Pera was raised in Silicon Valley and he established his first computer services company while attending high school.[3] That company provided networking and database services to local businesses.[4] Pera also played on his high school’s basketball team until a heart condition, which has long since resolved, kept him home for a year.[5] After high school, Pera attended the University of California, San Diego, where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a B.S. in Electrical Engineering and a B.A. in Japanese Language. He stayed on at the University of California, San Diego and completed his masters in Electrical Engineering with an emphasis on Digital Communications and Circuit Design.
Apple
After graduation, Pera, who admired Steve Jobs, secured a job at Apple Inc., where he tested the company’s Wi-Fi devices to ensure compliance with Federal Communications Commission standards for electromagnetic emissions.[7] While working at Apple, Pera noticed that the power sources Apple's WiFi devices used to throw signals were far below FCC limits.[8] Boosting their power, he reasoned, could increase their transmission range to over dozens of miles, which could facilitate Internet access in areas that telephone and cable companies don’t reach.[9] When his bosses at Apple Inc. ignored his idea, Pera decided to build his own low-cost, high performance WiFi module.[10] For the next year, Pera spent his nights and weekends in his apartment testing prototypes.[11] By early 2005 he was ready to start his own business and he left Apple Inc. to form Ubiquiti Networks.[12]
Ubiquiti Networks
Pera founded Ubiquiti Networks in March 2005 using only $30,000 of personal savings and credit card debt.[13] Ubiquiti’s early products utilized existing WiFi technology to wirelessly deliver the Internet to underserved areas (e.g., rural areas and emerging markets) lacking the infrastructure to access the Internet through traditional avenues such as phone lines and cable lines.[14] The company has since successfully branched out into other product lines such as wireless access points, security cameras and traditional networking equipment (e.g., switches and routers).[15]
Under Pera’s leadership, Ubiquiti Networks has made meaningful progress towards closing the digital divide. More than 70 percent of Ubiquiti’s sales are outside of North America and over 20 million Ubiquiti devices have been deployed in over 180 countries, where Ubiquiti’s community of grassroots operators have connected millions of people to the Internet in some of the most remote regions in the world.
Ubiquiti Networks, which has been profitable since its formation and whose growth has been funded by its own earnings, went public in October 2011 and has been one of the fastest growing companies in Silicon Valley. Pera continues to serve as Ubiquiti’s Chief Executive Officer and Chairman, roles for which he has never taken any stock or equity compensation.[16]
Like Ubiquiti Networks's technology, its business model is unique.[17] Ubiquiti employs a flat management structure and embraces the openness of the Internet, directly connecting customers to one another and to Ubiquiti’s engineers through the company’s online community forum. This differentiated business model has enabled the company to break down traditional barriers such as high product and network deployment costs, thereby offering solutions with disruptive price-performance characteristics.[18] The combination of this business model and Ubiquiti’s ground breaking technology has resulted in an attractive alternative to traditional high-touch, high-cost providers, driving rapid market adoption and ubiquitous connectivity.[19]