Heather Meeker, General Partner at OSS Capital, joins me to discuss the legal elements of open source, including options for licensing and business structure.In this episode, Heather and I explore the intersection of law and open source by reviewing licensing options, challenges, and common mistakes startups make early on. We also get into less common licensing and business models and what might be in store for the future of licensing in open source.Highlights:Heather introduces herself and reviews her background in open source (0:50)Legal issues startups can run into early on (2:02)Common licensing paradigms in open source (6:00)Less common licensing options (10:40)The model Heather would use if she were starting a new business (15:21)How the challenges commercial open source startups face are different from those proprietary software companies face (16:58)Heather shares her idea of the number one mistake new startups make (26:37)Heather shares her thoughts on the future of open source startups (27:28)Links:HeatherLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/heathermeeker/Twitter: @HeatherMeeker4Company: https://oss.capital/Website: HeatherMeeker.com

Sam Richard, Head of Growth at ngrok, joins me to talk about product-led growth in open source and ngrok’s history in open source.In this episode, Sam and I discuss product-led growth - how it differs from a traditional sales model, what metrics founders can use to track their development, and how to find your activation metrics. We also review what kind of companies would benefit from a product-led approach, who might not, and how companies can avoid mistakes others have made in implementing the strategy. Highlights:Sam introduces herself and shares her definition of product-led growth (0:45)Traditional metrics vs. product-led metrics (8:53)How product-led growth evolves once a company moves past the early stages (13:12)What kind of companies or founders product led growth is appropriate for (14:54)Sam and Emily explore questions about products that buyers love, but users hate (19:53)Moving from product-led growth to a sales-led model (21:15)Sam reviews ngrok’s moves from open source to closed source and back (23:57)Links:SamLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sam-crowell-richard/Twitter: https://twitter.com/SamCRichardCompany: https://ngrok.com/productbenchmarks.com

 

Georg Link, Director of Sales at Bitergia, joins me to chat about how open source startups can use metrics to keep their communities healthy, why he approaches his role as an educator first, and how a company’s culture impacts the way they sell for open source. In this episode, Georg and I discuss how he started the CHAOSS (Community Health Analysis Open Source Software) project to evaluate the health of open source communities and how to use metrics to gain that understanding. We also get some insight into Georg’s passion for open source, his views on sales, and Bitergia’s company culture.Highlights:Georg introduces himself and Bitergia (0:48)What metrics are helpful for an open source startup to track? (4:33)How Georg approaches his role as Director of Sales primarily as an educator (11:48)How Biturgia’s company culture impacts the way they sell for open source (17:41)Ideal use cases for open source metrics (24:15)Links:GeorgLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/georglink/Twitter: @georglinkEmail: [email protected]: https://bitergia.com/

Jonathan Reimer, CEO & Co-Founder at Crowd.dev, joins me to chat about community-led growth and cultivating a community around an open source startup.In this episode, Jonathan and I discuss the differences between community-led growth and product-led growth, review the meaning of community, and explore the challenges of building a community around an open source startup. We also get into how community-led growth can benefit a company, the biggest mistakes startups make around community building, and the origins and operations of Jonathan’s company, Crowd.dev.Highlights:Jonathan introduces himself, and his definition of community-led growth (0:45)The motivation behind community-led growth strategies (3:04)Gauging the health of a community (8:14)The origins of Crowd.dev and how it works to make community building easier (12:47)Common pain points in community building and how to keep cultivating a healthy one (16:17)Jonathan’s path to starting his own company (18:08)Links:JonathanLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathimer/Twitter: https://twitter.com/jonathimerCompany: https://www.crowd.dev/

Brian MacDonald, Manager of Technical Editing at DigitalOcean joins me to discuss the importance of writing efficient documentation for any product.In this episode, Brian and I chat about his talk at All Things Open entitled Verbs Not Nouns and covering the importance of writing documentation that instructs your users on how to use your product to solve the problem it intends to solve for them. We also cover common mistakes in writing documentation and tips for ensuring yours is effective. Listen to hear Brian's advice and resources to improve your documentation. Highlights:Brian introduces himself and his role at DigitalOcean (0:47)Why does documentation matter? (3:29)The most common mistake people make with documentation (7:07)Why are docs frequently neglected? (11:37)Who should write the docs? (15:47)How to ensure your docs are efficient (20:21)When should you start writing your documentation? (24:32)Links:BrianLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/macdonaldeditorial/Twitter: https://twitter.com/bmac_editorCompany: https://www.digitalocean.com/Resources: Verbs Not Nouns Slides: https://archive.org/details/verbs-not-nouns-ato-2022Write The Docs Community: https://www.writethedocs.org/

Joseph Jacks joins me to share his enthusiasm for Open Source and what he calls Commercial Open Source Companies, how the idea of Open Source is changing with new technologies, and what that means for the definition of Open Source.In this episode, Joseph gets specific about the definition of Open Source and new technologies building on the original concept while sharing his excitement about the developments in and around the Open Source community. We also discuss the pros and cons of building an Open Source company and his philosophy on investing in Open Source Startups.Highlights:Joseph introduces himself and discusses his background and how he started OSS Capital (0:48)How open source is beneficial and critical to any business (6:12)The origins and definition of open source and how to differentiate new technologies that expand on the concept (7:58)What most people think of when they say "Open Source Company" and Joseph's suggestion for a more accurate name (11:31)Why Commercial Open Source Companies are awesome (13:21)The challenges of building a Commercial Open Source Company (17:21)The importance of differentiating between your users and your customers (19:57)Freemium vs. Open Source (22:04)Links:Joseph LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/josephjacks/Twitter: https://twitter.com/JosephJacks_Company: https://oss.capital/

