The Business of Open Source

This week on The Business of Open Source, I spoke with Tom Hacohen, CEO and founder at Svix. We kicked off the conversation by talking about why Svix is an open core company… but Tom still initially didn’t think he’d be a good guest for the podcast. Unlike a lot of open source companies, Svix doesn’t make open source a huge part of its identity. Yes, there are business reasons for being an open source company, but the open source nature of the company isn’t plastered all over every piece of marketing material. So why does it matter? Developers prefer open source, and they’ll always choose the open source option if there is one. On the other hand, developers don’t often have buying power (and don’t even know how to buy software even if they did). But developers can influence buying decisions, and that can be important. We also talked about how there are different constraints that the open source project and the cloud version operate under. For example, ease of deployment doesn’t matter in the cloud version, because it doesn’t impact user experience at all. But the opposite is the case for the open source project, and that leads to different technical decisions. We talked about the problem getting information about people who use the open source project, because it is hard to get developers to talk. This is a puzzle that Tom says he still hasn’t cracked. Being an open source / open core company is a distraction, and it can be hard to manage externally and internally. We talked a lot about trust — how open source helps you earn trust, but you still need to earn and keep the trust. Want to talk more about the ins and outs of running open source businesses, and how open source companies win? Come to Open Source Founders Summit next May in Paris. And if you’re struggling to figure out how to monetize your open source company, you might want to work with me. 

This week on The Business of Open Source, I spoke with Quentin Sinig, who has been the first “business” hire at three open source companies; Strapi, Kestra and now Pruna.ai. We covered a lot of ground in this conversation, which was especially interesting because it spanned three open source companies so we were able to talk about patterns Quentin saw at all of them, as well as how the ecosystem is changing now. We talked about the need to find product-market fit, particularly in the AI era — Quentin says that AI companies need to find product-market fit constantly, because the ecosystem is changing so quickly. Quentin mentioned hearing from an advisor earlier in his career that you can’t focus on both usage and revenue — but that in some ways you are forced to focus on both, especially now. When I asked how you decide which of the two goals you should throw more resources behind, he couldn’t say… it’s such a case-by-case decision that there isn’t an easy formula for deciding. Lastly, I had a burning question: What actually does go-to-market mean? And what does it mean to be a “Head of Go To Market?” Quentin says that to a large extent it’s a euphemism for sales, but there’s a little more to it than just that. In his mind, Go-To-Market is a much less siloed function than sales. It’s about getting the entire company aligned, in the expectation that ultimately that will lead to sales. But it’s not just about forcing prospects down the funnel or cold calling, either. Want to talk more about the specifics of go-to-market for open source companies, with people who have been there? You should join Open Source Founders Summit, an in-person conference for leadership in open source companies. The next edition will be May 18th and 19th, 2026 in Paris. And curious about my consulting options? Check out how I help open source companies here. 

Or Weis, the CEO and co-founder of Permit.io and expert in developer tools, shares his insights on the intricate balance between open source and commercial offerings. He discusses the concept of 'open foundations,' advocating for a model distinct from traditional open core strategies. Weis also delves into the significance of OPAL, its distinctions from Permit.io, and the importance of clarity regarding what features belong in open source versus commercial products. Plus, he offers strategic advice on navigating the evolving landscape influenced by AI.

This week on The Business of Open Source, I spoke with Rob Taylor, CTO/CSO and founder of ChipFlow. Although ChipFlow is unambiguously a software company, it creates software that facilitate the creation of semiconductors, so it straddles the software and hardware worlds.Some of the things we talked about include: The state of open source in the semiconductor space, and why that matters. A large part of it is the high cost of proprietary software for chip design, and the fact that there are a lot of barriers to entry, both for the design software and to chip creation. Rob also talked about how an open source approach is the only way to bridge between research institutions and universities and the commercial world — too often, researchers would do brilliant work during a Ph.D. program and then it would be completely lost when they entered the commercial world. On the other hand, open source is little-known and mistrusted in the semiconductor space. Rob described it as a marketing liability, which is why it’s downplayed on the company webpage. —> I come across this more often than is often recognized inside the open source bubble. It’s one thing to build an open source company in the software infrastructure space, where open source has a positive reputation and is often seen as simply table stakes; it’s quite another to build an open source company in a conservative industry where open source doesn’t have a positive image. Perhaps the most interesting thing is that this means you have to have a reason other than marketing to build and maintain the open source project. Want to join others to talk about the challenges and opportunities in building open source companies? Join us at Open Source Founders Summit next spring in Paris. 

