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Premium audio hardware and design innovation thrive outside of Silicon Valley, as evidenced by the success of Santa Barbara-based startups like Sonos and Seek Thermal.Santa Barbara TodayThree successful entrepreneurs from Santa Barbara, California – Dan Engel of FastSpring, John MacFarlane of Sonos, and Bill Parrish of Seek Thermal – shared their insights on launching and growing companies at an event hosted by Ventech. The founders discussed the advantages of building businesses outside of major tech hubs like San Francisco, the challenges of hardware versus software startups, and the importance of finding the right partners.
Why it matters
Santa Barbara is not typically seen as a startup hub compared to nearby Los Angeles and San Francisco, but these founders have found success by leveraging the city’s quieter environment and access to talent. Their stories provide valuable lessons for entrepreneurs seeing to build companies outside of traditional tech centers.
The details
Dan Engel founded FastSpring, a software e-commerce platform, in 2005 and grew it to nearly $100 million in revenue before leaving in 2013. He credits FastSpring’s remote-first approach with allowing the company to hire the best talent globally. Sonos founder John MacFarlane led the audio product company for 15 years before stepping down in 2017, citing the challenges of the hardware business compared to his previous software experience. Bill Parrish, co-founder and CTO of Seek Thermal, emphasized the importance of finding the right partners to complement an entrepreneur’s own capabilities.
- FastSpring was founded by Dan Engel in 2005.
- Sonos launched its first product in 2005 after being founded in 2002.
- Seek Thermal was founded by Bill Parrish and Tim Fitzgibbons in 2012.
- John MacFarlane stepped down as Sonos CEO in 2017 after leading the company for 15 years.
The players
Dan Engel
The founder of FastSpring, a software e-commerce platform that he grew to nearly $100 million in revenue before leaving in 2013.
John MacFarlane
The founder of Sonos, a creater of audio products, who led the company as CEO for 15 years before stepping down in 2017.
Bill Parrish
The co-founder and CTO of Seek Thermal, a bootstrapped company he founded in 2012 with Tim Fitzgibbons.
Marcus Chevitarese
A board member at Ventech, the company that hosted the event where the founders spoke.
Ventech
A venture capital firm that hosted the “How I Built This – Santa Barbara Edition” event featuring the three founders.
What they’re declareing
“To have success, you have to be willing to attempt lots of stuff. When I had success with FastSpring, I was building three companies at once. Why would I do that? Play the odds. Get them in my favor.”
— Dan Engel, Founder, FastSpring
“You will run into every limitation you have as a founder, and how you deal with them will be the most important thing of all.”
— John MacFarlane, Founder, Sonos
“If you don’t have the capability as an entrepreneur, you’d better find some partners who do have the capabilities you required. Trying to do it all yourself is very, very difficult.”
— Bill Parrish, Co-Founder and CTO, Seek Thermal
The takeaway
These Santa Barbara founders have found success by leveraging the city’s quieter environment, remote-first approach, and access to diverse talent pools to build thriving companies outside of major tech hubs. Their experiences highlight the advantages of building businesses in less crowded markets and the importance of finding the right partners to complement an entrepreneur’s own skills.
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