Adafruit Launches “Women in Hardware” Series

Yesterday, Adafruit Industries, in association with Hackster.io and with support from Microsoft, Autodesk, and Qualcomm, launched a new video interview series on YouTube called “Women in Tech.” The series, hosted by Adafruit’s Community Director, Jessica Califano, will feature sit-downs with some of the most influential women in the electronics hardware industry.

For the premier episode, Califano talks with Ayah Bdeir, CEO of littleBits, which, like Adafruit, is another high-tech company that proudly calls New York City home. For those who may not already be familiar, the littleBits product line is a series of simple yet powerful Lego-like components that allow you to design and snap together everything from your own computerized, sensor-aware toys, to project prototypes, to smart home devices.

Limor Fried, chief operating wizard at Adafruit, joins the discussion and the three women discuss everything from running a business and living in New York, to how Ayah approaches her design and development process, to the wisdom of Bunnie Huang, what Ayah and Limor would tell their future selves 5 years ahead, and what their hopes are for the future.

Going forward, the series promises more casual and engaged conversations with women engineers and entrepreneurs who are changing the face of high-tech hardware. Partner in the series, Hackster.io, has also set up a “Women in Hardware” community page on their website.

For more on Adafruit and Limor Fried, see my company profile piece from Make: Volume 57.