Taco Potze, Co-founder and CEO of Open Social, shares insights on moving from a service-based to a product-driven company while navigating the complexities of large clients. He highlights the double-edged sword of securing major customers, which can offer revenue but risk losing product direction. Taco discusses the importance of merging codebases for better customer experience and the relevance of community in open source. He also reflects on balancing his entrepreneurial journey with parenthood, emphasizing work-life harmony.

This week on The Business of Open Source, I spoke with Pablo Ruiz-Muzquiz, CEO and co-founder of Penpot. We started out by talking about the transition from services company to product company, how they decided to pivot to building a product company and when they made the decision to go all-in on the product. Perhaps the most interesting part of the conversation is the discussion of the business model. It’s almost like open core in reverse. Penpot open source is fully featured and very flexible; but there’s a separate product available for business stakeholders to control how Penpot is used in their organizations. So when you need gouvernance and control, you should pay for the additional product to control Penpot usage in your organization. But if you don’t need to limit how Penpot is used at all, you (and everyone else in your organization) can use the open source version without the additional controls. We also talked about dual audiences. Penpot has to appeal to designers and developers, and building something (and ultimately marketing/selling it) that has to appeal to two very different stakeholders. We talked about how the company manages that balance, and why they want to have more developers using Penpot than designers. We talked a bit about Open Source Founders Summit as well. If you’re interested in learning from other founders and leaders in open source companies, join us at Open Source Founders Summit in Paris! 

Alya Abbott, COO of Zulip and a leader in open source community management, shares insights on nurturing community contributors. She discusses the importance of treating the contribution process as a product to enhance the contributor experience. Strategies like user experience testing and clear documentation are highlighted to foster involvement. Alya also emphasizes how effectively managed contributions can boost development speed and enhance project success, making open source collaboration more rewarding for all.

Nick Veenhof, Director of Contributor Success at GitLab, dives into the innovative dual flywheel strategy that enhances growth for both open source users and paying customers. He emphasizes the importance of incentivizing contributions and the co-creation strategy, where customers actively improve the product. Veenhof addresses the challenge of balancing user involvement while ensuring fair treatment for all contributors. Additionally, he discusses streamlining onboarding processes and promoting recognition through a leaderboard, making contribution accessible and rewarding.

In this engaging discussion, David Aronchick, CEO of Expanso and a key player in the Kubernetes project, shares insights on building successful tech ventures. He emphasizes the role of luck and timing, noting that Kubernetes thrived not just due to tech excellence but right ecosystem conditions. David advocates for focusing on solving universal problems rather than specific technologies. He also reflects on the challenges of go-to-market strategies and the need for early investment in community engagement to foster open-source success.

This week on The Business of Open Source, I spoke with Thomas Schedler, co-founder and CEO of Sulu. Sulu is a small, bootstrapped company that spun out of an agency; Thomas was recommended by someone to me as a guest, but when I first reached out to him he was skeptical about coming on the show because he wasn’t sure he was a good fit. But there’s a bunch to learn from this episode! Spinning out from an agency —> in my experience, one of the most common ways for open source companies to be bootstrapped, or even to be go on to raise venture capital, is to start out as a web development agency that uses a lot of open source tools.They are working on moving away from services and getting more revenue from the product; and Thomas talked about the advantages that they get from providing both services and developing a product-based business strategy.The CMS market is crowded! And everyone is open source, so being an open source company doesn’t differentiate the product at all. So how does Sulu differentiate itself in the market? Thomas talked about it. I loved that Thomas talked about how important opinions and technology choices are in differentiating themselves on the market. I also loved that Thomas talked about keeping some things out of the product as a way to differentiate themselves from others. Sometimes more features can deliver less value to users. How being small can allow you to move quicker, and that gives Sulu and advantage over the huge players in the CMS market.Why differentiation and knowing your niche is so important when you’re a small company competing again large players. Do you need to differentiate yourself in a crowded market? You might want to work with me.