Jon Gottfried, Co-founder of Major League Hacking, joins me to chat about community building, open source as a career accelerator, and how Major League Hacking began.In this episode, Jon and I discuss the role of open source in Major League Hacking and the lessons maintainers can learn from new developers and vice versa. Jon also shares his thoughts on community, sharing responsibilities, and tips for ensuring the future of open source. Listen to hear his perspective and learn how Major League Hacking came to be. Highlights:Jon introduces himself and Major League Hacking (0:42)How Open Source fits into the work MLH does with developers entering the industry (1:44)How to be a successful open source contributor (3:20)Lessons maintainers can learn from the new developer experience (6:07)Jon shares his thoughts on community building (13:06)Jon shares his views on meeting in person vs. virtually (15:40)Sharing responsibilities in a business vs. an open source project (18:03)How contributing to an open source project can accelerate a career trajectory (21:48)How Major League Hacking began (24:01)Links:JonLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonmarkgo/Twitter: https://twitter.com/jonmarkgoCompany: https://mlh.io/

Brian Douglas, CEO of OpenSauced, joins me to discuss insights - how they’ve been provided in the past, how OpenSauced is different, and how he hopes to contribute to the future of open source. In this episode, Brian and I explore the origins and future of OpenSauced, including his hopes for how providing different insights can help contributors find worthy projects and maintainers find worthy contributors to hire. We also discuss the importance of community and telling fairer and fuller stories of open source projects. Listen to hear Brian’s unique perspective on the business of open source.Highlights:Brian introduces himself and OpenSauced (0:45)Brian describes his ideal OpenSauced users (4:42)How OpenSauced began and why Brian chose and stuck with the pizza theme (8:29)Why OpenSauced focuses on the contributor first (15:01)Using data to tell the full story of an open source project (18:44)Brian describes his target company size and use case (20:42)The value of the open source community (22:38)What companies get wrong when working with open source (24:42)Links:BrianLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianldouglasTwitter: https://twitter.com/bdougieYOCompany: https://opensauced.pizza/The Secret Sauce PodcastAudio: https://thesecretsauce.transistor.fm/YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLHyZ0Wz_A44VR4BXl_JOWSecQeWcZ-kS3

Matt Butcher, CEO of Fermyon, joins me to discuss the ethics of open source and how to keep your company's health in mind when growing your business.In this episode, Matt and I dig into the ethics of open source and how his background in philosophy influences the decisions he makes as a CEO. We also cover how you can intentionally create and maintain your company values and culture. Finally, Matt reveals his top mistakes as a CEO and how he's overcome them to improve his business. Highlights:Matt introduces himself and his background in open source and philosophy (0:47)How Matt's background in philosophy changed his perspective on the ethics of open source (3:14)How that background influences how they began and continue to run Fermyon (8:58)How to establish values for a new company and stick to them (15:16)Why Matt started Fermyon when he did and with the focus on web assembly (21:59)Matt reviews the top mistakes he made as a founder and how addressing them has helped him improve the company culture (26:44)Links:MattLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattbutcher/Twitter: https://twitter.com/technosophosCompany: https://www.fermyon.com/Fermyon Discord: https://discord.com/invite/AAFNfS7NGf

Henrik Rosendahl, CEO of Spiio, joins me to chat about his experience as an entrepreneur and what he’s learned about building successful companies. In this episode, Henrik and I cover the many aspects of building startups. From the top mistakes new founders make to the best way to monetize your open source business. Listen to learn Henrik’s thoughts on entrepreneurship, including monetization, the three things you need to build a successful startup, and whether or not founding a startup should always feel like a struggle. Highlights:Henrik introduces himself and gives a brief overview of his experience as an entrepreneur. (0:43)The top mistakes entrepreneurs make building their first startup. (2:25)Monetization and valuable feedback from customers (9:05)How the relationship between the user and the buyer impacts startups. (14:27)Focusing on enterprise vs. a mid-market segment. (16:57)What’s next for Henrik (19:34)Links:HenrikLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hrosendahlTwitter: https://twitter.com/hrosendahlCompany: https://www.spiio.com/

Today I’m talking with Fabian Pinckaers, CEO and Founder of Odoo, a suite of business apps to manage all of a business’s activities, about his passion for open source and knowing how and when to pivot as a start-up.In this episode, Fabien and I discuss the highs and lows of running a start-up as he details his history with Odoo. From its inception as a service offering for auction houses to its current state as an open core software vendor with a cloud offering, Odoo has challenged its founder to continue innovating the product and pivoting the business model to find success. Listen in to discover the lessons Fabien has learned in his journey as a founder and CEO.Highlights:Fabien introduces himself and explains how his passion for open source led him to start Odoo (0:49)Why Fabien agrees with other founders that open source is a development model, not a business model (5:09)How to keep going forward when your business is struggling. (9:53)Why Fabien believes that “product is everything,” and how that philosophy relates to his passion for open source (10:51)“Open source is about the masses” (14:06)Odoo’s three pivots (19:47)How pivoting to open core has allowed Odoo to contribute even more (24:17)Links:FabienLinkedIn: https://be.linkedin.com/in/fpodooTwitter: https://twitter.com/fpodooCompany: https://www.odoo.com/

Today I’m chatting with Nicklas Gellner, co-founder  of Medusa, “the open source Shopify alternative” about why he started the company, why open source, and his vision for the future.In this episode, Nicklas details the original inspiration for Medusa as well as why they chose the name. We also review the switch from an agency to a product focused company.  When I mention the buzz around a relatively young company like Medusa, Nicklas emphasizes Medusa’s developer-first approach and explains how that encourages community development.Highlights:Nicklas introduces himself and Medusa (0:46)Nicklas explains the original inspiration for Medusa’s creation (2:09)How Medusa differs from Shopify beyond being open source and its real value for developers (10:48)How and why Nicklas switched from and agency to a product focused company with Medusa (14:46)The buzz around Medusa (20:44)How Medusa’s developer-first approach encourages community development (22:53)Nicklas’s vision for Medusa’s growth in the coming years. (24:09)How they decided on the name “Medusa” (26:17)Links:NicklasLinkedIn: https://dk.linkedin.com/in/ngellnerTwitter: https://twitter.com/nicklasgellner?lang=enCompany: https://medusajs.com/Medusa Community Discord: https://discord.com/invite/medusajs

