Limor Fried

CQ magazine induction of new members to the CQ DX Hall of Fame, the CQ Contest Hall of Fame, and the CQ Amateur Radio Hall of Fame. Hall of Fame nominees are traditionally announced each spring in conjunction with Hamvention.

Limor Fried, AC2SN: Founder of Adafruit Industries, major supplier of open-source electronics to the Maker Community; honored by President Obama in 2016 as a “Champion of Change” and by the Internet of Things Institute as one of the 25 most influential women in the… Show more

CQ magazine induction of new members to the CQ DX Hall of Fame, the CQ Contest Hall of Fame, and the CQ Amateur Radio Hall of Fame. Hall of Fame nominees are traditionally announced each spring in conjunction with Hamvention.

Limor Fried, AC2SN: Founder of Adafruit Industries, major supplier of open-source electronics to the Maker Community; honored by President Obama in 2016 as a “Champion of Change” and by the Internet of Things Institute as one of the 25 most influential women in the IoT industry.

The CQ Amateur Radio Hall of Fame gained 18 new members for 2017, bringing the total number of members inducted since the hall’s establishment in 2001 to 310. The CQ Amateur Radio Hall of Fame honors individuals, whether Amateur Radio licensees or not, who have made significant contributions to Amateur Radio, and radio amateurs who have made significant contributions either to Amateur Radio, to their professionals, or “to some other aspect of life on our planet." Show less

What it does
Designs and manufactures do-it-yourself electronic kits, electronic components and tools for hobbyists and makers

How it grew
Founded in 2005 by MIT engineer Limor "Ladyada" Fried, the open-source hardware company has famously eschewed venture capital. Instead, it has grown organically by appealing not just to makers and hackers—a market expected to hit $6 billion in 2017—but to anyone with a yen to create. With its easy-to-assemble kits and enthusiastic outreach… Show more

What it does
Designs and manufactures do-it-yourself electronic kits, electronic components and tools for hobbyists and makers

How it grew
Founded in 2005 by MIT engineer Limor "Ladyada" Fried, the open-source hardware company has famously eschewed venture capital. Instead, it has grown organically by appealing not just to makers and hackers—a market expected to hit $6 billion in 2017—but to anyone with a yen to create. With its easy-to-assemble kits and enthusiastic outreach through online tutorials, YouTube series for children, Circuit Playground and a weekly show on Google Hangouts, Adafruit celebrated its millionth order this year.

Limor Fried: Seeking creativity, not venture capital. Show less

While studying engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Limor “Ladyada” Fried decided to create a company focused on supporting learning electronics for makers of all ages and skill levels. In 2005 she founded Adafruit which has grown to now employ more than 100 individuals in their 50,000 sq ft. NYC factory. Limor is committed to building both innovation and community and is known for creating resources for learning. She was the first female engineer on the cover of WIRED… Show more

While studying engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Limor “Ladyada” Fried decided to create a company focused on supporting learning electronics for makers of all ages and skill levels. In 2005 she founded Adafruit which has grown to now employ more than 100 individuals in their 50,000 sq ft. NYC factory. Limor is committed to building both innovation and community and is known for creating resources for learning. She was the first female engineer on the cover of WIRED magazine and was awarded Entrepreneur magazine’s Entrepreneur of the Year in 2012 and was also on the NYC Industrial Business Advisory Council. Adafruit is a 100% woman-owned company.

These individuals were selected by the White House for their personal passion and tireless efforts to make advances in technology and platforms, educational opportunities, or spaces that empower even more Americans to become tinkerers, inventors, and entrepreneurs.

This celebration comes on the anniversary of the first-ever White House Maker Faire in June 2014 where President Obama launched the Nation of Makers initiative, an all-hands-on-deck call to make sure more students, entrepreneurs, and Americans of all backgrounds have access to a new class of technologies—such as 3D printers, laser cutters, and desktop machine tools—that are enabling more Americans to design, build, and manufacture just about anything. Last year, the President expanded the work and asked “all Americans to help unlock the potential of our Nation and ensure these opportunities reach all our young people, regardless of who they are or where they come from.”

The Champions of Change program was created as an opportunity for the White House to feature individuals doing extraordinary things to empower and inspire members of their communities. The event will feature remarks by U.S. Chief Technology Officer Megan Smith and Thomas Kalil, Deputy Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. Show less

Adafruit ranked #1 manufacturing company in the New York City metro-region and #11 out of all manufacturing companies in INC 5000 2014/2015. Offers DIY electronics, tools and kits for makers of all ages. Founded by an MIT engineer, who personally selects, tests and approves all products for sale.

