# Interview with the Upverter Founders - Ramiform Reciprocity Raconteurs

- Show: [The Amp Hour](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour)
- Published: 2013-09-18
- Length: 1h 45m
- Episode: 163
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2013-09-18-interview-with-the-upverter-founders-ramiform-reciprocity-raconteurs
- Listen: https://theamphour.com/the-amp-hour-163-ramiform-reciprocity-raconteurs/

## Summary

Upverter founders Zach Homet, Steve Hamer, and Michael Woodworth discuss building a multiplayer web-based CAD tool for electronics design. They detail their journey from a garage startup to Y Combinator, explaining how they raised $650,000 over three years and recently closed a seed round. The founders explain their strategic focus on collaboration, data interoperability with distributors like Octopart and DigiKey, and their philosophy against building a marketplace to protect open-source hardware.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2013-09-18-interview-with-the-upverter-founders-ramiform-reciprocity-raconteurs#t=0) Introduction and Upverter Overview
- [4:36](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2013-09-18-interview-with-the-upverter-founders-ramiform-reciprocity-raconteurs#t=276) Founding Story and Initial Funding
- [19:11](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2013-09-18-interview-with-the-upverter-founders-ramiform-reciprocity-raconteurs#t=1151) Y Combinator and Early Challenges
- [30:19](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2013-09-18-interview-with-the-upverter-founders-ramiform-reciprocity-raconteurs#t=1819) Data Strategy and Component Libraries
- [36:23](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2013-09-18-interview-with-the-upverter-founders-ramiform-reciprocity-raconteurs#t=2183) Overcoming Web-Based Stigma and Security
- [54:09](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2013-09-18-interview-with-the-upverter-founders-ramiform-reciprocity-raconteurs#t=3249) Design Review Tool and Collaboration
- [1:12:33](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2013-09-18-interview-with-the-upverter-founders-ramiform-reciprocity-raconteurs#t=4353) Open Source Philosophy and Marketplace Debate
- [1:27:19](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2013-09-18-interview-with-the-upverter-founders-ramiform-reciprocity-raconteurs#t=5239) Technical Architecture and Future Plans

## Topics

- [EDA & CAD tools](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/eda-and-cad-tools)
- [Fundraising & investors](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/fundraising)
- [Sourcing & supply chain](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/sourcing-and-supply-chain)
- [Open-source hardware](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/open-source-hardware)
- [Pricing, margins & unit economics](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/pricing-and-unit-economics)

## Most relevant to

companies scaling up

## Mentioned

- Upverter (product)
- Y Combinator (company)
- Altium (product)
- Cadence (product)
- Eagle (product)
- Octopart (company)
- DigiKey (company)
- Mouser (company)
- Texas Instruments (company)
- GitHub (company)
- Heroku (company)
- SparkFun (company)
- Tindie (company)
- Freescale (company)
- Arrow (company)
- Newark (company)
- Pebble (product)
- BeagleBone (product)
- HackRF (product)
- KiCad (product)

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- [VC-Backed Hardware Design Collaboration is the (All) Spice of Life](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/moores-lobby/2023-05-30-vc-backed-hardware-design-collaboration-is-the-all-spice-of-life) (Moore's Lobby)
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## Citing this page

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