Episode 116: Álvaro Trigo of fullPage.js, on making a living using OSS

Apr 8, 2022

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Guest

Álvaro Trigo

Panelists

Richard Littauer | Amanda Casari | Ben Nickolls

Show Notes

Hello and welcome to Sustain! The podcast where we talk about sustaining open source for the long haul. Our guest today is Álvaro Trigo, who is an open source developer and maintainer of fullPage.js, which is an open source package that helps you figure out how to make a full-page website. He’s made this into a business. Álvaro shares his story of working as a full-stack developer, how fullPage.js came to fruition for him, things he’s learned since starting his business, and some difficult things he’s encountered in his job. We also learn more about some other cool projects Álvaro has created such as fullSnap.io and fullstats.io, how he uses different platforms to enable his business, and why he encourages people to create open source projects. Go ahead and download this episode now, and if you enjoyed this podcast, please let us know!

[00:02:07] Álvaro tells us how it all started with his career, working at fullPage.js., and what the usage stats look like on this project.

[00:04:15] We learn how Álvaro started getting paid for fullPage.js.

[00:06:27] Álvaro talks about some things he wishes he would have known before starting his self-owned business.

[00:07:30] Find out what the reaction has been within the community on the open source side, and if there’s been an uplift in contributions and activity within this project in addition to the work Álvaro’s been doing in the extensions.

[00:08:26] Amanda wonders if Álvaro has any goals or models for community contributions or onboarding additional maintainers.

[00:09:42] Richard wonders if Álvaro has ever seen anyone take an add-on and implement it in open source and then give it away for free.

[00:15:09] Álvaro shares what’s difficult for him right now with his job.

[00:17:14] Why is it easier to monetize other kinds of projects?

[00:19:43] We hear about two other projects Álvaro has created: fullSnap.io and fullstats.io.

[00:21:00] When Álvaro thinks about a new project he shares how monetizing is easier.

[00:22:44] Amanda explains the new General Public License version 3.

[00:23:58] We hear Álvaro’s views on supporting the software that he’s building on.

[00:26:00] Gulp.js is one of the main dependencies that Álvaro uses at fullPage.js, and we find out if he would be more interested in paying all the way down the stack or giving money or time towards Gulp.

[00:32:41] Álvaro sharing some final thoughts and where you can follow him online.

Quotes

[00:12:21] “At the end of the day, if I am able to monetize it and [competitors] are not, I’m able to spend more time on it.”

[00:21:36] “The fact that you can monetize something makes it easier for you to support and improve it.”

[00:21:57] “Providing something for free is a good way to validate a project, to see if there is enough interest or not.”

[00:29:00] “I don’t think providing a contribution is the same as maintaining the project as a whole.”

Spotlight

[00:34:18] Amanda’s spotlight is the book, Kill It with Fire: Manage Aging Computer Systems (and Future Proof Modern Ones) by Marianne Bellotti.
[00:35:02] Ben’s spotlight is ASTAP, the Astrometric STAcking Program, which is image stacker and astrometric (plate) solver.
[00:35:38] Richard’s spotlight is Turf.js.
[00:36:12] Álvaro’s spotlight is Handsontable.com.

Credits

Produced by Richard Littauer
Edited by Paul M. Bahr at Peachtree Sound
Show notes by DeAnn Bahr Peachtree Sound

Special Guest: Alvaro Trigo.

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