Shannon Selbert and Parker Selbert, co-founders of Oban, discuss the unique dynamics of running a tech company as partners and parents. They delve into their transition from consulting to Elixir, highlighting its concurrency advantages and the personal journey behind their software development. The pair reflects on community connections in tech, the challenges of independent development, and the innovative Crab Nebula Cloud partnership, all while sharing playful anecdotes from their experiences. Their insights offer a blend of technical expertise and personal charm.
Oban offers paid packages with a live view dashboard and support services.
Focus on customer responsibility and Elixir community growth for business longevity.
Surpassed financial benchmark enables product optimization and ecosystem contribution.
Advocacy for Elixir highlights efficiency, scalability, and server optimization benefits.
Deep dives
Open Core Business Model
The company operates on an open core business model, offering paid packages around their open source product. These packages include web for live view dashboard control and access metrics, pro for advanced features, a metrics package, and support. Additionally, there's a custom enterprise plan with extra support services.
Long-Term Approach and Business Growth
The company follows a long-term approach in business, prioritizing customer responsibility and ensuring continuity in case of unforeseen events. They focus on maintaining a stable and responsively supportive environment for their customers. While considering growth strategies, they aim to cultivate the Elixir community and promote the advantages of Elixir over other technologies, fostering organic business growth.
Freedom Number and Financial Stability
The business has surpassed their freedom number, a financial benchmark representing a comfortable income level. This financial stability allows them to focus on optimizing their existing products and services, nurturing customer relationships, and contributing to the growth of the Elixir ecosystem without the pressure of financial constraints.
Advocacy for Elixir Over Other Technologies
The company advocates for Elixir as a superior choice for web development over other technologies like Next.js and Rails. They believe Elixir offers more efficiency, scalability, and server optimization, urging developers to consider Elixir for their projects to achieve better results and reduce the need for additional server resources and maintenance.
Adopting Background Jobs for Comment Editing
Implementing background jobs was crucial for enabling users to edit comments within a set time frame before notifications were sent. This feature aimed to improve user experience by allowing typo corrections without revisiting the website. The shift to using Open library facilitated future scheduled background tasks, initially starting with comment edits.
Impact of Indie Teams and Big Changes
The discussion delved into the significance of independent teams in software development, pointing out the unique value they bring to the tech landscape. Emphasizing the ripple effect of significant decisions, the concept that big changes can lead to unforeseen cascading effects was highlighted. Maintaining a slow, steady approach to growth and appreciating the lifestyle business model were core themes of the conversation.
Purpose in Work and Retirement Perspectives
Insights were shared on finding purpose in work and retirement considerations based on personal experiences and industry anecdotes. The importance of having a reason to get out of bed each day was underlined, resonating with the idea that continued engagement can lead to a fulfilling life. The dynamic nature of work and the drive to create and contribute were central to the reflections on retirement and personal fulfillment.
Today you get Sorentwo for the price of one! We are joined by Shannon & Parker Selbert, both halves of the mom-and-pop software shop behind Oban, the robust job processing library that’s been delivering our emails & processing our audio for years.
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