Foulab

What Foulab does

Foulab is a non-profit, member-run hackerspace (makerspace) founded in the summer of 2008 in Montreal, Quebec, and one of the first hackerspaces in Canada, established alongside Hacklab.to and Vancouver Hacker Space. The organization operates a single physical facility at Suite 33B, 999 du Collège, accessible to visitors during open nights every Tuesday and Thursday from 6:30pm to 11pm, and to members on an ongoing basis. Its core offering is shared access to professional-grade equipment — soldering stations, oscilloscopes, CNC machines, band saws, drill presses, 3D printers, a dust-resistant server shed, and a retro-computing museum featuring vintage Commodore 64, Apple II, and video phone systems — within a collaborative environment for hackers, makers, security researchers, and creative technologists.

Foulab's product surface is organized around three pillars: (1) the physical lab space and equipment access, (2) recurring events and workshops (Mesh Nights, Linux Meetups, Noise Hacking Nights, Fediverse Nights, No Net Nights, CTF challenges, karaoke, tabletop RPG sessions, and the SPVM AI Surveillance Discussion series), and (3) community-led projects (e.g., Foubot, Tweletype, Golem Turing Machine, FRO). The organization is actively building a decentralized mesh networking infrastructure across Montreal using Meshtastic, MeshCore, and Reticulum technologies, in collaboration with Réseau Libre and the Montreal Anarchist Tech Convergence. The technology stack is fundamentally physical and community-oriented rather than software-native; no AI/ML capabilities, APIs, or software products are developed.

Revenue is generated through a hybrid of membership fees (recurring), workshop and class fees ($10–$40 per session depending on materials), and donations; most events are free and open to the public. GTM is community-led: word-of-mouth, social media presence (Fediverse/Mastodon, Facebook, IRC, Codeberg, RSS), and a recurring presence at REcon and NorthSec security conferences. The organization has no external investors, no parent company, no disclosed financials, and operates entirely on volunteer labor and member contributions.

Name

Foulab

Legal name

Foulab

Website

https://foulab.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Foulab is a non-profit, member-run hackerspace founded in 2008 in Montreal, providing shared tools, workshops, and recurring community events for makers, security researchers, and creative technologists in the local Quebec community.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Montréal

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Membership/User Fees: Members pay fees to access the space and its resources. Foulab is entirely member run and funded.
2. Workshop and Class Fees: Fees charged for workshops and classes such as soldering workshops, Python workshops, OpenCV workshops, etc.
3. Donations: Foulab accepts donations of equipment and money. Events are free to attend but donations are appreciated.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Foulab is a member-run, non-profit hackerspace that provides a physical collaborative workspace equipped with electronics workstations, fabrication tools (CNC, band saw, 3D printers), and a retro-computing museum. Members and visitors access these resources through memberships and open nights, while the organization hosts recurring community events (Mesh Nights, Linux Meetups, Noise Hacking Nights) and skill-sharing workshops on soldering, programming, lockpicking, and other maker topics.

