If We Can, You Can

Author:

Craig Rothwell

Business:

OpenPandora Ltd

Published:

12/11/2008 11:40:00

Most of the time when I was growing up, I was figuring out ways to avoid going to school. I started working in the computer industry when I was about sixteen- I’m entirely self taught and have worked up from making computer games to making computer systems. It was a bit of a bumpy ride but I loved it.

Having grown up in the 80’s and 90’s, I’d seen the massive sums of money which could be made in the computer industry if you got in early on new technology. I fancied my chances with that and decided to get going.

OpenPandora make hand held computers. It’s quite a new area of the computer industry as I don’t mean laptops; I mean tiny computers that you can hold in the palm of your hand and which have all the functionality of larger ones.

A previous hand held I made with a company in Korea hinted at the interest which may exist in tiny computers. Contacts in America pointed me to cutting edge technology which could make it happen so I went for it. It’s been a two year project for our latest machine but it’s been a fantastic ride.

Being entirely self taught was pretty tough and I’d not really recommend it as a route to success. Now I try to help people in the industry as much as I can, but they won’t always be told what’s the right way to do something and I quite like that, makes them more interesting.

Getting noticed and getting press attention have been our biggest challenges so far. It was very hard to build up trust with our clients. But it just comes with time; the harder you try the better your luck becomes as I once read somewhere.

Our biggest success was probably importing a pretty unknown device called the CP32 into the UK in 2003. It’s from this device that an entire subculture has followed.

Overall, the business has taken the direction I expected, with some bizarre detours along the way. Any mistakes we’ve made have led us on to better things and put me where I am now. I’d not change anything.

I rarely rise before noon, and I get to travel the world as a business expense. I enjoy doing what I want whenever I want to. I suppose I can’t complain!

But making money isn’t as easy as people will have you believe. Know what you’re doing, and know there is a market for it. Test the water and check out the competition.