America's Fastest-Growing Computer Hardware Company

Maxlinear CEO Kishore Seendripu took bootstrapping to the next level by recruiting seven founders to work for free.

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Kishore Seendripu

No. 1 in Computer Hardware

MaxLinear
8,784.1% Three-Year Growth
Revenue: $51.4 Million
Employees: 146
CEO: Kishore Seendripu
Founded: 2003
Overall RANK: No. 17
Carlsbad, Calif. maxlinear.com

There's bootstrapping, and then there's bootstrapping. When Kishore Seendripu decided to start MaxLinear in 2003, he invited seven people he had worked with at previous employers to join him in Carlsbad, California. The catch was that anyone who wanted to be a founder would have to agree to work for free until the company had developed a working prototype of a radio frequency integrated circuit that would enable broadband video content to be displayed on devices such as digital televisions, mobile phones, and navigational displays in cars. All seven signed up. Two years later, the company had its prototype and its first customer, consumer electronics giant Panasonic. Five years after that, in March of this year, MaxLinear went public, raising $82.9 million.

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