Peer Richelsen is the Co-founder of Cal.com, an open-source calendar scheduling tool. This week, Peer and I discuss his personal experience with needing a customizable scheduling tool, the big leap from taking donations to running a profitable business, and the thought process behind seeking VC funding. Peer also talks about the major advantage of starting with only a paid version of the product in order to build a small community of super users. Lastly, I pick Peer’s brain about how he feels being constantly compared to non open-source scheduling products.Highlights:Intro (00:00) I introduce Peer Richelsen, the Co-founder of Cal.com, and he discusses the company and its calendar scheduling tool (00:59)Does Peer think about Cal.com as a dev tool (2:09)What is Cal.com’s business model (03:57)The lack of customizability in the scheduling tool marketplace (06:15)Switching from accepting donations to selling a profitable product (09:48)Launching without a free version (12:50)The human cost of freemium usage (16:20)The decision to raise VC funds (17:41)What business value being open source brings to the company (20:48)How Cal.com positions itself in the market (24:13)Interesting mistakes Peer has made as an entrepreneur (28:22)How “free” is the software (30:57)Peer’s parting words (32:27)Where listeners can connect with Peer and learn more about Cal.com (33:04)Links:PeerLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peer-richelsen-221233138/Twitter: @peer_richCompany: https://cal.com/

Birthe Lindenthal is the Co-founder and CMO of OpenProject, a web-based project management system. On this episode, Birthe and I discuss the inception of the company, how being open source directly benefits both the business and its customers, and why the connection to their community is so strong. Plus, Birthe talks about the motivation she feels when contributing to something larger than herself, including the joy of knowing NGOs use her product for free. We also discuss the unique challenges of marketing an open-source product. Highlights:Intro (00:00)I introduce Birthe Lindenthal, the Co-founder and CMO of OpenProject, and she gives us her background along with the company’s history (00:59)How OpenProject used custom developments to fund the business (02:42)The pros and cons of not taking VC funding (04:15)Ways in which being open source benefit the business and the customers (06:09)How OpenProject was able to monetize the user base (08:34)The division of revenue and users between on-prem and cloud versions of the software (10:24)Who are OpenProject’s customers and users (13:57)The most interesting mistakes Birthe made along the way (16:44)Merging branding between the free and paid versions (18:52)Why Birthe got involved with open source (22:38)Marketing challenges and strategies specific to an open-source product (24:47)The surprising difficulty of creating a glossary of company terminology (29:11)Birthe’s advice for founders of open-source companies (31:02)Where listeners can connect with Birthe and learn more about OpenProject (32:05)Links:BirtheLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/birthe-lindenthal/Company: https://www.openproject.org/

Didier Lopes, Co-founder and CEO of OpenBB, joins me to share the story of how OpenBB went from receiving 4000 GitHub stars in the first 24 hours of the project to a fully funded company launching new monetization initiatives. Didier and I chat about his background, what led him to start OpenBB in his spare time, and his vision for the company's future. He shares the story of teaming up with his co-founder, why he loves working in the open source ecosystem, and how his team continues contributing to OpenBB's success. Highlights:Didier introduces himself and recounts his background and what led him to start OpenBB (1:20)Why Didier didn't know OpenBB would become a business when he started the project (6:47)Didier affirms my thought that part of what makes OpneBB's origin interesting is that the idea was unrelated to his day job. (10:13)Didier tells the story of how his co-founder, James, came on board once the project went viral (16:36)How OpenBB has changed since the project began (19:16)How open source has shaped the development of OpenBB (21:35)Didier outlines the current monetization plans for OpenBB (24:44)Didier's vision for the future of OpenBB and the democratization of investment research (26:30)What Didier learned from his most interesting mistake - believing users know what they want. (29:45)Didier emphasizes the importance of building a cohesive team with shared values (32:58)Links:DidierLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/didier-lopes/Twitter: @didier_lopesCompany: http://openbb.coPersonal Site: https://didierlopes.com

Loris Degioanni is the CEO and Founder of Sysdig, an open-source company working to make cloud deployment more secure through the use of runtime insights. Loris and I sit down to discuss the bet Sysdig is making to position itself as a leader in cloud security, how Loris leverages the power of a useful tool to create a brand, and the framework he uses to decide what should be open source and what should be paid for. Loris also shares an in-depth history of his previous company, Wireshark, and his excitement for building open source projects that outlast their business and creators.Highlights:Intro (00:00)I introduce Loris Degioanni who is the CEO and Founder of Sysdig, and he provides a little bit of context about himself and his company (01:00)Loris gives an overview of his previous company, Wireshark (01:57)Ways in which Loris was able to commercialize Wireshark as a tool for open-source end-users (04:30)How Loris used open-source as a marketing tool to create a profitable business model (07:28)The difference between Sysdig and Wireshark in their relationship to open-source (08:57)The bet that Sysdig is making and how that positions the company to become a leader in cloud security (12:36)Loris and I discuss Wireshark’s continued longevity (15:14)Where the inspiration for Sysdig came from and its journey from open-source project to commercial product (19:41)How building something useful replaces the need for a sales and marketing team (24:22)Closing the gap between the Sysdig project and the Sysdig platform (27:52)The framework for deciding what is offered open-source and what needs to be paid for (30:21)Loris’s most interesting mistakes in entrepreneurship and building Sysdig (33:20)How listeners can connect with Loris and learn more about Falco and Sysdig (36:31)Links:LorisLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/degio/Twitter: https://twitter.com/lorisdegioCompany: https://sysdig.com/

Bob van Luijt is the CEO and Founder of Weaviate, an open-source vector database company that helps contribute to the advancement of AI technology. Throughout this episode, Bob and I discuss the complexities of moving from an open-source project to building an open-source company, and the challenges that come with monetization strategies. Bob shares insightful anecdotes around why it’s important to be careful that you’re measuring the right things for the right reasons, and also emphasizes the importance of determining the best approach to profitability.  Highlights:Intro (00:00)I introduce Bob van Luijt who is the CEO and Founder of Weaviate, and he provides a little bit of context about himself and his company (01:00)Bob gives us the run-down on Weaviate’s operations, including fundraising, staffing, and monetization data (02:04)How the Weaviate project became the company it is today (04:03)The value that open-source brings to Weaviate’s business model (11:21)Bob and I discuss the disadvantages to building a company around an open-source project (17:55)The complexities of having an open-source project that is used within other companies and products/projects (20:19)How Bob and Weaviate have approached monetization (22:18)The most interesting mistakes Bob feels he’s made along the way in his journey to build Weaviate (24:37)Bob tells us more about his decision to shift from professional services to a product-led approach (25:50)Bob and I discuss the complex catch-22 of focusing on either profitability or growth as an open-source founder (28:39)How Bob filtered through product feedback and feature requests when first shifting to a product-led approach (32:19)Bob’s advice to people who want to be a part of the open-source ecosystem (37:54)How listeners can connect with Bob and learn more about Weaviate (39:13)Links:BobLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bobvanluijt/Twitter: https://twitter.com/bobvanluijtCompany: https://weaviate.io/

