SparkFun was founded in 2003 by Nathan Seidle, then a University of Colorado - Boulder engineering student. From meager beginnings (Nathan's college apartment), the company now employs over 60 people in an office in the outskirts of Boulder, Colorado. The SparkFun crew works in various departments such as engineering, marketing, production, shipping, and keg replenishment, all united in one common goal - Sharing Ingenuity.

What does "Sharing Ingenuity" mean? SparkFun believes everyone should have the tools, hardware, and resources to play with cool electronic gadgetry. SparkFun's goal is to get our hands on current technology and information and pass it on to you - we want to share the love!  We set out to make finding the parts and information you need easier, more intuitive, and affordable so you can create your awesome projects. By getting technology in your hands, we think everyone is better off!

If you have more questions, go ahead and poke around the website, visit our forum or our IRC channel to chat, or send an email to Marketing@sparkfun.com. And as always, feel free to let your geek shine - around here, we encourage it.

We here at SparkFun like to think that we exist in the same group as our customers – curious students, engineers, prototypers, and hobbyists who love to create. We are snowboarders and rock-climbers, painters and musicians, engineers and writers - but we all have one thing in common...we love electronics! We want to use electronics to make art projects, gadgets, and robots. We live, eat, and breathe this stuff!
 
To find out some specifics about the SparkFun employees, find an incomplete list here.

You can also visit us on Facebook, Flickr, or follow us on Twitter.

At SparkFun, we our proud of our geeky culture – whether it is Moustache Day or an autonomous vehicle race – and we like to share it.

If you’re ever in Boulder, feel free to stop by SparkFun headquarters to get a tour and meet some of the employees – we love visitors! If you can’t make it all the way to Colorado, check out some of this behind-the-scenes action featuring virtual office tours, various videos, and backstage views of the photoshoots for our print advertisements.

Photoshoots:

Landon Cox, creator of an electronics-based speed climbing timer

Vanessa and Dzl, Vegas Shoot

Michael Cooper, BASE Jumper Extraordinaire

Kristin and Che-Wei, creators of Momo

Pete Lewis, creator of the Rock Box

Leah Buechley, creator of the LilyPad

Videos:

SparkFun hosts various events throughout the year. These events include classes in topics ranging from SMD soldering to hardware hacking. SparkFun also participates annually in Maker Faire, hosts an Autonomous Vehicle contest, and is always looking for new events to get involved with our community.

Click on these links for recaps of some past events:

Autonomous Vehicle Competition

Maker Faire Austin - 2008

Maker Faire San Mateo - 2009


Check back here for updates on upcoming events!

Graphics: If you want to use our graphics, feel free! Make your own stickers, use one as your desktop background - pretty much anything goes! If you're going to be using these graphics for something that could be considered a "commercial" venture, please contact us first at marketing@sparkfun.com.

If you have a cool photo or graphic you want to share, feel free to email it to us at the above address or add it to the SparkFun Flickr account!

Photos: Please feel free to use our product photos in your project documentation or reports. If you would like to use a photo for a commercial venture, please contact us first at marketing@sparkfun.com

Available Graphics:

SparkFun Company Profile:

Founded: 2003
CEO: Nathan Seidle
Location: 6175 Longbow Dr., Boulder, CO 80301
Employees: 70+

A Brief History: SparkFun was founded in 2003 by CEO Nathan Seidle, then a University of Colorado - Boulder engineering student. While working on a class project, Nathan realized how difficult it was for the individual to get the parts necessary to make an electronics prototype come to life. After a frustrating battle to get the pieces he needed, he maxed out his credit cards on inventory (and pizza) and SparkFun was born.

Since then, SparkFun has grown into something much bigger. Our goal is to enable the individual tinkerer/engineer/student/inventor to get the products they need and the information necessary to make their ideas a reality. Using electronics is no longer limited to just engineers. Today, artists, designers, crafters, students, and engineers alike are tinkering with electronic gadgetry and SparkFun is here to meet their even-increasing needs.

Press Releases

March 30, 2009 - Geek Out On Tax Day

July 10, 2009 - They Love Us! They Really Love Us!

November 25, 2009 - Imagine a World Where Your Geek Can Shine Freely

January 19, 2009 - SparkFun Gives Away Free Goods, Geeks Everywhere Rejoice

For all media inquiries, please contact marketing@sparkfun.com.