Michael Chenetz, Head of Technical Marketing at Portainer.io, joins me to discuss why technical marketing is so much more effective for open source companies and also why it’s a hard role to fill. In this episode, Michael and I discuss his unique background that lead him to technical marketing in the open source space, and the importance of relating tech to people. Michael explains the differences between traditional marketing and technical marketing, as well as the impact technical marketing has on a company’s trajectory. Highlights:Michael introduces himself and his role at Portainer.io (00:52)The difference in perception and practice for technical marketing versus traditional marketing (02:39)Michael’s path to becoming a technical marketer (05:59)The open source behind Portainer and Michael’s learnings marketing an open source company (08:43)What Michael sees as the relationship between cloud native and open source (13:06)The different impacts technical marketing can have based on company size (18:44)Some of the biggest mistakes founders of open source companies make, according to Michael (21:36)Links:MichaelLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mchenetz/Twitter: https://twitter.com/mchenetzCompany: https://portainer.io

Liz Rice, Chief Open Source Officer at Isovalent, joins me to discuss the business model behind Cilium and the enjoyment she has found working in open source. In this episode, Liz and I discuss why Isovalent decided to donate Cilium to CNCF, and the additional decisions behind developing for Cilium open source versus Cilium for Enterprise. Tune into this episode to hear how entrepreneurship taught Liz what she didn’t enjoy doing so she could focus on work she enjoys, and what she finds most rewarding about working in open source.Highlights:Liz introduces herself and describes her role as Chief Open Source Officer at Isovalent (00:55)Why Isovalent decided to donate Cilium to CNCF (02:11)What Liz sees as the relationship between cloud native and open source (07:43)Liz’s past experiences as an entrepreneur and how it led her to to where she is now (10:05)How Isovalent has evolved and grown into a company with enterprise product offerings (17:17)How decisions are made differently when developing the open-source version of Cilium versus the enterprise version (22:12)The gratification and value Liz has found working in open source (25:58)Links:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lizriceTwitter: https://twitter.com/lizriceGithub: https://github.com/lizriceCompany: https://isovalent.com/Cilium: www.cilium.ioeBPF: www.eBPF.io 

Andrew Aitken, Global Open Source Leader at Wipro, joins me to discuss the benefits and challenges that come with adopting open source as a large-scale enterprise organization. In this episode, Andrew and I discuss the three stages of open source maturity from curiosity to full-scale adoption and mastery. Tune into this episode to learn more about the trigger events that cause large-scale enterprises to explore open source, as well as the barriers and legal challenges they must overcome to effectively adopt it, and most importantly - why Andrew feels it’s so important that every large-scale enterprise goes through this process. Highlights:Andrew introduces Wipro and explains what it means to be a Global Open Source Leader (00:52)The challenges Andrew helps his clients solve in the world of open source (03:16)How Andrew sees high-security companies like banks view and approach open source (04:28)Do Andrew’s clients view open source software as being more, less, or just as secure as closed source software? (07:41)The three different open-source maturity stages Andrew sees at large companies (10:47)Why Andrew feels most large enterprises would benefit from reaching full maturation in their open-source strategy (14:52)The biggest barriers Andrew sees companies run into when considering moving towards open-source maturity (17:53)Is being enterprise-ready truly a requirement for an open-source start-up? (20:52)The legalities of adopting open source as a large-scale enterprise (25:24)Links:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/opensourcestrategy/Email: [email protected]: https://www.wipro.com/

Randy Abernethy, Managing Director at RX-M, joins me for a chat about the relationship between open source and cloud native. In this episode, Randy and I discuss how the clients he works with at RX-M are looking to cloud-native as part of their forward-thinking strategies. Tune into this episode to learn how Randy sees the C-Suite viewing open source, how he sees clients evaluate risk in open-source projects, and his views on the relationship between open source and cloud native. Highlights:Randy introduces himself and his company, RX-M (00:46)Why do companies come to RX-M for help when evaluating and implementing cloud native? (03:44)How do RX-M clients approach open source? (9:35)What are the C-Suite’s views open source (16:19)How Randy’s clients evaluate risk in open-source projects (23:34)The role CNCF plays in how companies evaluate and implement cloud-native solutions (30:31)Randy’s view on the relationship between open source and cloud native (32:39)Links:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/randyabernethy/Twitter: @randyabernethyCompany: www.rx-m.com

Ian Tien, CEO and Co-Founder of Mattermost, joins me to talk about how Mattermost went from being a video game company to an open-source messaging platform that provides collaboration for developers and other mission-critical teams. In this episode, Ian and I discuss the reality of product-led growth in open-source companies, Ian’s perspective on open source moving towards platform-based solutions, and the advice he would give to other open-source founders.  Highlights:Ian introduces himself and the Mattermost open-source project (00:45)The use cases Ian sees for Mattermost (05:17)Ian takes us through the origin story of Mattermost and how it went from being a video game company to an open-source messaging solution (08:59)The role open source played in the success of Mattermost (15:07)Ian’s perspective on open source moving towards platform based solutions (20:22)Does Ian think the product-led growth model of “If you build it, they will come” is realistic, and how can that mentality lead to success? (27:34)The advice Ian would give other open-source founders (28:33)Links:IanTwitter: https://www.linkedin.com/in/iantien/Company: https://www.mattermost.com

Amanda Brock, CEO of Open UK, joins me for an engaging conversation on best practices in founding an open-source company. In this episode, Amanda and I chat about the various business models available for building a company around open-source technology, the common pitfalls and crossroads open-source founders find themselves facing, and how to do open-source in a way that leads to long-term success and profitability. Highlights:What is Open UK? (00:40)The various business models for building a company around open-source technology (04:09)Which business models Amanda feels work best and why (08:07)The importance of founders prioritizing open-source communities (14:07)How and why to do open-source the right way (17:04)What is the true cost of founding an open-source company compared to traditional business models? (26:44)Who are you building for, and how do you get to profitability? (30:35)Links:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amandabrocktech/Twitter: www.twitter.com/amandabrocktechOpen UK www.twitter.com/openuk_ukCompany: www.openuk.uk