Ben Rometsch is the CEO and Founder of Flagsmith, an open-source feature flagging platform. In this conversation, we explore how he landed on the idea to develop an open-source feature flagging project and how that has snowballed into running a full-time SaaS company. Ben describes the challenges of creating a SaaS company from the ground up, especially when it comes to pricing and monetizing. We also discuss the importance of understanding and choosing the right licensing for your product. Highlights:Intro (00:00)I introduce Ben Rometsch, who is the CEO of Flagsmith, a commercial open-source feature flagging and remote conflict platform (01:00)What made Ben want to build an open-source feature flagging project (01:29)How the open-source project Ben started led to building a company around Flagsmith (03:39)Why Ben feels licenses are so important and how he learned that through early licensing choices at Flagsmith (09:10)When Ben started to monetize Flagsmith (13:24)How Ben’s understanding of what features users wanted to pay for has evolved (15:36)Why caring about the developer experience has set Flagsmith apart for enterprise customers (20:51)When revenue started to take off and why it took external expertise (23:12)Why pricing can be such a frustrating challenge to get right (26:47)How Flagsmith is currently remotely structured (28:57)Ben shares his thoughts on how open source contributes to his business (33:04)How listeners can connect with Ben and learn more about Flagsmith (38:05)Links:BenLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benrometsch/Twitter: https://twitter.com/ben_rometschCompany: https://www.flagsmith.com/

Max Howell is the CEO of Tea, a revolutionary open-source project that is seeking to help open-source contributors get paid for their work through crypto. Throughout our conversation, Max explains how he’s created some prolific open-source projects but was still unable to monetize them to the point where open source could be his full-time job, and how that provided the inspiration for Tea. Max and I discuss the importance of re-framing open-source projects in business terms of value, and not simply referring to supporting projects as charity work, and Max also shares valuable insights into the world of open-source crypto development.  Highlights:Intro (00:00)I introduce Max, the CEO of tea.xyz, and he explains his career background and how he started Tea (01:00)Max and I discuss the shift that open source needs to make from relying on charity to speaking in business and value terms (09:39)Max describes how Tea is representing the existing value of open source and translating it into monetary form (12:32)The administrative challenges of paying for open-source tools that are business-critical and how Tea helps solve them (14:36)Tea’s business strategy for monetizing their own open-source project (18:05)How Max’s goal of being able to work on the open-source projects he loves full time has played out with Tea (24:06)Max describes how he successfully pitched Tea to investors (25:21)Tea’s relationship with the rest of the crypto industry (27:32)The biggest challenge Max and his team are working on at the moment (29:06)What Max wishes he would have done differently and what he’s learned from the mistakes he’s made (31:59)Where you can go to learn more about Tea and connect with Max (38:53)Links:MaxLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mxcl/Twitter: https://twitter.com/mxclCompany: https://tea.xyz/

Nicolas Höning is the Co-Founder and CEO of Seita, an open-source energy optimization and digitalization company. Nicolas took an unconventional path to founding an open-source startup, and throughout this episode he describes how creating a greener world through open-source software is more than a business endeavor for him - it’s a personal mission. Nicolas describes perfectly the challenges that open-source founders face, and is transparent on the decisions he’s still weighing when it comes to choosing an open-source product model and the benefits and challenges of being a boot-strapped startup. I was particularly interested to learn how his company’s project, V2G Liberty, helps individuals who are looking for a greener way to optimize the charging of their electric vehicles, and why Nicolas doesn’t market his other products to individual users. Highlights:I introduce Nicolas Höning, who is the Co-Founder and CEO of Seita, an open-source energy digitalization company (01:00)Nicolas describes the unique nature of building open-source software for the energy sector (03:34)How Nicolas wound up developing software for the energy sector (05:30)The mission at Seita and how it’s also reflected personally in Nicolas’ life mission (06:57)Why open-source was an important part of the delivery of Seita’s mission (09:25)Nicolas describes the challenge of identifying his users and customers (11:28)Why Nicolas doesn’t focus on individual users (14:36)Nicolas describes his project V2G Liberty, which helps individuals optimize their EV charging (17:42)How Nicolas initially funded Seita and his commercial strategy moving forward (19:51)Why Seita launched a commercial product before launching an open-source project (23:30)What Nicolas has been considering when deciding between an open core and open source product model (26:35)The biggest challenge Nicolas is facing right now at Seita (32:43)How listeners can connect with Nicolas and learn more (33:57)Links:NicolasLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nhoening/Twitter: https://twitter.com/nhoeningCompany: https://seita.nl/

Jono Bacon’s passion for building communities has been a driving force in a career taken him from Canonical to GitHub to founding the Community Leadership Core community accelerator. In this episode, Jono shares his definition of community, how a community can create a movement and the differences between the two. We also get a bit of insight into how he developed his passion for building communities and why he continues helping companies build and support theirs through the Community Leadership Core. When Jono speaks about communities he is involved with, he uses “we” instead of “I” to describe their achievements, so I had him dig into that a bit more as we explored the power dynamics that have a huge influence on the success of a community or movement. Highlights:I introduce Jono, who is the founder of Community Leadership Core (0:28)Jono shares more about his passion for building communities and why he started Community Leadership Core (0:51)Jono goes into his background, discovering how Linux was created, and finding connection to others through open source (2:47)Jono reflects on his time at Canonical and what he learned (10:46)How Jono defines and thinks about “community” (13:10)The difference between building a community and creating a movement (15:50)Using “we” vs “I” in communities to encourage collaboration (18:05)Where Jono sees companies missing the mark in community building (20:03)Jono explains what delivery looks like in the context of community (22:31)Jono shares examples of successful communities (27:05)Communities Jono enjoys participating in (28:44)How to start a community from scratch (31:22)A quick summary of the Community Leadership Core (32:40)Links:JonoLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonobaconTwitter: https://twitter.com/jonobaconCompany: communityleadershipcore.com

Michael Cheng is an M&A Specialist who has had an extensive career that includes a former stint at Facebook as a Product Manager and his current role as a Lawyer. In this episode, Michael returns to the show to have an in-depth discussion around acquisitions. Michael shares his thoughts on why most acquisitions leave everyone involved feeling unsatisfied, and what he thinks should be done by both parties to mitigate the high failure rate of acquisitions. We also chat about the common grievances founders have after going through an acquisition, and the approach Michael recommends to mitigate those regrets. Michael also shares insights on why it’s harder on an open-source company to be successfully acquired if they are in between being a purely services-based or SaaS company. Highlights:I introduce returning guest Michael Cheng, whose illustrious career spans roles as a Product Manager for Facebook, a Lawyer, and an M&A Specialist (00:22)Michael gives some background on his career history and why he’s pursued so many different roles (01:00)Michael and I discuss the bird’s eye view of the steps it takes to get acquired (02:23)Why most acquisitions fail (06:11) The common grievances that sellers have after going through an acquisition (08:11)Michael’s thoughts on the likely outcomes for acquisitions of open-source companies (10:28)What open-source founders can do to favor a successful outcome when approaching an acquisition (13:32)How Michael thinks success should be measured when evaluating the outcome of an acquisition (17:56)Why looking at the open-source community of companies being acquired is so crucial and often overlooked (22:13)How the due diligence process is different for an open-source startup versus a SaaS company (25:20)Michael describes how each core function in a company is affected by an acquisition (28:12)The advice Michael would give to founders to help them make peace with the outcome of an acquisition (33:42)How you can connect with Michael to learn more (37:02)Links:MichaelLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/priorart/Twitter: https://twitter.com/SYOTFSCompany: https://www.aalyria.com/

