# Motivational Speaker

- Show: [The Amp Hour](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour)
- Published: 2019-05-05
- Length: 1h 06m
- Episode: 441
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2019-05-05-motivational-speaker
- Listen: https://theamphour.com/441-motivational-speaker/

## Summary

Chris Gammell of Contextual Electronics and Reality Instruments joins Dave Jones to discuss the success of KiCon, the rapid rise of KiCad as a dominant EDA tool displacing competitors like Eagle, and the potential for commercialization of open-source hardware. Gammell details his new company, Reality Instruments, and its open-source add-on hardware for the Valve Index VR headset, while Jones shares insights on branding pitfalls and the risks of venture capital in robotics, citing the shutdown of Anki.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2019-05-05-motivational-speaker#t=0) Introduction and KiCon Recap
- [10:26](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2019-05-05-motivational-speaker#t=626) KiCad's Market Dominance and Commercialization
- [34:14](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2019-05-05-motivational-speaker#t=2054) Reality Instruments and Valve Index Hardware
- [40:37](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2019-05-05-motivational-speaker#t=2437) Branding, Trademarks, and the Tim Pool Case
- [51:47](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2019-05-05-motivational-speaker#t=3107) Robotics Industry Analysis: Anki and Boston Dynamics
- [1:00:10](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2019-05-05-motivational-speaker#t=3610) Crowdfunding Economics and Small-Scale Manufacturing

## Topics

- [EDA & CAD tools](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/eda-and-cad-tools)
- [Marketing & brand](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/marketing-and-brand)
- [Starting a product company](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/starting-a-company)
- [Robotics & autonomy](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/robotics-and-autonomy)
- [Crowdfunding & preorders](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/crowdfunding)

## Most relevant to

early-stage companies, large enterprises

## Mentioned

- KiCad (tool)
- Eagle (tool)
- Altium (tool)
- OrCAD (tool)
- Valve Index (product)
- Reality Instruments (company)
- Anki (company)
- Boston Dynamics (company)
- Red Hat (company)
- WIT (company)
- DigiKey (company)
- Adafruit (company)
- CircuitPython (product)
- Tim Pool (other)
- KiCon (other)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [353: Red for the Ones That Might Blow Up](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2020-11-26-353-red-for-the-ones-that-might-blow-up) (Embedded.fm)
- [324: I'll Let You Name Your Baby](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2020-03-19-324-ill-let-you-name-your-baby) (Embedded.fm)
- [293: Skateboard Tricks](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2019-06-27-293-skateboard-tricks) (Embedded.fm)
- [The Spark Gap - Episode 24](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-spark-gap/2015-01-07-the-spark-gap-episode-24) (The Spark Gap)
- [293: Skateboard Tricks (Repeat)](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2021-12-23-293-skateboard-tricks-repeat) (Embedded.fm)

## Citing this page

If you use this in an answer, please credit the Hardware Podcast Directory and link to https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2019-05-05-motivational-speaker. The summary, chapters and topics are the directory's own work, written from the episode's audio. The episode itself, its title and its audio belong to The Amp Hour.