The Business of Open Source

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

Nikhil Nandagopal, Founder and CPO of Appsmith, joins me to chat about building trust, the importance of starting as an open source offering, and how the community continues to shape the future of Appsmith.In this episode, Nikhil and I discuss the origins of Appsmith, building a business edition as well as a community one, and the challenges he and his team encountered along the way. We compare the community and business editions, discuss the importance of community and an educational, product-led approach to marketing, and even touch on the stigma of the “low code” label with which Appsmith has chosen to align. Listen to learn Nikhil’s views and insight on open source, community, education, developer relations, and more. Highlights:Nikhil introduces himself and Appsmith (0:49)Why open source? (2:37)Lessons learned by starting with an open source approach (4:57)Appsmith community edition vs. business edition (6:33)Nikhil recounts his most significant mistakes in creating Appsmith (9:59)Nikhil shares Appsmith’s marketing strategy (12:20)The importance of nurturing your community in open source (16:01)Unexpected challenges Nikhil encountered in the early days of Appsmith (18:03)Links:NikhilLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikhil-nandagopal-05534241/Twitter: @NikilNandagopalCompany: https://www.appsmith.com/

Adi Gelvan, Co-founder and CEO of Speedb, joins me to share his experience in moving Speedb from a closed source proprietary company to open source with an enterprise offering. In this episode, Adi and I explore moving from a proprietary to an open source strategy. From pros and cons, pushback from team members, and mistakes along the way, listen to hear how Adi and his team handled those challenges and more.Highlights:Adi introduces himself and Speedb (0:47)Why speedb decided to switch to open source and the changes they made to do it (2:28)Adi reviews the pros and cons of open source for Speedb (8:34)How Adi and his team handled the pushback on the decision to move to open source (12:43)Adi’s top two mistakes in making the transition to open source (15:04)Surprises Adi encountered in switching to an open source strategy (16:38)Adi shares his advice for someone thinking about switching from closed source to open source (19:22)Links:AdiLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adi-gelvan/Company: speedb.io Open Source site: speedb.devDiscord: https://discord.com/invite/5fVUUtM2cG

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

Amanda Brock, CEO of Open UK, joins me to chat about the State of Open Con and bringing varying roles and viewpoints into the conversation around the future of open source.

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