Lars Kamp is the Co-Founder and CEO of Some Engineering, the makers of Resoto. In this episode, Lars describes what he’s learned from founding and working at multiple start-ups, as well as the main differentiators he’s experienced founding his first open-source startup. Lars describes his though process when it comes to selecting co-founders, and illustrates why it’s even more important to be discerning when selecting investors. Lars and I also discuss the advantages that open-source gives to founders who are focused on the distribution strategy for their product, and Lars reveals why he is a big proponent of having docs be a part of your product-led growth strategy. Throughout our conversation, Lars’ insights create a detailed picture of what second-time founders think about and how SaaS startup experience relates to open-source business strategy. Highlights:I introduce Lars, who is the CEO and Founder of Some Engineering (00:23)Lars describes what he does at Resoto and the user groups they work with (00:47)How a tweet by Jeff Barr inspired Lars and his co-founders to start working on Resoto (01:37)What it was like for Lars to start a company with co-founders he didn’t know very well (05:03)Why Lars went from working with closed-source SaaS companies to founding an open-source company (07:26)The main differences Lars has found between founding a SaaS startup and an open-source company (09:24)Lars describes the value he sees in investing in really good docs (10:44)Why Lars focuses more on distribution than product as a second-time founder (13:19)What third time founders think about and what they don’t (16:18)Lars’ advice to founders (18:40)Why Lars sees a big advantage in open-source business models, especially when it comes to distribution (20:09)The advice Lars would give himself if he could go back in time to the early days of Resoto(28:31)How to get in touch with Lars (32:23)Links:LarsLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/larskamp/Twitter: https://twitter.com/l1rsCompany: https://some.engineering/

Amanda “Robby” Robson is a Partner at Cowboy Ventures and the co-host of the Open Source Startup Podcast. In this episode, Robby shares insights on what she’s looking for in open-source founders to potentially invest in, including the importance of being able to manage both your community and your paid model simultaneously. Robby and I also discuss the importance and pitfalls of choosing a monetization strategy, as well as the dangers of having too many monetization models too soon. Throughout our conversation, Robby highlights the specific challenges that open-source founders face, and how she’s seen successful founders either avoid or overcome them. Highlights:I introduce Robby, who is a Partner at Cowboy Ventures and the co-host of the Open Source Startup Podcast (00:22)Robby gives some insight into how she evaluates startups from an investment perspective, and the peculiarities that go into evaluating an open-source startup (00:45)The nuances of evaluating the market opportunity for an open-source company (05:20)A common mistake Robby seeks early stage founders make when evaluating their market size (08:06)Robby shares what she’s learned about best practices for seed-stage startups who are looking to determine their monetization strategy (10:02)The dangers of having too many monetization models as an early stage startup (13:22)Traits that Robby feels are most valuable for an open-source founder to possess (14:48)Robby reveals the common traps that open-source founders fall into (17:13)Why Robby feels that successfully monetizing an open-source company has more to do with resources than timing (19:46)Robby’s thoughts on whether she would ever found an open-source company and how she would approach it (21:18)How Robby’s thoughts have changed on whether open source projects need to intentionally become a company or vice versa (23:44)What it’s like to advice against the open-source business model as a venture capitalist (29:10)Links:RobbyLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amanda-robson-7227685b/Twitter: https://twitter.com/amanda_robsCompany: https://www.cowboy.vc/

Daniel Izquierdo is the Co-Founder and CEO at Bitergia, an open-source company that provides software development data and analytics. In this episode, we connect at the Open Source Summit in Bilbao to discuss how he went from working in academia to co-founding an open-source company. Throughout our conversation, Daniel shares interesting anecdotes on the unique journey he’s taken to build Bitergia, including why they haven’t focused on growing fast so much as they have focused on growing in a way that supports their employees and customers. He also shares insights into how to measure an open-source community, and the knowledge gaps that he sees in people who can’t contextualize the data they’re getting on their community. Daniel also walks us through the other open-source business models Bitergia tried before discovering what worked for them.Highlights:I introduce Daniel, who is the Co-Founder and CEO at Bitergia, as he joins me at the Open Source Summit in Bilbao (00:24)Daniel describes the work that he does at Bitergia (00:41)The story of why Daniel helped to co-found Bitergia during the finalizing of his PhD (01:38)How Daniel and his co-founders got by as they transitioned from academia to founding an open-source company, and what the first year of running Bitergia was like (03:28)Daniel explains how Bitergia makes money as an open-source company (06:04)The main types of customers that Bitergia works with (07:50)The metrics that Daniel feels are critical when measuring an open-source community (08:50)Daniel describes the knowledge gap he observes in clients who can’t contextualize the data they get on their community (11:16)The story of how Bitergia tried other open-source business models before finding what worked for them (13:41)Why Daniel feels it is a disadvantage to have his company based in Spain (16:07)Daniel shares his growth philosophy for Bitergia (18:47)The challenges facing Daniel and his team at the moment (20:21)Daniel’s advice to aspiring open-source founders (21:53)The most interesting mistake Daniel feels he made in building Bitergia (23:57)Daniel shares what he feels is the main difference between starting a company with and without an open-source component (25:33)Links:DanielLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dicortazar/Twitter: https://twitter.com/dizquierdoCompany: https://bitergia.com/

Leszek Manicki is the Engineering Manager at Wikimedia Germany. In this episode, we connect at the Open Source Summit in Bilbao to discuss what he has learned being a part of Wikimedia movement and how that inspired his talk at the summit, How Not To Make Open Source. Throughout our conversation, Leszek describes the challenges Wikimedia has experienced in trying to get more contributors to their projects while also having a high security standard and a complex architecture. He also describes what he has learned from these challenges, and gives recommendations for other organizations to consider as they look to get more contributors to their own projects. Leszek also shares his experience representing a non-profit organization that seeks to offer free knowledge at an event that features more commercialized open-source offerings, and how he hopes this will bring about a positive socio-economic change.Highlights:I introduce Leszek, who is the Engineering Manager at Wikimedia Germany as he joins me at the Open Source Summit in Bilbao (00:23)Leszek describes his role at Wikimedia movement and what brings him to the Open Source Summit as a speaker (00:39)The number one thing that Leszek believes open-source organizations shouldn’t do (03:41)How Wikimedia has attempted to get more external contributors to their projects and what they learned from their successes and failures there (07:17)Leszek describes the relationship between the creation of knowledge and the creation of software in the Wikimedia organization (12:57)How Leszek and his team are increasing collaboration with external sources to build software (15:43)Why Leszek advocates for simple architecture when you’re building a project that will seek external contributors (17:38)The inherent value that Leszek sees in having a community of contributors on a project (18:52)Leszek reflects on his experience attending the Open Source Summit and his hopes for the future (20:20)Links:LeszekLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leszek-manickiCompany: https://www.wikimedia.org/

Brian Proffitt is the Senior Manager of Community Outreach at Red Hat’s OSPO. In this episode, we connect at the Open Source Summit EU to discuss how Brian uses events to drive both lead generation and community-building efforts. Throughout our conversation, Brian describes how measuring the ROI of an event can be tricky and why it’s important to look at events as a long game strategy. We also discuss why events provide some of the most valuable feedback when testing your positioning and messaging, and what can be done to increase the odds that your events are successful and produce good outcomes.Highlights:I introduce Brian, who is the Senior Manager of Community Outreach at Red Hat’s OSPO as he joins me at the Open Source Summit EU (00:28)How Brian categorizes the different types of events he attends and hosts (01:55)The primary metric and objective for lead gen events, and what can be done to increase the odds that your lead gen events bear fruit (05:18)Why events are such a valuable part of testing your positioning and messaging (09:14)Brian delves into the value of community events and what the ROI for those looks like (12:50)The strategy Brian employs for getting the most out of community events when ROI can be difficult to measure (15:40)Brian shares why he feels that events are more of a long game strategy (23:24)The advice that Brian would give to an open-source founder or start-up that is looking to get the most out of their events strategy (25:28)The best ways to learn more and connect with Brian (31:34)Links:BrianLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianproffitt/Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheTechScribeCompany: https://www.redhat.com/en/blog/channel/red-hat-open-source-program-office