Product overview

Foulab is a non-profit hackerspace (makerspace) established in 2008 in Montreal, Quebec. It is not a software product company but rather provides a physical collaborative environment for members to exchange knowledge, explore technologies, and work on projects. The organization offers access to its lab facilities (electronics workstations, fabrication tools, 3D printers, retro-computing museum), hosts recurring community events and workshops, and supports member-led project development. The core offering is the physical space and community resources rather than software products.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• The Lab (Physical Hackerspace) Foulab's primary offering is a physical collaborative workspace in Montreal providing members and visitors access to electronics workstations (soldering irons, oscilloscopes, power supplies), fabrication tools (CNC, band saw, drill presses, 3D printers), a retro-computing museum, and various community spaces including a chill room, work hub, and workshop area. Open nights run every Tuesday and Thursday after 6:30pm.
• Events and Workshops Foulab hosts recurring and one-time community events and paid skill-sharing workshops. Recurring events include Mesh Nights (mesh networking), Linux Meetups, Noise Hacking Nights, Fediverse Nights, No Net Nights, Karaoke Nights, Project Nights, and CTF Challenges. Ticketed workshops cover soldering, Python, OpenCV, coffee roasting, chainmail, origami, lockpicking, and other maker topics.
• The Museum (Retro Computing Collection) Foulab maintains a retro-computing museum featuring vintage equipment including Commodore 64s, Apple II systems, video phones, and other historical computing artifacts. The collection has been expanded to include mini-computers and is available to visitors during open nights and No Net Nights.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 17 years of continuous operation as a community-run hackerspace
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Used ServersminorOthersSponsorship of the hackerspace, providing server infrastructure support for Foulab's operations.
• Canadian ServersminorOthersSponsorship providing server infrastructure support for Foulab's operations.
• REcon ConferencecoreGTM or Marketing PartnerFoulab maintains a presence at the REcon reverse engineering conference with a table/booth to engage with the security community.
• NorthSec ConferencecoreGTM or Marketing PartnerFoulab has a booth at the NorthSec security conference and hosts related workshops and events in collaboration.
• Killed by DicecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegular collaboration with local tabletop RPG community led by der_moderne_man. Hosts monthly gaming sessions at Foulab including Three Sixteen, Classic Traveller, Mothership, and other RPG systems.
• Montreal Anarchist Tech ConvergencecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on mesh networking workshops and events including MESH DAY series, skill shares, and movie nights exploring technology and autonomy themes.
• PapersWeLove MontrealminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on technical paper presentations and discussions, such as BigTable presentation event hosted at Foulab.
• COOP RecyborgminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for hardware-related events such as the holiday card printing workshop using vintage Apple II equipment. Joint event at Recyborg facility.
• Réseau LibrecoreTechnology or IntegrationCollaboration on mesh networking infrastructure. Foulab participates in Montreal's decentralized mesh networking community alongside Réseau Libre.
• Constellation Anarchist FestivalminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCo-hosting events with Constellation festival including mesh networking workshops and skill shares as part of their Skill Faire.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• HacDC: Washington DC hackerspace with a member-funded model, electronics workstations, and educational workshops. Conducts parallel mesh networking and community hardware experiments, serving as a comparable East Coast counterpart.
• Noisebridge: San Francisco hackerspace with a virtually identical non-profit, member-run, donation-funded model. Provides electronics workstations, fabrication tools, and community workshops, and is the most culturally analogous peer to Foulab in North America.
• Metalab: Vienna hackerspace founded in 2006 with the same non-profit member-funded approach. Provides electronics, fabrication, and creative coding tools, hosts community events, and shares the European mesh/hacker culture orientation with Foulab.
• c-base: Berlin hackerspace with a non-profit member-funded structure and a long history of hardware hacking, mesh networking experiments, and event-driven community engagement. Operates as a directly comparable peer in the European hacker community.
• NYC Resistor: Brooklyn hackerspace offering member access to electronics, fabrication, and embedded systems equipment. Runs recurring workshops and classes in overlapping domains including microcontrollers, hardware hacking, and security research.
• Hacklab.to: Toronto hackerspace co-founded alongside Foulab in 2008 with the same community-run, member-funded structure. Offers electronics workstations, fabrication tools, workshops, and mesh networking experiments to a parallel member base.
• Vancouver Hack Space: Founded in the same wave as Foulab in summer 2008 immediately after The Last HOPE conference. Operates the identical non-profit member-funded hackerspace model in Vancouver with shared equipment, workshops, and community programming.

Broad incumbents

• Fab Foundation: Global network operating standardized Fab Labs often affiliated with universities and institutions. Provides similar fabrication tools, electronics workstations, and workshop programming, but at a larger institutional scale with formal academic and corporate backing.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• GitHubcodeberg.org/foulab
• Facebookfacebook.com/groups/144161830009
• Xx.com/foulab
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/foulab-hackerspace

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Foulab