Wes McKinney, CTO & Co-Founder of Voltron Data, joins me for an in-depth conversation on how his quest to develop Python as an open-source programming language led him to creating the pandas project and founding four companies. In this episode, Wes and I dive into his unique background as the founder of the pandas project and he describes his perspective on the early days of Python, his journey into the world of open-source start-ups, and the risks and benefits of paying developers to work on open-source projects. Highlights:Wes introduces himself and describes his role (00:46)Wes’ role in elevating Python to a mainstream programming language (02:15)How working with Python led Wes to co-founding his first two companies (09:01)Apache Arrow’s critical role at Voltron Data and their focus on accelerating Arrow adoption (12:52)How did the team at Voltron Data decide on an open-source business model? (18:54)Wes speaks to the risk that can come from having developers work on an open-source project (22:31)Wes’ perspective on the real-world applications and benefits of paying developers to work on open-source projects (27:44)Links:WesLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wesmckinn/Twitter: https://twitter.com/wesmckinnCompany: https://voltrondata.com/

Braden Hancock, Co-founder and Head of Technology at Snorkel AI, joins me to talk about his path from academia to start-up co-founder and his vision to make AI more accessible to both traditional and no-code development. In this episode, Braden and I explore the journey he and his co-founders took to go from having an interesting idea to forming a company and the strategic business decisions they made along the way, such as why they opted not to use an open-source business model and the educational marketing strategy they’ve adopted. Highlights:Braden discusses his role as co-founder of Snorkel AI. (00:25)An introduction to Snorkel Flow, Snorkel AI’s data-centric AI development program and the challenges they solve for. (01:49)Snorkel AI’s relationship with open source. (06:30)Why Snorkel AI decided not to use an open-source business model in order to lower the barrier to entry. (09:01)Snorkel AI’s trajectory coming from academia to the world of start-ups. (12:50)The unexpected challenges of building Snorkel AI. (17:50)Taking an educational approach to the marketing at Snorkel AI. (22:27)Braden discusses the meaningful applications of AI as well as where he sees AI being used as more of a buzzword. (27:27)Links:BradenLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bradenhancock/Twitter: https://twitter.com/bradenjhancockCompany: snorkel.ai  Snorkel AI Twitter: https://twitter.com/SnorkelAI

Anna Filippova, Director of Community & Data at DBT Labs, joins me to chat about the fundamental role community plays in the world of open source and her role helping to create a thriving community. In this episode, Anna and I dive into the concept of a community: why it’s essential for open-source development, how to create business value through community, and how to track community health above and beyond user count. Highlights:Why community is mission critical at DBT Labs (02:07)The fundamental role open source played in creating DBT Labs as its known today (05:57)The approach DBT Labs uses to create business value through community (08:13)Anna’s framework for the three buckets of communities (09:42)Why measuring and tracking community health is a more valuable metric than just user count (11:34)What do people get out of communities, and why are they so valuable?  (19:06)Common misconceptions around building communities as a business strategy (24:19)Links:Anna LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annafilippova/Twitter: https://twitter.com/anna_filDBT Labs: getdbt.com/communityCoalesce Conference: https://coalesce.getdbt.com/

Highlights:Open source software at the department of defense (1:36)Is there risk associated with using open source software in the department of defense? (5:30)Does the public sector contribute to and participate in open source communities? (9:13)Rob’s background and work experience (14:25)What led Rob to found Defense Unicorns (16:35)Rob’s focus on a specific niche in the founding of his company (17:33)How working with a fixed budget affects an open source company (19:33)Links:RobLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robertcslaughter/Company: https://www.defenseunicorns.com/

Ricardo Mendoza, founder and CEO of Pantacor, joins me for a chat at the Open Source Summit in Austin. Ricardo shares why he started Pantacor and describes the differences between IoT, edge, connected, and embedded devices. I ask him how Pantacor fits into the edge continuum, and he explains how Pantacor helps bring embedded devices into the future. Ricardo talks about the open source arm of Pantacor’s strategy, we discuss Pantacor’s unique interest in hardware versus primarily dealing with software, and Ricardo wraps up by sharing his advice for aspiring business owners! Highlights:Why Ricardo started Pantacor (1:19)Difference between IOT edge devices, connected devices, and embedded devices (2:17)How Pantacor fits into the edge continuum (4:49)Why are embedded systems lagging behind and how does that manifest? (6:22)How open source is part of Pantacor’s strategy (9:40)How aware are manufacturers of their operating systems and how Pantacor could help them? (13:35)Pantacor’s relationship with hardware  (16:45)What was the inspiration for the founding of Pantacor? (20:11)The difference between cloud developers and their relationship with open source versus the relationship between embedded devices and open source (22:46)Is there a disadvantage to being based in Europe? (24:51)Advice for someone who wants to start a company or work with embedded devices (26:28)Links:Pantacorhttps://pantacor.com/https://pantavisor.io/Twitter: @pantahub

Live from the Open Source Summit in Austin, I sit down with Jeff Shapiro, the License Scanning Manager for the Linux Foundation. Jeff begins by explaining what he does at the Linux Foundation, including ensuring that open source licenses are compatible and compliant. We discuss what license issues start-ups should be aware of, how to educate yourself on open source licensing, and when you should consult an expert. Jeff clarifies some confusion around dual licenses and explains the challenges of changing licenses on an open source project. Finally, we discuss the possibilities of disallowing specific uses through licensing and who can write a license. Highlights:Jeff talks about the legal and business risks of non-compliant open source licenses (3:09)License issues start-ups should be aware of (7:16)DCO (Developer certificate of origin) and understanding where code comes from (12:10)Educating yourself and others about open source licenses (13:04)Jeff talks about when you need to consult an expert (15:36)Jeff explains how he got into licensing as an engineer (17:23)Jeff discusses dual licenses (18:18)How hard is it to change licenses on an open source project (20:23)Jeff explains if it’s possible to disallow specific uses with your license (23:39)Links:JeffLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffcshapiro/Company: https://www.linuxfoundation.org/