Kim McMahon is the leader of Open Source Marketing & Community at Outshift by Cisco, which is Cisco’s emerging technologies and innovation unit. We recorded this episode at Open Source Summit EU, and talked about Kim’s strategies and tactics related to helping guide users to the correct edition of your product — ie, decide whether the open source option or a commercial option is best for them.Kim talked about the tricky balance open-source companies must strike between embracing open-source principles and driving revenue as a business, Kim’s tactics for community building and why it’s so important to be clear on why you want to build a community and the outcomes you expect from your investment in community building. Highlights:I introduce Kim, who is the leader of Open Source Marketing & Community at Outshift by Cisco, as she joins me at the Open Source Summit EU in Bilbao (00:25)Kim gives an overview of the talk she is giving at the Open Source Summit, which is on the topic of self-identifying when to shift to a managed version of open-source products (01:35)Kim and I discuss the different personas of open-source software users, and the role that product-led growth plays for open-source companies (03:07)Why Kim feels it’s critical to not treat your community as a sales database but rather to provide educational content to drive sales of open-source products (09:10)Kim and I discuss the challenges of marketing an open-source project and whether positioning truly falls under marketing (10:49)How Kim created a feedback loop on her team between sales, marketing, and product to ensure alignment when bringing open-source products to market (13:31)Kim walks through her thought process for community building from scratch (17:23)How Kim evaluates if a community-building strategy is working or not (24:34)What Kim learned about being a part of a community by being a member of a food co-op (28:09)Where to connect with Kim and learn more about her work (34:44)Links:KimLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kimmcmahonco/Twitter: https://twitter.com/kamcmahonCompany: https://eti.cisco.com/

Alexander Krüger is the Co-Founder and CEO of United Manufacturing Hub, an open-source company that develops software for the manufacturing industry. Throughout our conversation, Alexander describes the unusual path he took in going from a services-based consulting company to a product-led company. He also describes the opportunities and challenges of selling open-source software to an industry that has historically been slow to adopt new technology, as well as his choice to hone a go-to-market strategy before exploring fundraising. Highlights:I introduce Alexander, and he gives some background on his company United Manufacturing Hub (00:22)How Alexander decided to develop open-source software for manufacturers (01:39)Alexander describes the early days of launching United Manufacturing Hub and how he got his first customers (04:06)How long it took to go from a consulting firm to a product-based company (06:57)Why it’s important to Alexander that United Manufacturing Hub is an open-source company (08:20)Alexander describes the go-to-market strategy at United Manufacturing Hub and how it impacts their fundraising efforts  as well as their monetization model (11:06) Alexander describes an interesting mistake he made and what he learned from it (19:10)How different it is to sell open-source software in the manufacturing space versus other industries (21:31) The biggest challenges facing United Manufacturing Hub today (22:35)Alexander describes the pros and cons of going from a services company to a product company (25:44)Where people can go to learn more about United Manufacturing Hub and connect with Alexander (29:38)Links:AlexanderLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexander-krueger/Twitter:Company: https://www.umh.app/

This week I’m chatting with Steven Renwick, CEO of Tilores. As you’ll hear in the episode, we connected when I mistook Tilores for an open-source company. Steven graciously agreed to come on the show to discuss why they decided against making the product open source — which is actually a conversation worth having, and one that open source founders should probably have more often. There are a few options for companies building SaaS tools to solve problems for engineers and enterprises, from open source and open core all the way to completely closed source. In this episode, Steven and I discuss some of these options and why his company decided that going closed source would be the option that provided them the greatest opportunity for growth. Steven himself thought they would start the company as an open-source company, but upon further examination, realized they weren’t leaning in that direction for the right reasons. Listen to hear the journey from the beginning of their search for funding, to heading into the end of their second year in business as a closed-source company.Highlights:I introduce Steven, tell the story of how we met, and he fills us in on the origin of Tilores. (0:32)Steven delves deeper into how Tilores started and why they decided against open source. (1:47)Steven and I discuss how companies sometimes get into open source before they fully understand all of the licensing options and how it will effect their business. (6:05)I point out that transparency is a commonly appreciated value in open source projects and Steven agrees that while it hasn’t been an issue so far, that is something that may push Tilores to open source in the future. (8:58)In seeking funding for Tilores, Steven found investors hesitant to buy into an open source company, so he explains why he thinks that is. (10:37)Steven and I discuss the many reasons going closed source keeps things simple. (14:27)Steven and I debate the idea that being open source implies a grander vision or hope of becoming the standard of service. (16:01)I mention that companies have gone from open source to closed source, which leads us to how open source can make it difficult for a company to become profitable. (19:43)We then dive into what the difference in vision between making boatloads of money, hoping to become the standard of service, and hoping to serve a particular niche. (21:06)If you don’t have a really good reason to go open source, maybe you shouldn’t. (24:15)Steven recalls a mistake in the early development of Tilores. (27:12)Steven shares his advice for folks making a product for engineers. (29:22)Steven reviews Tilores’s biggest challenge now. (30:58)Steven shares some final thoughts on open source. (34:07)Links:StevenLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevenrenwick/Twitter: @Major_GroovesCompany: tilores.io/

Philippe Humeau is the CEO and Co-Founder of CrowdSec, an open-source security company with a very unique business model that doesn’t fit the usual open source patterns. Philippe talked about how to focus on providing a fair exchange of value between maintainers / open source companies and users, and how to monetize a project that is providing value for free.Philippe also talked about why he thinks open-source founders are under more pressure to get their business model right at the start, tips on making the right hiring decisions, and how to communicate with the community in an effective and transparent way. I also liked Philippe’s cynicism: why he views open source as primarily a pragmatic choice for his business, given the type of company he wanted to build. Philippe also shares the logic behind his uncommon view that only making certain features available to paying customers isn’t a truly open-source business strategy. Highlights:I introduce Philippe, who gives some background on his career journey and what he does at CrowdSec (00:22)Philippe explains why it seems that security companies are underrepresented in the open-source space (03:19)The most common mistake Philippe sees when people start an open-source business (05:03)Why Philippe believes that open-source companies are under more pressure to get their business model right the first time (09:26)How Philippe came up with Crowdsec’s unique business model (16:15)The pushback that Philippe got when he presented his business model initially (19:33)Why Philippe views open source as a means to an end, and how that has affected his choices at CrowdSec (25:10)The most interesting mistake Philippe has made since starting CrowdSec (27:28)Why Philippe believes open source business models are more promising than closed source (31:19)The advice that Philippe would give to an open source founder who is looking to build a successful company (34:11)Why Philippe feels that having certain features behind a paywall is not a truly open-source business model (35:53)Where you can learn more about Philippe and connect with CrowdSec (40:11)Links:PhilippeLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/philippehumeau/Twitter: https://twitter.com/philippe_humeauCompany: https://www.crowdsec.net/

