The Business of Open Source

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