Today I sit down with Webb Brown, CEO and cofounder of Kubecost. Kubecost provides real-time cost visibility and insights for teams using Kubernetes. Webb tells the story of building Kubecost, starting with the pain points that inspired the open source tool. He talks about the transition from an open source project to becoming a commercial company, and explains the decision to build a company with the same name and branding as the open source tool. Webb talks about Kubecost’s newest initiative, OpenCost, and concludes by offering some lessons and advice for anyone in the early days of an open source startup. Highlights:Webb explains what Kubernetes cost is (1:27)How the pain points addressed by Kubecost usually manifest (3:04)What the impetus was for building the Kubecost open source tool (5:30)The transition from open source to commercial (6:54)The relationship between a cost-cutting tool and open source (10:48)Kubecost’s new initiative, OpenCost (13:40)The decision to have a company with the same name as the open source project (18:55)Pros and cons that are unique to building an open source company (22:08)Advice for anyone in the early stages of an open source startup (25:22)Links:WebbEmail: [email protected] LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/webbbrown/Twitter: https://twitter.com/webb_brownCompany: https://www.kubecost.com/

Today I sit down with Ev Kontsevoy, the CEO and co-founder of Teleport, a software company that began as an open source project. Teleport is an identity aware multi protocol access proxy that Ev was inspired to create because of the inherent frustrations with security he experienced in his career. Ev talks about how Teleport began as an open source tool and then grew into enterprise. I ask Ev what things he has done differently from his first start-up, Gravity, and we discuss how the open source community culture has bled into the company culture at Teleport. We end by talking about the SaaS version of Teleport and the ways in which the open source version funnels business into the commercial version. Highlights:Security frustrations that led to the founding of Teleport (1:17)Ev talks about Teleport’s vision and how it began as an open source project (6:33)Ev talks about Teleport’s first customer and a separate open source project, Gravity (12:09)How Ev’s experience with a prior start-up changed his approach to Teleport (18:24)Ev discusses the culture and community at Teleport (21:16)How Teleport chooses which features to keep open source and which ones to offer as commercial (24:38)The SaaS version of Teleport (26:55)The different audiences for the different iterations of Teleport (28:08)Links:Ev KontsevoyLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kontsevoy/Twitter: https://twitter.com/kontsevoyCompany: goteleport.com

Today I’m joined by Cillian Kieran, the CEO and co-founder of Ethyca, to talk about the privacy challenges that served as the impetus to found Ethyca. In our chat, he explains the overarching goals of the privacy engineering platform. We discuss the decision to begin Ethyca as an open source tool and why that was critical to the mission. Then we talk about the decision to move to a commercial product and how to decide which features to offer as paid versus free. Cillian reviews the differences in his process between his two start-ups, discusses lessons he learned from prior mistakes, and provides advice for aspiring founders of open source start-ups. Highlights:How Cillian decided to found Ethyca (00:50)Awareness of developers and engineers around privacy issues (3:46)Cillian talks about why he went the open source route (8:15)Moving from open source to commercial product (14:02)Privacy as a human right and how that influences development of features (16:32)How Ethyca manages relationships between engineer and legal teams (19:40)What Cillian did differently at his two start-ups (21:58)We discuss open source start-up success and whether it’s necessary to have a larger world-changing vision (24:52)Cillian discusses mistakes he has learned from (27:56)Cillian offers advice to aspiring founders in the open source community (30:49)Links:Fides open source platform: fid.esCillianTwitter: @CillianCompany: https://ethyca.com/

Today I’m joined by CEO and founder of LeanIX, André Christ. André begins by describing his business, and then explains how his experiences working in large enterprise inspired him to build a product that would help businesses catalogue their software and optimize their portfolios. André offers advice for companies desiring to sell primarily to enterprise and expounds on the his experience with the differences between traditional enterprise and large enterprise. We discuss LeanIX’s transition to become a global company based in Europe, and conclude our talk with some advice from André to potential founders. Highlights:André describes his his company LeanIX (00:48)The experiences that led André to found LeanIX (2:50)LeanIX’s decision to focus on enterprise customers (7:45)Advice for companies that want to focus on selling to enterprise (9:47)The difference between traditional enterprise and very large enterprise like Amazon (15:19)Transitioning to becoming a global company based in Europe (19:49)The surprisingly fragmented world of global tech (24:50)LeanIX’s decision to expand into other products (26:30)André’s advice for anyone considering starting a company (27:57)André shares about scaling mistakes and how LeanIX has learned from them (31:48)Links:AndréLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrechrist/Twitter: https://twitter.com/christ_andreCompany: https://www.leanix.net/

Today I chat with Keith Basil, GM of Edge Computing at SUSE. We begin by reviewing the definition of edge: Keith explains how SUSE breaks edge computing down into 3 categories, and then talks about the shared understanding of edge by the industry at large. I ask Keith about the overlap of edge products with non-edge products, and then we discuss the maturity of the edge landscape and Keith explains how SUSE helps clients with infrastructure. We wrap up by talking about managing feature bloat and SUSE’s decision to have their entire code base be open sourced. Highlights:Keith breaks down the 3 categories of “edge” as defined at SUSE (1:14)We discuss the industry understanding of edge technology (5:34)Keith defines “edge watching” (8:44)We discuss the relationship between cloud native and edge native (10:22)The overlap of edge products and non-edge products (14:25)The maturity of the edge landscape and how SUSE help clients with infrastructure (17:04)How SUSE manages feature bloat (23:37)SUSE’s decision to have their entire code base be open sourced (26:15)Links:KeithTwitter: @noslzzpCompany: https://www.suse.com/