Samuel Stroschein is the CEO and Founder of inlang, an open-source company that is looking to not only make localization easy for developers, but also to help companies achieve revenue growth through localization. I was particularly excited to talk to Samuel because, back in my way back past, I was a translator, so I’m always interested in solutions that exist to facilitate translation; but also because localizing software is a good example of the intersection between business problems and technical problems. Inlang also strikes me as a company that could see its primary market as developers, or could see its market as CMOs — because of the way localization is both a technical and business problem. And Samuel is clear about this: He says “What we're basically saying is if you want to make more money, you've got to localize.”Lastly, another thing that stuck out to me about our conversation was that, as we talked about Inlang’s future monetization strategy, Samuel said he thinks that it will likely be around services — which I hadn’t heard from anyone before. His reason: That the software will ultimately become commoditized.  Listen in to learn why localization is such a challenge for developers, what impact it has on revenue growth, and how Samuel took inlang from an open-source project to an open-source company.Highlights:Samuel introduces himself, describes his background and explains what inlang is solving for (00:37)Why localization is such a challenge and how it led Samuel to create inlang (01:21)The circumstances that pushed Samuel to turn inlang into an open-source project (04:30)Why Samuel decided to take inlang from an open-source project to an open-source company (05:43)Samuel explains how localization is a growth opportunity, and how that impacts inlang’s market (09:00)The way Samuel and his team are thinking about monetizing inlang (13:22)Why being an open-source company is important to Samuel (15:15)The collaboration that open-source brings and why it’s so valuable to Samuel (19:00)How financial stability, problem-solving, and the nature of building software all contribute to the success of open source in tech (26:06)Samuel explains how he views mistakes as stepping stones to positive outcomes (28:41)The learnings that Samuel has gathered when hiring for inlang (30:13)How you can connect with Samuel and learn more about inlang (31:22)Links:SamuelLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samuelstroscheinTwitter: https://twitter.com/samuelstrosCompany: https://inlang.com/

Kevin Muller is the CEO and co-founder of Passbolt, a security-first, open-source password manager, and he joined me to talk about the risks of having too much time and money, the value of getting trashed on social media and why he values in-person interactions with the team. There were a lot of interesting pieces to pick apart from this episode. First of all, Kevin talked about the importance of not commercializing too early. I think he's the only founder I've ever heard say something along those lines, but he makes a good argument. (Also, Tim Chen and I talked about the timing of commercialization last week, my takeaway is that no one feels like they commercialized at precisely the right moment). Second, we had a good discussion about how the different priorities of European versus American investors can push companies to make different decisions. The subtext that we didn't address directly is make sure you are aware that your investors priorities are going to influence how your company evolves, choose your investors with that in mind. (and check out the episode with Markus Düttmann if you want more on the EU vs US investment environment for open source startups). Lastly, password managers have been in the news, and not in a good way — and how to best react to a super embarrassing situation for a competitor is not always obvious. So we talked about how Passbolt has tried to steer the conversation about password management in light of recent high-profile hacks in the ecosystem. Highlights:Kevin introduces himself and describes his work at Passbolt (00:26)How Kevin got the idea for Passbolt and the story of how he brought his idea to life (01:07)The mistakes that Kevin and his co-founders made when launching Passbolt (05:03)What happened when Kevin and his co-founders officially launched Passbolt in 2016 (08:12)How Kevin and his co-founders decided to move from a purely open-source product to a commercialized product (09:32)Why Passbolt is a hybrid company and the value Kevin sees in having employees spend time in the office (12:41)Kevin describes why it was so important for Passbolt to be an open-source company (15:58)Why Kevin feels it’s important not to commercialize an open-source product too quickly (19:07)The different priorities of European VCs versus U.S. VCs (21:58)Why honest feedback is so valuable and how Kevin and his team evaluated the feedback they got at the launch of Passbolt (24:26)Kevin’s reaction to data breaches that happen to other password management solutions (27:09)The biggest challenges that Kevin and the team at Passbolt are working on currently (31:09)Kevin’s advice to open-source founders (32:47)Links:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinmuller80/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/passbolt/Twitter: https://twitter.com/passboltCompany: https://www.passbolt.com

Tim Chen is a Partner at Essence VC and also the Co-Host of the Open Source Startup Podcast. Through these channels, he has the opportunity to speak with a broad variety of open source startups. Throughout our conversation, we explore the patterns that Tim sees in the open source startup space. Tim talked about how too many founders take the decision to build an open source company too lightly and the path that he would take if he were to start a venture-backed open source startup tomorrow. We also discuss the different monetization models of open-source startups and the true business value of an open source project. Highlights:Tim introduces himself and describes his role at Essence VC as well as his work as Co-Host of the Open Source Startup Podcast (00:22)The common patterns that Tim sees having worked with so many open source startups (02:25)Tim describes the landscape of open source and how it varies from open source projects to venture-backed, open source companies (06:48)What path Tim would take if he were to start a venture-backed, open source startup tomorrow (09:31)How Tim views different monetization models and their potential profitability (17:29)Tim’s views on the pros and cons of an open-core model (20:34)The business value of an open source project according to Tim (24:47)How Tim’s evaluation and investing tactics have changed as he’s worked with more open source startups (31:58)Where listeners can find more information about Tim and learn more about his work (37:47)Links:TimLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/timchenTwitter: https://twitter.com/tnachenCompany: https://www.essencevc.fund/

Franz Karlsberger is the CEO of Amazee.io, an open-source platform that seeks to make developers’ lives easier by abstracting their day-to-day workload. Throughout our conversation, we explore what it means to join an open-source start-up as an external CEO, and why Franz put so much emphasis on go-to-market strategy. Franz also walks through the importance of knowing what open-source business model your company will follow, and how to measure the success of an open-source project.Listen in as Franz shares some of his most interesting mistakes, what he’d do differently if he could start over, and why Franz feels open-source is more than just a type of software, it’s a company ethos that affects everything down to the team culture. Highlights:Franz introduces himself and his company Amazee.io, which is a ZeroOps application delivery platform (00:50)How Amazee.io went from being a point solution to a platform solution (06:20)Why Franz was brought in as an external CEO for Amazee.io to accelerate growth (10:03)How Franz adjusted to working at an open-source start-up and what that learning curve was like for him (11:47)The importance of open-source at Amazee.io and why it is baked into their core values and ethos as a company (15:30)How the go-to-market model differs for Amazee.io’s cloud offering versus their managed offering (17:51)Franz describes some of the most interesting mistakes he’s made and what he’s learned from them (23:25)Franz’s views on measuring the success of an open-source project (26:29)How listeners can connect with Franz and learn more about Amazee.io (32:37)Links:FranzLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/franzkarlsberger/Twitter: https://twitter.com/fkarlsbergerCompany: https://www.amazee.io/

It’s kind of a cliche, Vlad A. Ionescu, founder and CEO of Earthly, says, but his first attempts to build something really awesome focused on amazing technology. With hindsight, he doesn’t think it’s so surprising that those efforts weren’t successful. It’s not that passion doesn’t matter, but rather that he had to learn to build things that inspired passion from both the market and the builders. We also talked about:Leaving a job, blowing through his savings, going back to a job before finding entrepreneurial successRealizing that if he wanted to have the kind of impact on the world that he wanted to, he had to figure out a way to make it as an entrepreneur, because the alternative was climbing the corporate ladder and that didn’t sound like funWhy it’s important to be brutally honest with yourself and what you suck atHow Vlad finally found success at Shift Left (now Quiet.ai)I also really liked his ideas about cutting corners — that startups will always have to cut some corners, it’s just up to you to decide which ones to cut. Highlights:Vlad recounts lessons learned from early entrepreneurial failures. (2:31)Taking failure personally to overcome weaknesses (5:19)Vlad explains what led to his first success with Shift Left (7:40)Vlad shares his journey from Shift Left to Earthly (13:40)Why open source? (17:03)How Vlad and his team built Earthly based on what he learned from building Shift Left (25:07)Breaking a product down to its components to find more value (31:38)The Startup Hierarchy of Needs (34:02)Links:VladLinkedInTwitterEarthlyQwiet.aiPersonal Site