OpenSystems Media’s publication Embedded Computing Design called for nominations for the top innovators and most influential women of 2014. They received many inspirational, qualified nominations and chose several men and women from the list.

Limor “Ladyada” Fried is an MIT engineer, open source hardware and software pioneer, and entrepreneur. She is the founder of the educational electronics company Adafruit. Her goal was to create the best place online for learning electronics and… Show more

OpenSystems Media’s publication Embedded Computing Design called for nominations for the top innovators and most influential women of 2014. They received many inspirational, qualified nominations and chose several men and women from the list.

Limor “Ladyada” Fried is an MIT engineer, open source hardware and software pioneer, and entrepreneur. She is the founder of the educational electronics company Adafruit. Her goal was to create the best place online for learning electronics and making the best-designed products for makers of all ages and skill levels. Fried was the first female engineer on the cover of WIRED magazine, an EFF Pioneer Award recipient, and was recently awarded Entrepreneur magazine’s Entrepreneur of the Year. Show less

Limor Fried of Adafruit: MIT electrical engineer Limor “Ladyada” Fried founded Adafruit Industries to bring the world of electronics to anyone willing to learn. Ever think you’d be able to be a robotics hobbyist? Or build circuits into your clothing and light your suspenders up with LEDs? The company sells do-it-yourself open-source electronics kits and educational materials for makers of all ages and skill levels. Adafruit has never needed to take loans or investments of any kind, Fried tells… Show more

Limor Fried of Adafruit: MIT electrical engineer Limor “Ladyada” Fried founded Adafruit Industries to bring the world of electronics to anyone willing to learn. Ever think you’d be able to be a robotics hobbyist? Or build circuits into your clothing and light your suspenders up with LEDs? The company sells do-it-yourself open-source electronics kits and educational materials for makers of all ages and skill levels. Adafruit has never needed to take loans or investments of any kind, Fried tells Newsweek. In 2013 Adafruit took in over $22 million in revenue. The company has more than 50 employees, and by the end of this year it plans to have more than 100. Since it was founded in 2005, Adafruit has filled 480,000 orders and sold over a million products in “just about every country in the world.” Show less

While working on her master’s degree at MIT, Limor Fried used to relax at night by building synthesizers and other DIY electronics projects, then posting the instructions online. After fans started asking for help locating parts, she launched Adafruit. The company now sells electronics kits with open-source licenses, encouraging would-be inventors to experiment and have fun. The popular MintyBoost, for example, is a mobile-device charger housed in an Altoids-size tin. Fried’s site includes… Show more

While working on her master’s degree at MIT, Limor Fried used to relax at night by building synthesizers and other DIY electronics projects, then posting the instructions online. After fans started asking for help locating parts, she launched Adafruit. The company now sells electronics kits with open-source licenses, encouraging would-be inventors to experiment and have fun. The popular MintyBoost, for example, is a mobile-device charger housed in an Altoids-size tin. Fried’s site includes vibrant forums and video tutorials, and she awards badges for coding and welding. Her work is clearly making an impact: After watching the pink-haired engineer’s webcasts, one girl asked her father, “Are there any boy engineers?”

Mission statement: Fried calls Adafruit “an educational company that just happens to have a gift shop at the end.” Show less

2014 - Young Global Leaders (YGLs) come from 66 countries across 7 regions, and equally represent the public and private sector. Out of the total 214 YGLs honoured, 109 are women.

The Forum of Young Global Leaders is a unique, multistakeholder community of more than 900 exceptional young leaders. Bold, brave, action-oriented and entrepreneurial, these individuals commit both their time and talent to make the world a better place. They have committed their energy and knowledge to the… Show more

2014 - Young Global Leaders (YGLs) come from 66 countries across 7 regions, and equally represent the public and private sector. Out of the total 214 YGLs honoured, 109 are women.

The Forum of Young Global Leaders is a unique, multistakeholder community of more than 900 exceptional young leaders. Bold, brave, action-oriented and entrepreneurial, these individuals commit both their time and talent to make the world a better place. They have committed their energy and knowledge to the most critical issues facing humankind. The community is made up of leaders from all walks of life, from every region of the world and every stakeholder group in society. Show less

The O’Reilly Open Source Awards recognize individual contributors who have demonstrated exceptional leadership, creativity, and collaboration in the development of Open Source Software.

Limor Fried (Adafruit Industries): Through building and growing Adafruit, Limor makes the world a better place through sharing and good engineering. She built Adafruit open source and because of that has a very inspired community of hackers and makers that follow her lead. She leads by example, she’s… Show more

The O’Reilly Open Source Awards recognize individual contributors who have demonstrated exceptional leadership, creativity, and collaboration in the development of Open Source Software.

