Ubiquiti Inc. (UI)

Ubiquiti sells networking gear with almost no sales force — through a community of engineers and an online shop.

Access points, switches and cameras are sold directly and through distributors, while support is largely run by a user forum. The absence of a traditional sales and marketing organisation is not penny-pinching but the essence of the model: it gives the company profitability unusual for a hardware maker.

Buyers are small internet providers, hotels, campuses and advanced home networks that want enterprise capability without the enterprise price. All the equipment is managed through one interface, and that keeps the customer inside the ecosystem. Risks: manufacturing concentration, dependence on a narrow set of distributors and competition with large vendors. The company pays a dividend.