Changelog Master Feed From open source to acquired (Changelog Interviews #625)
Jan 23, 2025
Ashley Jeffs, an expert in data streaming and the brains behind Benthos—an open-source stream processor acquired by Redpanda—shares his fascinating journey. He discusses overcoming growth challenges, the pros and cons of bootstrapping versus seeking venture capital, and the emotional dynamics of having your work acquired. The conversation touches on navigating licensing changes, the interplay between open-source ideals and business realities, and the importance of community support in sustaining such projects. Jeffs provides insight into balancing personal aspirations with professional responsibilities.
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Early Data Streaming Challenges
- Ash Jeffs's initial work involved enriching and processing social media firehose data.
- Early challenges included inconsistent delivery guarantees and evolving microservice architectures.
Benthos's Origin
- Jeffs created Benthos to address data plumbing challenges, inspired by a service with a disk buffer.
- The goal was to simplify data transfer while maintaining resilience and observability.
Internal Adoption of Benthos
- Benthos gained internal adoption at Meltwater as a solution for integrating teams and data pipelines.
- Jeffs evangelized the project by highlighting its ease of use, resilience, and observability features.