The Business of Open Source

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

Heather Meeker, General Partner at OSS Capital, joins me to discuss the legal elements of open source, including options for licensing and business structure.In this episode, Heather and I explore the intersection of law and open source by reviewing licensing options, challenges, and common mistakes startups make early on. We also get into less common licensing and business models and what might be in store for the future of licensing in open source.Highlights:Heather introduces herself and reviews her background in open source (0:50)Legal issues startups can run into early on (2:02)Common licensing paradigms in open source (6:00)Less common licensing options (10:40)The model Heather would use if she were starting a new business (15:21)How the challenges commercial open source startups face are different from those proprietary software companies face (16:58)Heather shares her idea of the number one mistake new startups make (26:37)Heather shares her thoughts on the future of open source startups (27:28)Links:HeatherLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/heathermeeker/Twitter: @HeatherMeeker4Company: https://oss.capital/Website: HeatherMeeker.com

Sam Richard, Head of Growth at ngrok, joins me to talk about product-led growth in open source and ngrok’s history in open source.In this episode, Sam and I discuss product-led growth - how it differs from a traditional sales model, what metrics founders can use to track their development, and how to find your activation metrics. We also review what kind of companies would benefit from a product-led approach, who might not, and how companies can avoid mistakes others have made in implementing the strategy. Highlights:Sam introduces herself and shares her definition of product-led growth (0:45)Traditional metrics vs. product-led metrics (8:53)How product-led growth evolves once a company moves past the early stages (13:12)What kind of companies or founders product led growth is appropriate for (14:54)Sam and Emily explore questions about products that buyers love, but users hate (19:53)Moving from product-led growth to a sales-led model (21:15)Sam reviews ngrok’s moves from open source to closed source and back (23:57)Links:SamLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sam-crowell-richard/Twitter: https://twitter.com/SamCRichardCompany: https://ngrok.com/productbenchmarks.com

 

Georg Link, Director of Sales at Bitergia, joins me to chat about how open source startups can use metrics to keep their communities healthy, why he approaches his role as an educator first, and how a company’s culture impacts the way they sell for open source. In this episode, Georg and I discuss how he started the CHAOSS (Community Health Analysis Open Source Software) project to evaluate the health of open source communities and how to use metrics to gain that understanding. We also get some insight into Georg’s passion for open source, his views on sales, and Bitergia’s company culture.Highlights:Georg introduces himself and Bitergia (0:48)What metrics are helpful for an open source startup to track? (4:33)How Georg approaches his role as Director of Sales primarily as an educator (11:48)How Biturgia’s company culture impacts the way they sell for open source (17:41)Ideal use cases for open source metrics (24:15)Links:GeorgLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/georglink/Twitter: @georglinkEmail: georglink@bitergia.comCompany: https://bitergia.com/

Jonathan Reimer, CEO & Co-Founder at Crowd.dev, joins me to chat about community-led growth and cultivating a community around an open source startup.In this episode, Jonathan and I discuss the differences between community-led growth and product-led growth, review the meaning of community, and explore the challenges of building a community around an open source startup. We also get into how community-led growth can benefit a company, the biggest mistakes startups make around community building, and the origins and operations of Jonathan’s company, Crowd.dev.Highlights:Jonathan introduces himself, and his definition of community-led growth (0:45)The motivation behind community-led growth strategies (3:04)Gauging the health of a community (8:14)The origins of Crowd.dev and how it works to make community building easier (12:47)Common pain points in community building and how to keep cultivating a healthy one (16:17)Jonathan’s path to starting his own company (18:08)Links:JonathanLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathimer/Twitter: https://twitter.com/jonathimerCompany: https://www.crowd.dev/