Markus Düttmann, a former Principal at Nauta Capital, is steeped in the European open source scene. From his beginnings in theoretical physics, Düttmann’s hard pivot into venture capital funding granted him a spot in the developing tech world as a connoisseur of the culture and a champion for start-ups. He even contributed to Nauta Capital’s European Open Source Report detailing the state of the ecosystem as of October 2022.On this episode of the Business of Open Source, listen to his insight into the European markets, the various business models generally used for open source start-ups, and what he looks for in an open source start-up.Note: Markus has since left Nauta and is on paternity leave. He also asked me to add a follow-up to the episode: After thinking more about the biggest danger to open source companies, he thinks most of them will fail from problems like not building the right team, failure to find product market fit and/or failure to monetize. Hyperscalers are a danger, but probably won’t be what causes most startups to fail. Highlights:The unique qualities of the European open source ecosystem (2:20)European market vs. the American Market in terms of funding (3:45)Advantages and disadvantages of a European open source company (4:40)Navigating the use of different business models within a business (8:14)How Markus evaluates open source start-ups (11:46)Don't be the open source version of an existing enterprise company (16:14)Signs of a company worth investing in (16:45)Potential risks to the open source ecosystem in the coming years (19:24)Links:MarkusLinkedInTwitterNauta CapitalEuropean Open Source Report

This week Shanea Leven, CEO and Co-Founder of CodeSee, joins me to chat about demystifying code bases and building an effective team.In this episode of The Business of Open Source, Shanea and I discuss the origins of her company, CodeSee, how it morphed from a training course to a SaaS product, and how they contribute to open source even though CodeSee is not an open source company. Shanea also shares valuable insight into working closely with your spouse, the importance of communication and empathy in building an effective team, and how she’s evolved as a leader. Listen to hear all of her insight and advice, and find out how the CodeSee SaaS offering helps companies understand their code bases and make critical decisions faster.Highlights:How Shanea’s experience at Docker influenced her decision about whether or not to make CodeSee open source (1:51)Origin and history of CodeSee (6:58)How CodeSee progressed from a training course to a SaaS product (10:41)Shanea’s advice for other entrepreneurs interested in founding a startup with their spouse (14:36)Lessons Shanea has learned from the challenges of building a team (17:18)The importance of face time with customers (23:08)How CodeSee works (26:31)How CodeSee contributes to open source without being open source (30:14)Links:ShaneaLinkedInTwitterCodeSee

This week Heikki Nousiainen, CTO and Co-founder of Aiven, joins me to chat about building the business, his passion for open source and entrepreneurship, and his hopes for the future of open source in the public sector. In this episode, Heikki and I explore the successes and challenges he and his three co-founders encountered in creating and maintaining their global open source data platform. We discuss how they choose technologies to support, the importance of customer demand, how founders can learn to work together, and when to “kill your darlings.” Highlights:Origins of Aiven (1:40)Pros and cons of being headquartered in Helsinki (4:41)Aiven’s relationship to the open source community (6:02)How Aiven has evolved since its inception (7:34)How Aiven chooses technologies to incorporate into their service offerings (9:21)One thing that has been very successful for Aiven (12:51)Why Aiven chose their business model (16:33)The biggest challenge Aiven is currently facing (17:37)The State of Open Con and giving back to the Community (20:17)Barriers to more open source adoption in the public sector (21:24)Links:HeikkiLinkedInTwitter: @hnousiainenAiven

Michael Cheng, Chief Legal Officer at Aalyria Technologies, is a master at strategy and execution for open-source products and companies. From his humble beginning spearheading the open source team at Meta (formerly Facebook), Cheng has honed his knowledge about the interworking of open source and utilizes it to its fullest potential.In this episode of The Business of Open Source, Cheng talks about his time as Meta's lead in open source as well as what it's like to be an individual working for a large company. He also explains what happens in mergers and acquisitions with open source projects and the legality of being a small fish in a large pond!Highlights:A little insight into Meta's open source (2:06)Detractors on a project (4:25)It's hard running a large company open source (7:47)Is it a problem to be individually driven? (9:45)Creating projects while working for large companies in open source (13:25) Do they have a right to reprimand? (16:16)What happens in a merger for an open source company (17:53]Recommendations to an inquirer (21:47)Personality-deprived communities (24:48)Links:MichaelLinkedInAalyria

Are you struggling to find a co-founder? Having trouble navigating a relationship with your partners? These are all questions Tanis Jorge, CEO of The Co-founder's Hub, tackles daily in her work. A serial tech entrepreneur and a leading entrepreneur advisor, it is no wonder Jorge has founded and built many businesses, such as Trulioo and IQuiri Inc.On this episode of The Business Of Open Source, I ask Jorge about finding the right co-founder, why legal frameworks are so important, and the hi's and lows of collaboration. We also discuss warning signs, life stages, and why everyone is a janitor!Highlights:The right co-founder (2:25)Life stages are important (4:31)The uncomfortable task (5:50)The legal framework (8:00)Everybody's the janitor (10:05)The hi's and lows of collaboration (14:46)Navigating problems and relationships(18:45)No one is talking about this (23:24)Meeting a bad partner (24:35)Multiple founder relationships (26:10)Links:TanisLinkedInTwitterThe Cofounder's HubTrulioo

From college dropout to developer efficiency guru, Kyle Campbell knows his way around workflow integrations for software companies. He is a fierce proponent of efficient workflows and hopes to spread his experience to any company that can benefit from it. In this episode of the Business of Open Source, Campbell discusses the origins of his Company CTO.ai, its revenue model, and why he created this AI companion for developers. He also talks about being a consultant, running a start up, and when it is time to shift gears to building a revenue-focused company.Highlights:Workflows.sh (4:10)The creations of CTO.ai (5:06)Can being a consultant be a boon for a company (8:48)Revenue models of CTO.ai (11:32)The tipping point of in building a business (15:35)Examples of escape patches (18:20)What is the right amount of money to raise? (20:45)The pricing model of CTO.ai (24:06)Is not having an open-source project limiting? (27:24)Links:KyleLinkedInTwitterCTO.ai

Matt Butcher is no stranger to the ways of ethical philosophy. With a Ph.D. in Religion and Computer Science, he enjoys philosophical conversations of ethical dilemmas. Butcher passionately debates wild theories and paradoxical situations against those not afraid to question reality in pursuit of knowledge.In this episode of The Business of Open Source, Hear how Butcher discusses ethics in the open source world, the grey areas in being an ethical company, and the moral nature of work/life balance. Butcher also details how some of the greatest philosophical minds shaped his own view of ethics and the pursuit of "that middle road."Highlights:Ethics and Computer Science vs. AI (1:30)Ph.D. in religion and… computer science? (3:05)Ethical claims in open source (4:52)Is it ethical to build a company like yours? (8:50)Interacting with people to see the value (13:45)Understanding balancing creativity with reality(17:52)What does it mean to build an ethical company(19:42)"Complex is such an interesting choice here" (24:43)Finding that middle road (28:29)Common unethical source practices (29:30)Have you changed your ethic since becoming a CEO? (31:50)Links:MattLinkedInTwitterFermyon

Dawn Foster, Director of Open Source Community Strategy at VMware, is a champion of community strategy and development. A doctor of Philosophy, Foster is well-versed in the understanding of collaboration and leverages her mountain of knowledge to fight for the health of maintainers in open-source projects.In this episode of The Business of Open Source, Dawn Foster joins me from the Open Source Summit North America to tackle community strategy and contribution growth methods. Foster also touches on the differences between open contributions and what project leads should do to help grow their maintainers.Highlights:Why is it essential to have a contributor growth strategy? (1:46)Loss of control (3:10)How to be proactive for project growth (4:24)Proactive communication to foster a relationship (7:15)Non-code contributions are just as crucial as maintainers (9:47)Is it a mistake to have no contributor growth strategy (12:20)One tactic when being a single maintainer (13:33)Replacing your maintainers (16:02)Don't get arrested (18:10)Improving your skills in maintaining  (19:17)Navigating contributions to a project (21:29)Increasing the number of contributions per person (24:13)Example of a good growth strategy (27:07)Links:Dawn LinkedInTwitterVMware