Today I talk with Shaun O’Meara, the global field CTO at Mirantis. We begin by discussing the integration of Docker Enterprises with Mirantis approximately three years ago. We discuss the challenges of integrating companies, including incorporating new technology, processes, and customers and merging two very different work cultures. Shaun offers his advice for anyone considering selling to enterprises and emphasizes the role of partnering with customers and becoming part of their process. Shaun talks about the expectations and realities of merging Docker and Mirantis, including the challenges of a licensing model change. We conclude our time by discussing the differences between selling to small companies versus selling to enterprises. Highlights:How integrating Docker Enterprises with Mirantis affected Shaun’s role as CTO (1:09)How incorporating Docker technology helped Mirantis build different value for customers (3:39)We talk about the effects of combining the work cultures of Docker and Mirantis (5:40)Shaun offers advice for people considering start ups or selling to enterprise, including the importance of partnering with customers (8:47)Shaun talks about his expectations of merging Docker and Mirantis versus reality (12:56)We talk about the licensing model change through the transition (14:34)Shaun talks about outsourcing versus what Mirantis does in augmenting and supporting teams (17:55)We discuss the differences between selling to small companies and enterprise (20:06)Links:ShaunLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shaun-omeara/Company: https://www.mirantis.com/

Today I sit down and chat with John McBride, senior software engineer at VMware. We begin by talking about John’s address at KubeCon, “Risks of Single Maintainer Dependencies and How to Mitigate Those Risks.” We discuss the definition of security and then John identifies some of the other non-security risks posed by single maintainer dependency. We talk a little bit about mitigating the risks and about building trust and community around single maintainer projects. We conclude our time by speculating on the extinction of single maintainer dependencies. Highlights:John introduces himself and talks about his interest in mitigating the risks of single maintainer dependencies (00:55)We have a conversation about the definition of security (4:54)John talks about the other, non-security risks of single maintainer dependency (10:00)We discuss how to mitigate the risks of single maintainer dependency (12:04)John talks about building trust and building community around single maintainer projects (16:48)John answers my question “Do you think being a single maintainer is ultimately an anti-pattern, a non best practice?” (23:56)Links:JohnTwitter: @johncodezzzCompany: https://www.vmware.com

Today I talk with Catherine Paganini, Head of Marketing and Community at Buoyant. We begin by discussing the Cloud Native Glossary and how it is helping to make cloud native concepts more accessible for people around the world. Catherine talks about nurturing community in open source projects, and about the function of documentation. Catherine and I discuss pitfalls in building open source communities, and Catherine talks about her strategy for recovering from mistakes. Catherine concludes the conversation by talking about balancing her roles as head of marketing and community at Buoyant.Highlights:Catherine talks about how the Cloud Native Glossary started, how it has grown, and how it helps to make education about the cloud accessible and easy to understand  (1:00)Catherine discusses about how the Cloud Native Glossary is being used (5:47)Catherine and I talk about nurturing community in an open source project (8:22)Catherine discusses empowering end users through efforts like the Linkerd Anchor Program (11:28)Catherine talks about the function of documentation (14:05)I ask Catherine, “What do you see people getting wrong when it comes to nurturing community?” (15:29)Catherine talks about recovering from mistakes (18:49)Catherine discusses walking the line between being head of marketing and head of community (23:47)Links:Cloud Native Glossary: https://glossary.cncf.io/Linkerd: https://linkerd.io/Linkerd Anchor Program: https://linkerd.io/community/anchor/CatherineLinkedIn: Catherine PaganiniTwitter: @cathpagaCompany: https://www.buoyant.io

Today I talk with Yann Léger, CEO of Koyeb, the serverless developer platform that allows businesses to safely and easily deploy applications. We begin by talking about Yann’s decision to base the company on serverless, and the true meaning of cloud native. Yann then discusses Koyeb’s relationship with Kuma, and Koyeb’s posture towards open source projects. The conversation concludes with Yann sharing mistakes he’s learned from in the process of building Koyeb and offering advice to other potential technical founders. Highlights:Yann talks about the decision to leave his position at Scaleway and start his own company (1:44)Yann discusses choosing to base his company on serverless (3:14)Emily and Yann talk about the meaning of cloud native (6:00)Yann talks about Koyeb’s relationship with Kuma (9:40)Yann discusses Koyeb’s open source projects (11:46)Yann shares mistakes he has learned from in the process of building Koyeb (15:25)Yann answers the question “What are the disadvantages of being a technical founder?” (18:06)Emily and Yann discuss the challenges of remote working (22:00)Yann’s advice for anyone considering becoming a technical founder (23:15)Links:YannLinkedIn: Yann LégerTwitter: @yann_eu, @gokoyebCompany: https://www.koyeb.com/

Today I chatted with Dirk Hohndel, chief open source officer at the Cardano foundation. We begin by defining an open source ecosystem, and then talk about what different open source ecosystems might look like and how they are maintained. Dirk talks about best practices for steering an open source ecosystem, and then we discuss the role of foundations in open source projects. I ask “how do you define success for an open source project” and we end with a discussion on the best practices for running open source project foundations.Highlights:We talk about the meaning and maintenance of an open source ecosystem (1:31)The differences between an open source ecosystem and a community (11:06)Dirk talks about best practices for steering an open source ecosystem (13:00)The role of a foundation in an open source project (18:04)Dirk discusses other iterations of open source projects that can be successful (22:19)Dirk answers the question “how do you define success for an open source project?” (24:43)We discuss best practices for running an open source project foundation (27:49)Links:Dirk Twitter: @_dirkhCompany: cardanofoundation.org

