web Development
- [28:55](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2013-02-05-an-interview-with-andrew-seddon-necessary-networked-novelty#t=1735) CircuitHub: The Crowdsourced Parts Library
- [35:41](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2013-02-05-an-interview-with-andrew-seddon-necessary-networked-novelty#t=2141) Library Management Challenges and Data Integrity
- [1:05:45](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2013-02-05-an-interview-with-andrew-seddon-necessary-networked-novelty#t=3945) Business Model, Y Combinator, and Funding
- [1:24:06](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2013-02-05-an-interview-with-andrew-seddon-necessary-networked-novelty#t=5046) Immigration Issues and Remote Operations

## Topics

- [EDA & CAD tools](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/eda-and-cad-tools)
- [Starting a product company](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/starting-a-company)
- [Pricing, margins & unit economics](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/pricing-and-unit-economics)
- [Policy, trade & tariffs](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/policy-trade-and-tariffs)
- [Open-source hardware](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/open-source-hardware)

## Most relevant to

early-stage companies

## Mentioned

- CircuitHub (product)
- Altium (tool)
- Eagle (tool)
- KiCad (tool)
- Y Combinator (company)
- Arduino (product)
- Pebble (product)
- Octopart (company)
- Lockatron (product)
- Active RF (company)
- TurnSafe (company)
- Arm (company)
- Cambridge Silicon Radio (company)
- Node.js (tool)
- MySQL (tool)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [35: All These Different Reasons Why You Might Want to Do Something](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2014-01-15-35-all-these-different-reasons-why-you-might-want-to-do-something) (Embedded.fm)
- [293: Skateboard Tricks (Repeat)](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2021-12-23-293-skateboard-tricks-repeat) (Embedded.fm)
- [T-25-007 : Valentina Ratner - Mechanical Engineer to SaaS for Hardware CEO](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/tradeoffs/2025-03-21-t-25-007-valentina-ratner-mechanical-engineer-to-saas-for-hardware-ceo) (TRADEOFFS)
- [372: The Motivation of Creativity](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2021-05-06-372-the-motivation-of-creativity) (Embedded.fm)
- [123: Banished from Running Linux](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2015-10-28-123-banished-from-running-linux) (Embedded.fm)

## Citing this page

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