Limor Fried (Adafruit Industries): Through building and growing Adafruit, Limor makes the world a better place through sharing and good engineering. She built Adafruit open source and because of that has a very inspired community of hackers and makers that follow her lead. She leads by example, she’s incredibly creative, and is collaborative in everything she builds. Show less

The magazine’s Entrepreneur of 2012, Limor Fried, founded Adafruit Industries in 2005 and through it, is educating and inspiring the next generation of engineers and scientists. The open-source hardware and electronics company not only designs a catalog full of cool tech products that clients can order–it gives away the step-by-step instructions and tutorials for them to learn how to do so themselves. Fried’s new badging system also makes learning exciting for kids, by rewarding them for… Show more

The magazine’s Entrepreneur of 2012, Limor Fried, founded Adafruit Industries in 2005 and through it, is educating and inspiring the next generation of engineers and scientists. The open-source hardware and electronics company not only designs a catalog full of cool tech products that clients can order–it gives away the step-by-step instructions and tutorials for them to learn how to do so themselves. Fried’s new badging system also makes learning exciting for kids, by rewarding them for mastering new tech-savvy skills, and furthers the educational mission of Adafruit Industries. Show less

100 Brilliant Companies. Adafruit Industries: Founded by an MIT engineer, this e-tailer sells cool DIY electronics kits--instrumental in fostering the burgeoning "maker movement."

Limor Fried was the sort of third-grader who took apart VCRs for fun. Gradually, she discovered that a hobby could become a degree–a bachelor’s and then a master’s in electrical engineering and computer science at MIT. Finally, she discovered it could become a business. During her student years, Fried would post photographs and detailed instructions of her latest experiments in hardware hacking. First, she built an audience, and then a company, Adafruit Industries.

Through Adafruit… Show more

Limor Fried was the sort of third-grader who took apart VCRs for fun. Gradually, she discovered that a hobby could become a degree–a bachelor’s and then a master’s in electrical engineering and computer science at MIT. Finally, she discovered it could become a business. During her student years, Fried would post photographs and detailed instructions of her latest experiments in hardware hacking. First, she built an audience, and then a company, Adafruit Industries.

Through Adafruit, Fried (hacker handle: ladyada, after Ada Lovelace, the 19th century proto-programmer) sells DIY kits out of New York. Her best seller, something she calls the “Minty Boost,” is a backup battery pack for your iPod (or any USB device), nestled into a cute little Altoids can. It’s a good starter kit for someone making their first foray into hardware hacking–only a minimum amount of soldering necessary.

Another of ladyada’s fruits is a cell phone jammer. In 2004, while still an MIT student, Fried tried to get work done in cafes–but couldn’t hear herself think, so ubiquitous were the cell phone conversations around her. So she brainstormed, and put together a device that disabled all cell phone signals around her. (When a Samsung rep later met Fried, he quipped: “Could you make one that just disables Nokia phones?”) As it turns out, the manufacture, sale, or even use of such a device is illegal in the U.S.–but writing about it is fine, and if someone theoretically wanted to learn how one could theoretically make such a thing, that information is also up on Fried’s site.

Her company and site have made Fried something of a DIY goddess; she’s on the advisory board for Make Magazine, often speaking at its Maker Faire events.

Fried’s approach is sometimes called “open-source hardware”–similar to open-source software, but instead of the source code being open and malleable, the source materials are.

"What we’re trying to do is make electrical engineering exciting, cool, and fun.” Show less

A pioneer in the field of open-source hardware and software hacking, Ladyada helps the general public engineer and adapt consumer electronics to better suit their needs. Her do-it-yourself ethic is founded on the idea that consumer electronics are best modified for use by customers, not corporations. Fried runs her own company, Adafruit Industries, which sells unique and fun do-it-yourself kits to help consumers make gadgets such as backup iPod chargers, green power monitors and programmable… Show more

A pioneer in the field of open-source hardware and software hacking, Ladyada helps the general public engineer and adapt consumer electronics to better suit their needs. Her do-it-yourself ethic is founded on the idea that consumer electronics are best modified for use by customers, not corporations. Fried runs her own company, Adafruit Industries, which sells unique and fun do-it-yourself kits to help consumers make gadgets such as backup iPod chargers, green power monitors and programmable displays for bicycle wheels. She also hosts an Internet video program called "Citizen Engineer" that provides step-by-step instructions to help consumers build and alter their own home devices. Show less