Bart Farrell is a content creator and community leader in the public speaking world. Based in Spain, he has developed a massively popular platform through podcasting and consulting as a nontechnical person in a technical space.In this episode, Farrell breaks down the ins and outs of public speaking. He also discusses the art form of speaking offline rather than online, what to expect when talking to an audience, and what it takes to deliver the gift of gab. Farrell also goes into his struggles in becoming a public speaker and his favorite influence on his craft—all this and more in this episode of The Business of Open Source.Highlights:The Fear of public speaking (2:00)Not a life or death situation (5:10)Be comfortable while speaking(8:40)You only get one start (9:57)A I D A (11:22)Online is not offline (15:03)How to get into public speaking (17:00)Basic building blocks (19:00)How to improve in public speaking (23:35)A favorite public speaker (26:55)Links:BartLinkedInTwitterbartfarrell.com

Ivar Østhus, The CTO and creator of Unleashed, is a revolutionary in shipping feature management tools and rollouts for companies worldwide. Through hardships, Østhus came into his own in the open source world by relieving the pressure on developers bringing new creations to light in their projects.On this episode of The Business of Open Source, Hear how Østhus discusses the inception of Unleashed and the struggles he overcame in the early stages. He also talks about being a European company in the tech industry and why he prefers to be called a "Creator" rather than a Founder.Highlights:Creator but not a Founder(1:48)Why Unleash? (2:33)Why open source (6:20)Taking the plunge with unleash (9:38)Being a European company(15:25)Early mistakes in Unleash (17:40)Long-term support open source user(19:40)The biggest challenge (25:20)Links:IvarLinkedInTwitterUnleash

Josh Koenig, Chief Strategy Officer and Co-Founder of Pantheon, is a WebOps aficionado focused on creating first-class platforms and delivering results. Recognized as a Top 25 Software Products Executive by The Software Report, it is no wonder he is passionate about his ability to discuss and understand the developer experience while fostering relationships with users.On this episode of the Business of Open Source, Koenig discusses the art of fostering opposing community relations and his ideals of the developer experience. He also talks about the niche that is WebOps and his journey of creating Pantheon.Highlights:What is Pantheon? (0:55)Pantheon's role in communities (3:50)Teamwork makes the dream work (7:20)Challenges with a no-control work model (9:00)Balancing control and elevation in open source (11:10)Squarespace, but not really (13:10)Mistakes in building Pantheon(15:06)Connecting with a community (16:55)The difference between WordPress and Drupal (19:30)Community involvement (21:35)Pleasant surprises (23:40)Top challenge (25:40)Last remarks (28:50)Links:JoshLinkedInTwitterCompanyDrupalWordPress

Daniel Loreto, the founder of Jetpack.io, is a massive believer in transforming how engineers scale their backend for cloud-based platforms. Deeply rooted in the tech industry, Loretto takes great pride in building tools to large usage scales and utilizing them to attend to the needs of his users and community.On this episode of the Business of Open Source, Hear about the inner workings of jetpack.io and its challenges in its history. Also, listen to Loreto's tips for success for a startup, his navigation of open source and proprietary coding, and why Loreto is not an open source purist.Highlights:The history of jetpack.io (3:31)Pursuing the open source model (4:53)Got to move fast as a startup (6:38)Re-integrating feedback into your work (7:43)Why an open source project (8:48)Open source code vs. proprietary code (10:55)Unexpected challenges ( 12:15)Not an open-source purist (14:54)Challenges in selling open source products (16:47)Developing guidelines for jetpack.io (17:42)Success does not mean success (20:01)Lessons from building a company (23:13)

"Fueling a culture of openness in innovation and research." That slogan is well known to Abigail Cabunoc Mayes, a leader in GitHub's open-source maintainer program. With a background in open science, Mayes felt right at home when jumping to open source and mentoring many developers at the Cloud-based Hosting service.On this episode of The Business of Open Source, listen to Mayes speak on sustainability and resilience in building a platform for developers and what makes a robust and sustainable environment. Mayes also talks about financial stability and models in the open source world and what it truly means to break from a main backer and build on your own.Highlights:Supporting "maintainers" (3:02)Succession planning (3:38)Being resilient in sustainability (5:40)Building financially without company backing (6:29)GitHub experimentation (10:42)Strategies for critical projects that are lower in the stack (11:55)Technical sustainability (13:47)Hypothetical financial models (19:33)Links:AbigailLinkedInTwitterGitHub

Akriti Dokania, a heavyweight in the venture capital business, is a partner at Ridge Ventures. With a background in computer sciences and building a B2B company from the ground up, it is no wonder Dokania is an expert in the complexities of developing software and understanding the lifecycle of a start-up.On this week's episodes of the Business of Open Source, Dokania shows her wealth of knowledge in investing in open source start-ups. She also explains what founders should look for in an investor and the struggles of monetization for an open source start-up. Lastly, Dokania gives the secrets to working towards a revenue model and scaling a start-up to a fully fleshed-out company.Highlights:Open source vs. non-open source companies(from an investor's eye) (2:07)The go to market for open source (4:03)Disadvantages of an open source start-up (5:29)Too deep into open source to monetize (7:53)Red flags a founder should look out for in an investor (14:24)Common mistakes for open source companies looking to monetize (16:24)Unique business strategies in open source (19:24)Links:Akriti LinkedInTwitterCompany

Stefan Avram, Co-Founder and Head of Growth at WunderGraph, is taking the open source world by storm. With his company specializing in full stack and workflows through API composition, it is no wonder he has fostered a vast community of developers around WunderGraph.On today's episode, Avram delves into the story and creation of WunderGraph. He also recounts how he organized a massive discord community to foster healthy feedback for growth. Lastly, Avram speaks on the hardships of building a start-up company and what it takes to flourish—all this and more on this episode of The Business of Open Source.Highlights:Taking a leap of faith (3:40)Engineer to Handler of Marketing (5:04)Navigating becoming a Co-Founder (7:03)The primary benefit of open source in WunderGraph (11:44)Building a community space for feedback (14:23)Top 3 mistakes in start-ups (18:25)Advice to your past self (22:38)Links:StefanLinkedInTwitterWunderGraph

Emre Baran is a man on a mission to simplify authorization protocols for software developers. With his company Cerbos, Baran has put in years of dedication to easy authorization and helping build the authorization databases of over one hundred EU companies.In this episode of The Business of Open Source, Emre Baran goes through the history of his company Cerbos. He also talks about telemetry challenges, monetization strategies, and the challenges that made him who he is today. Find out more in this episode!Highlights:The right time to take the plunge (4:48)Monetization strategy (6:21)The most interesting mistake (9:31)Overcoming telemetry challenges (12:10)The importance of open source for Cerbos (15:48)Selling shoes to shoemakers (17:47)Helping people through Cerbos (25:11)Links:EmreLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emrebaran/Twitter: @emreCompany: Cerbos.dev

Tyler Jewell is an enterprise technology investor and managing director of Dell Technologies Capital, with a hand in many open source companies. A returning guest to the podcast, Jewell shares with us his foresight and knowledge about the past and current history of the open source landscape.Hear about the inner workings of Lightbend and how far Akka open source projects have evolved over the years. Also, listen to Jewell discuss business strategy for open source companies and the common mistakes of running open source. Jewell also shares a little about the resiliency of open source businesses in the economic market.Highlights:Akka projects over the years (4:00)When companies should have open source licenses vs. when they should not (11:35)Eclipse Che open source (13:20)Is it better to be open source as a company? (14:30)Open source as a development strategy rather than a business strategy (19:10)Common mistakes in open source companies (21:25)Are open source companies resilient economically? (23:14)Links:TylerLinkedInTwitterDell Technologies CapitalLightbendEclipse CheWSO2

