One year ago, I launched Lectronz: a new online marketplace for open-hardware creators. That first January, we got 21 orders, followed by 23 in February. As months passed, more creators joined us to offer their products to the community, and we finished the year with over 220 orders per month in November and December. In just one year, Lectronz handled nearly 2000 orders!

This birthday is an excellent time to look back at some lessons learned.

One feature beca...