Today I sit down with Romaric Philogène, CEO and founder of Qovery, a platform that helps developers build, deploy, run, and scale applications.  Romaric begins by talking about his first two start-ups, both social networks, and then we discuss the difference between creating consumer-facing products and products for developers. We then talk about marketing in the US as it compares to the global market. We discuss Qovary’s relationship to open source and the idea of fostering community around a company’s culture. Romaric concludes by offering advice to developers on the value of being a skilled communicator. Full Description / Show NotesHighlights:Romaric talks about his first two startups that preceded Qovery (3:26)The differences between building a consumer facing product and creating a product for developers (5:55)Romaric talks marketing in the US vs marketing in Europe  (11:50)Romaric answers the question “what are things you’re doing differently now that you’ve learned from previous efforts?” (17:00)The value of community building in marketing to developers (19:28)Qovary’s relationship with open source (20:46)Building community around your company vs just a product (25:00)The importance of communication as an engineer (28:47)Links:RomaricTwitter:@rophilogeneCompany: https://www.qovery.com/

Today I’m chatting with Avery Pennarun, CEO of Tailscale. Tailscale is a VPN service that makes devices and applications accessible anywhere in the world by enabling encrypted point-to-point connections using the open source WireGuard protocol. Avery begins by talking about his experience building a start-up while he was a college student and how things have changed as he leads his current start-up. Avery recommends the book “Crossing the Chasm” and we discuss market segmentation as it relates to creating a successful start-up. Avery explains how Tailscale has been successful in implementing market segmentation strategies. We conclude our conversation by talking about goal setting and the importance of quality.Highlights:Avery talks about his first start-up experience as a college student (1:10)Avery recommends “Crossing the Chasm” and discusses how it influenced his start-ups (7:54)We discuss market segmentation strategy (13:29)Specific marketing strategies used at Tailscale (18:41)Avery talks about mistakes he’s made while building his start-ups (22:24)Goal setting in start-ups (24:42)We talk about the importance of quality in building word of mouth success (29:49)Avery answers the question “How do you maintain an identity as an engineer when you are also a serial entrepreneur?” (33:23)Links:AveryTwitter: @apenwarr @tailscaleCompany: https://www.tailscale.com

Today I chat with Kiersten Gaffney, CMO of Codefresh, a software delivery platform. Kiersten begins by defining her role as CMO. We then discuss the unique challenges of product strategy with open source projects. Kiersten talks about the importance of maintaining both a top-down and bottom-up approach when taking a project from open source to enterprise, and then explains some of the most common mistakes she’s seen when companies undergo this process. We discuss how technical a team should be when marketing open source and conclude the conversation by talking about analysis paralysis in start-ups and how to avoid it. Highlights:Kiersten answers the question “What do CMOs do all day?” (1:49)Product strategy with open source products (2:58)How open source projects fit into marketing efforts (6:10)Kiersten’s advice on how to maintain both a top-down and bottom-up approach (11:28)Is there a magic formula for taking a project from open source to for profit? (13:02)Biggest mistakes when taking a project from open source to enterprise (15:54)Emily asks how technical a marketing team should be for an open source project (22:53)Kiersten and Emily discuss the tension between engineering and marketing (24:24)Analysis paralysis in startups (26:35)Links:KierstenLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kierstengaffney/Twitter: @kierstengaffneyCompany: https://codefresh.io/

In this short summation episode, I talked a little more about why I think Deepfence's open source strategy is so genius. 

Today I sat down with Sandeep Lahane, founder and CEO of Deepfence, a security preventive and detective solution for cloud and container native environments. Sandeep began by explaining both the open source and enterprise components of Deepfence. Threatmapper is a multi-cloud platform for scanning, mapping, and ranking vulnerabilities in running containers, images, hosts, and repositories, and Threatstryker is a commercial product that offers runtime attack analysis, threat assessment, and targeted protection for infrastructures and applications. We then talk about the inexhaustibility and the ever-changing landscape of cybersecurity. Sandeep explains the impetus for launching Deepfence and the process of getting to Threatmapper and Threatstryker, and then talks about his journey from working as a systems programmer to launching a tech startup. We discuss the tense relationship between security and development in the industry, and end the conversation with some words of advice for engineers considering the entrepreneurial plunge.Highlights:What is the difference between Threatmapper and Threatstryker at Deepfence? (00:55)Sandeep explains how the Deepfence commission product builds upon the open source one (2:14)Discussing the inexhaustibility of the cybersecurity landscape (11:40)The genesis of Deepfence (13:58)Sandeep discusses the business benefits of having an open source project (14:57)Sandeep talks about his journey from systems programmer to tech startup (17:20)Emily and Sandeep discuss the tense relationship between security and development (21:19)Sandeep gives advice to engineers considering entrepreneurship (33:57)Links:Sandeephttps://deepfence.io

Some short thoughts on marketing in the open source ecosystem, drawn from my conversation with Eric on Wednesday. 

Today I sit down with Eric Hendricks, the technical marketing director at Red Hat. Red Hat delivers open source solutions that make it easier for enterprises to work across platforms and environments. Eric begins the conversation by discussing his start as a technologist and how he decided to make the move to marketing. Eric then discusses the challenges of bringing marketing savvy into the devops space, including the unintended consequences of marketing buzzwords. I ask Eric about the relationship between marketing and open source, and Eric talks about how many of Red Hat’s community marketing efforts are driven through upstream communities. We then discuss the concept of the buyer in open source versus start ups, and how the difference is that the “big ask” in open source projects is emotional investment. Eric concludes the conversation by talking about the impact of his current role as a technical marketer as compared to the impact of a founder or IC. Highlights:Eric answers the question “At what point did you start to see yourself and did other people see you as a marketer?” (5:53)The stigma around marketing and the problem with marketing buzzwords in devops (10:22)Emily and Eric discuss the shared vocabulary problem that can arise with newer concepts in tech (14:35)Eric talks about equipping his product’s “champions” with all the resources they need to communicate need and efficacy to potential buyers (15:39)Emily asks Eric about the relationship between marketing and open source (19:50)Emily and Eric discuss the concept of “the buyer” with open source (25:14)Eric answers the question: “how are you able to have more of an impact in your current role than you would as an IC?” (29:30)Links:Personal website: www.itguyeric.comCompany website: www.redhat.comTwitter: @itguyericCompany: @rhelPodcasts: RHEL Presents, Into the Terminal

I'm trying something new this week — adding an extra episode with some key takeaways from the interview earlier in the week. In this one, I talked about the education battle many cloud native companies face, the problem of open source projects that are too good and understanding pain points for different personas. 

