Kyle Wiens

Wiens and Luke Soules started iFixit as university students after failing to find a manual for a broken laptop. The guides are free and written partly by volunteers; the money comes from selling the parts and tool kits those guides call for, a neat model where the content creates the sale. Teardowns of new gadgets brought publicity, and official parts deals with makers such as Google, Samsung and Motorola show manufacturers coming round. Wiens has also become one of the loudest right-to-repair campaigners.