He wanted to make music. The instruments he needed didn't exist in Sri Lanka — too expensive to import, taxed at 50% on every component, impossible to hear or touch before buying. So Arunoda Susiripala built one from scratch. No electronics engineering background. Just the internet, AI, and a decision to stop waiting.

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In this episode:

- Why Arunoda got into modular synthesizers and what made existing tools feel wrong to him
- How he taught himself electronics with no formal engineering background
- What it actually takes to build and ship a hardware product from Sri Lanka — the logistics, the import tax, the manufacturing realities
- Why he open sources everything: designs, components, manuals — all of it
- The "fail fast" system he uses to move quickly and know when to stop
- His take on the "no opportunity in Sri Lanka" conversation — and why he thinks it's the wrong frame entirely
- How community finds you when you build something worth finding
- His advice for anyone who keeps waiting for the right time to start

Arunoda Susiripala is a game developer, researcher, and founder of Bread Modular — an open source modular synthesizer built for affordability and accessibility. He's based in Sri Lanka and currently builds tools for 3D artists and game developers through his company GDi4K.

Find Arunoda:
Instagram: instagram.com/arunoda
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/arunoda
Substack: storiesfromsrilanka.substack.com

Bread Modular:
Instagram: instagram.com/breadmodular
Website: breadmodular.com

📻 Listen & Subscribe:
Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/12SGsSsLz4DqlLFwxigjXX
Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/pl/podcast/the-creative-odyssey-podcast/id1750306317
Buzzsprout: thecreativeodysseypodcast.buzzsprout.com
✉️ Email: [email protected]

Hosted by Sheran Ranasinghe. Produced by Odyssey House Media. Recorded at Hatch.lk, Colombo, Sri Lanka.

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