Today I’m joined by Omri Gazitt, founder of Aserto, an authorization company that offers cloud native authorization as a service. We discuss the differences between ID authorization and authentication and the problems associated with educating developers on the distinctions. Omri also talks about the evolution of authorization from server software all the way to cloud native authorization. He then expounds on the strategic nature of the decision to open source or not, and offers advice to developers based on his experience as both an engineer and an executive. Highlights:The beginnings of Aserto (7:50)Omri talks about what it was like to be part of a startup, Neon, in the 90s (10:49)Emily and Omri discuss what authorization was like pre-cloud native (13:32)How integration became the strategy used by Aserto to begin to solve authorization problems (17:10)The decision to open source and how organizations should be strategic when considering open source  (18:55)Omri discusses his unique perspective as both a former tech engineer and executive in forming his start-up (25:08)Omri talks about a missed opportunity in the early stages of Aserto (28:56)Links:OmriLinkedIn:TwitterCompany

I’m joined by Mark Grover, one of the founders of Stemma, a data catalogue for building decentralized data informed cultures. In essence it is a “Google Search” built for data scientists, data analyst, business leaders, and more. Stemma is striving to solve data documentation and relevance issues by keeping data cataloguing up to date and current.In this episode Mark covers his transition from the data team at Lyft to establishing Stemma. He discusses how he identified the need for a source of truth for ETA data, and how the data scientist in these teams should be the end all for this knowledge. Starting with building Amundsen, Stemma expands on the groundwork laid there to bring data to the user and open-source community’s needs.Highlights:An introduction to Mark and Stemma (00:00)The history of Stemma (00:45)How open source helped solved data cataloguing problems (4:40)The decision to found Stemma (07:40)How Stemma’s relationship with Amundsen has evolved (13:20)The unexpected challenges and unexpected eases (18:35)Navigating the co-founding experience (23:35)Mark’s vision for Stemma’s future (28:54)Mark’s tips for aspiring founders (32:54)Links:MarkLinkedInTwitterCompany

I’m joined by Matt Leray, co-founder and CTO Speedscale, an API testing product that applies “real world” stresses to “collect and replay traffic without scripting, simulate load and chaos, and measure performance.” With a history steeped in various aspects of tech, and with time spent in the startup space and cloud native space, Matt brings to the table some encompassing perspectives.Matt’s career has carried him from monitoring satallite earth stations, to fiber optics, and more recently into cloud native. Matt began in startups, then went to larger companies, then back to startups, which he offers some insight on. Matt has a lot of wisdom to share on entrepreneurship, how the startup space has changed, and how to best navigate that. Matt discusses how Speedscale works as an “traffic replay” platform for APIs and his role there both technically and as a co-founder. Check out the conversation for a list of startup how-tos!Highlights:Introduction to Matt and Speedscale (00:00)When Matt decided to become an entrepreneur (02:10)Deciding to jump into startups (06:00)What has stayed the same, and what has changed for Matt’s entrepreneurship (10:00)Being selective (14:00)Nailing down the timing and finding the right moment for Speedscale (20:26)Matt’s most controversial view about the cloud native startup space (26:25)Matt’s final thoughts (30:18)Links:MattLinkedInTwitterCompany

Kit Merker, co-founder and COO at Nobl9, a software reliability platform. Through software-defined SLO’s Nobl9 helps developers, DevOps and reliability engineers deliver more reliable features faster. Kit has had a storied career in tech, and as a result is a great source of wisdom and know how. Especially in regard to navigating the various sides of any given business. In this episode, Kit offers up some anecdotes from his long history in the software space, and how he transitioned from engieenering to the “business side” of things. He tears down some stereotypical misrepresentations of both sides, and expands on how empathy helps alleviate many of these issues. Kit discusses his partnership experiences, work in M&A, building a “coalition” in open space, and more! Tune in for our conversation for Kit’s emphatic and valuable insight.Highlights:Introduction to Kit and Nobl9 (00:00)Why Kit decided to transition to the “business side” (03:55)Kit’s reflections on partnerships (06:30)The importance of building a coalition around Kubernetes (10:00)Alleviating developer burnout (18:15)Nobl9 and how it came to be and how they work (20:15)The challenges of being a consultant first (27:00)Recognizing the margins (33:30)Links:KitLinkedInTwitterNobl9

Michael Guarino, founder of Plural, a unified platform for open-source management platform entirely hosted on Kubernetes which creates a fully functional ecosystem around deploying Airflow. Though working in Kubernetes and more, Plural can be used across a wide spectrum of open source projects. Many of which Plural is specifically targeting to make their product appealing to users.In this episode, Michael talks about how Plural works within the open-source space, and how in using it with Airflow they’ve helped to elminate much of the work needed there. Michael lays out how using Plural makes using Airflow easier on the user, versus taking a DYI approach. Michael discusses avoiding lock-in, the various open source tools they use, working through the early days in COVID,  the history of building Plural, and more!Highlights:Introduction to Michael and Plural (00:00)The open source projects that work with Plural and its advantages (01:30)How using Plural is easier than DYI and avoiding lock-in (04:06)How Plural came to be (08:26)The unexpected difficulties, and the unexpected ease (15:06)Plural and open-source (18:40)Navigating potential roadblocks to community building (23:09)Monetization (26:20)Michael’s thoughts on the future of open-source (28:11)Links:MichaelLinkedInPlural