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I have been following oxide for a bit, and really don't have to add to the tech conversation, but do want to say: Congrats to the team on reaching this big mil

I have been following oxide for a bit, and really don't have to add to the tech conversation, but do want to say: Congrats to the team on reaching this big milestone and (in my eyes at least) just as much congratulations on doing it in a way that has been unique and sticking to values that seems to drive a strong positive culture (at least from the outside looking in). Shipping products is hard, and only getting harder. IMHO, one of the big drivers of that is just how complex every market has became. Building and selling software alone is so much more multi-disciplinary than it was 10 years ago and adding hardware to the mix is upping that by a huge factor. As I look around, I see so many companies struggle to build teams that can handle the huge range of required tasks. To see a company like Oxide that (once again, from the outside a least) seems to have things together on so many fronts, especially while doing it while sticking strongly to some core values, is pretty inspiring. Not to get overly cynical, but I don't think it is an extreme opinion to say that current start-up culture feels like you have to make big compromises in what you believe in order to be successful. Whether that be open-source, how you value and pay employees, or even just rushing things to deliver that aren't ready. While I acknowledge Oxide has some well-connected, experienced founders that I am certain enabled them to get the resources and trust to do things their way, I really hope they kill it so that other founders and builders can learn that you still can build not just financially successful products, but great organizations that truly care about their values.

bcantrill 3y ago
Thank you very much for the kind words! It has been important for us to do things the right way and to be a model for others -- so it's really meaningful for us to hear that that's appreciated; thank you!
J_Shelby_J 3y ago
> Shipping products is hard And shipping full cabs is harder!
hn_throwaway_99 3y ago
Yeah, I don't honestly know much about the hardware side of things, nor the business/economic rationale for why one would prefer an Oxide rack over a more conventional setup, but reading through their posts, what they've done is just singularly so impressive that I really, really, really want them to succeed. I've worked in startups most of my life, but it's tough feeling like you've got to take a bunch of shortcuts ("MVP"-it before you run out of runway, etc. etc.), so to see a startup just put a ton of real engineering prowess into a great product is a sight to behold. Also, while there are obviously amazing products out there in the world, it's so often a "race to the bottom" that it feels like decently made products are just prohibitively expensive. I'm really into antique espresso machines, and there is a reason that seeing rebuilds of beautiful old lever espresso machines get so many oohs and ahhs online - they truly don't make them like they used to, so it's so cool to see these beasts brought back to life. For some reason I have a similar feeling looking at these Oxide racks - they just didn't cut corners to build an awesome machine. Again, not qualified to say whether that makes economic sense long term, but it's still a thing of beauty regardless.

bcantrill 3y ago

Thank you very much for the kind words! It has been important for us to do things the right way and to be a model for others -- so it's really meaningful for us to hear that that's appreciated; thank you!

J_Shelby_J 3y ago

> Shipping products is hard And shipping full cabs is harder!

hn_throwaway_99 3y ago

Yeah, I don't honestly know much about the hardware side of things, nor the business/economic rationale for why one would prefer an Oxide rack over a more conventional setup, but reading through their posts, what they've done is just singularly so impressive that I really, really, really want them to succeed. I've worked in startups most of my life, but it's tough feeling like you've got to take a bunch of shortcuts ("MVP"-it before you run out of runway, etc. etc.), so to see a startup just put a ton of real engineering prowess into a great product is a sight to behold. Also, while there are obviously amazing products out there in the world, it's so often a "race to the bottom" that it feels like decently made products are just prohibitively expensive. I'm really into antique espresso machines, and there is a reason that seeing rebuilds of beautiful old lever espresso machines get so many oohs and ahhs online - they truly don't make them like they used to, so it's so cool to see these beasts brought back to life. For some reason I have a similar feeling looking at these Oxide racks - they just didn't cut corners to build an awesome machine. Again, not qualified to say whether that makes economic sense long term, but it's still a thing of beauty regardless.