From software engineer to leading developer products at Facebook, Ron Efroni was familiar with the challenges facing developers. His co-founder recognized the power of Nix to remove the boundaries of development, and together they started Flox to reduce the barriers to the adoption of Nix.In our final episode from the State of Open Con in London, Ron Efroni, CEO and Co-founder of Flox, joins me to discuss the future of Flox and Nix, the amazing community that keeps Nix moving forward, and advice for his former self as well as anyone interested in building an open source company. Highlights:Ron introduces himself, Flox, and Nix (0:50)Ron recounts the origins of Flox (3:32)Ron reviews the value add Flox provides (7:04)Leaving the control of the Nix roadmap to the community (10:30)Ron shares advice for himself 1.5 years ago (13:33) and...Advice for other open source founders (14:40)Why Nix is happy to have feedback and excitement from the community (17:56)Links:RonLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ronefroni/Twitter: https://twitter.com/ronefroniCompany: https://floxdev.com/Nix: https://nixos.org/

Sometimes it seems like our devices can read our minds. While that can occasionally be helpful, it can raise concerns about how much of our personal data is collected. Gael Duval, CEO of Murena, noticed this issue in 2017 and has been working on solutions ever since. In this episode, Gael joins me at the State of Open Con in London to discuss the origins of Murena and how you can protect your data. He also shares lessons he’s learned as an entrepreneur and advice for aspiring founders in the open source space. Listen to hear his unique perspective as an open source B2C founder. Highlights:Gael introduces himself and outlines why he started Murena (0:51)Murena’s relationships with hardware (3:43)Gael reflects on Murena being a rare B2C co, as opposed to most open source B2B companies (6:04)The value of being open source for Murena was building on existing technologies (9:16)Gael shares advice for his younger self (11:58)Gael recalls his most significant challenges at Murena (14:36)How views on privacy differ between Europe and the US (15:43)Gael shares advice for starting a B2C open source company (17:06)Links:GaelLinkedInTwitterMurenaE Foundation

Peter Zaitzev, the founder of Percona, is an expert on open source strategy and database optimization. With his level of experience in the world of open source, Peter enjoys challenging himself and going against the grain in order to come out on top.On this episode of The Business of Open Source, Peter breaks down his thought process on how he approaches open source for businesses as a consultant and dives into the inner workings of Percona from how they generate revenue to customer retention. We also discuss how anyone new to the space can get into open source and make a career out of it.Highlights:The differentiator between Percona and Oracle (3:11)Challenging yourself (6:02)How Percona generates revenue (9:43)Tough moments for Percona (13:07)Getting into open source as a businessman (15:09)Looking ahead for Percona (18:23)Advice for Peter’s past self (19:42)Links:PeterLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peterzaitsev/Twitter: https://twitter.com/PeterZaitsevCompany: percona.comRenegade Underdogs

Frank Karlitschek has worked in the open source software space since the late 90s when he contributed to KDE. Since then, he’s managed multiple teams and start ups and used his influence to make the internet a better, more secure place. In this episode, Frank joins me at The State of Open Con to share his passion for open source and improving the internet. We discuss his early involvement in open source and how he started his own company. He also shares advice for new founders and encouragement for anyone hoping to make a positive impact on the world.Highlights:Frank introduces himself and Nextcloud and shares his initial excitement around open source (0:50)Frank shares some details about his open source business model and how the company came together (2:51)Frank recalls mistakes he made early on in his career and what he's learned (6:43)Current projects/ processes in the “trial and error” phase of development (8:10)The value of being open source (10:41)Frank shares the advice he’d give his younger self and someone starting an open source company now (13:03)Links:FrankLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/frankkarlitschek/Twitter: https://twitter.com/fkarlitschekMastadon: https://mastodon.social/@KarlitschekWebsite: karlitschek.deCompany: https://nextcloud.com/

Matt Barker, President and co-founder of Jetstack, has been involved in open source and Kubernetes since the early days of its development. With a long list of open source projects behind him, he decided to hone in on Jestack and with its success, share the knowledge he’s gained over the years as an OpenUK Entrepreneur in Residence.In this episode of The Business of Open Source, Matt joins me from the State of Open Con and shares his initial vision for Jestack and reviews the projects that helped him get the company to where it is today. As Jestack is a fully bootstrapped company, Matt shares his perspective on how that impacts a founder’s decisions. We also discuss the importance of sharing your knowledge with the next generation of founders through mentorship as Matt does with OpenUK. Highlights:Matt introduces himself and Jestack (0:48)Matt’s open source projects (3:39)Choosing one project to focus on (8:24)Matt explains why it seems easier for bootstrapped companies to niche down (10:42)Matt reflects on his early mistakes as an entrepreneur and what he’s learned from them (16:40)Matt explains his role as OpenUK Entrepreneur in Residence (19:30)Links:MattLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattbarks/Company: https://www.jetstack.io/OpenUK: https://openuk.uk/

In the first of my series of interviews from the State of Open Con in London, I’m chatting with Rob Taylor, CEO of ChipFlow, about the intersection between open source software design and hardware design, bringing community into the hardware space, and how geopolitics could shape the future of open source. In this episode, Rob shares his fascinating hardware and software design background, including his first job working on lighting desks for theaters. Then we delve into his other companies before discovering the impetus for starting ChipFlow, how and why they do what they do, and some plans for the future. We also chat briefly about monetization, touch on the impact geopolitics could have on tech, and share our favorite parts of conferences like the State of Open Con. Highlights:Rob introduces himself and shares a bit of his background in software and open source (0:43)Rob recounts the origins of ChipFlow (4:08)Rob explains how hardware and software design are similar and where they diverge (7:30)How ChipFlow helps companies create custom chip designs for their products (9:38)How changes in open source software correlate to the hardware space (12:11)How Rob and his team encourage community in the hardware space (15:02)Rob’s final thoughts on the future of open source look to geopolitics (17:53)Links:RobLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robtaylor78/Twitter: @robtaylor78Company: https://www.chipflow.io/

Josh Thurman, Co-founder and Head of DevRel at Uffizzi, joins me to chat about his journey from Navy Seal to tech startup Co-founder.In this episode, Josh and I discuss his background as a Navy Seal, how he dove into tech and started Uffizzi, and the mistakes and failures he overcame along the way. We also dig into open source as a development model, creating vs. capturing value, and the importance of compatibility with software users are already implementing. Listen to find out what Josh considers his biggest failure, how he and Uffizzi overcame it, and how companies are using the product now. Highlights:Josh introduces himself and Uffizzi (0:45)Josh recounts early failures at Uffizzi (3:55)How Josh and Uffizzi settled on open source (6:28)Open source as a development model (9:33)Creating vs. Capturing value (10:50)Josh discusses the importance of modularity and compatibility with other software (13:36)Why Uffizzi decided to focus on Kubernetes (15:54) Why Josh as a founder, chose the role of Head of DevRel (17:25)How Josh and Uffizzi pivoted to recover from the failures he discussed earlier (20:33)Uffizzi case studies (27:01)Links:JoshLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshua-p-thurman/Twitter: https://twitter.com/JoshThurman19Company: https://uffizzi.comUffizzi Slack community: https://uffizzi.slack.com/join/shared_invite/zt-ffr4o3x0-J~0yVT6qgFV~wmGm19Ux9A#/shared-invite/email