The Business of Open Source

Brian MacDonald, Manager of Technical Editing at DigitalOcean joins me to discuss the importance of writing efficient documentation for any product.In this episode, Brian and I chat about his talk at All Things Open entitled Verbs Not Nouns and covering the importance of writing documentation that instructs your users on how to use your product to solve the problem it intends to solve for them. We also cover common mistakes in writing documentation and tips for ensuring yours is effective. Listen to hear Brian's advice and resources to improve your documentation. Highlights:Brian introduces himself and his role at DigitalOcean (0:47)Why does documentation matter? (3:29)The most common mistake people make with documentation (7:07)Why are docs frequently neglected? (11:37)Who should write the docs? (15:47)How to ensure your docs are efficient (20:21)When should you start writing your documentation? (24:32)Links:BrianLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/macdonaldeditorial/Twitter: https://twitter.com/bmac_editorCompany: https://www.digitalocean.com/Resources: Verbs Not Nouns Slides: https://archive.org/details/verbs-not-nouns-ato-2022Write The Docs Community: https://www.writethedocs.org/

Joseph Jacks joins me to share his enthusiasm for Open Source and what he calls Commercial Open Source Companies, how the idea of Open Source is changing with new technologies, and what that means for the definition of Open Source.In this episode, Joseph gets specific about the definition of Open Source and new technologies building on the original concept while sharing his excitement about the developments in and around the Open Source community. We also discuss the pros and cons of building an Open Source company and his philosophy on investing in Open Source Startups.Highlights:Joseph introduces himself and discusses his background and how he started OSS Capital (0:48)How open source is beneficial and critical to any business (6:12)The origins and definition of open source and how to differentiate new technologies that expand on the concept (7:58)What most people think of when they say "Open Source Company" and Joseph's suggestion for a more accurate name (11:31)Why Commercial Open Source Companies are awesome (13:21)The challenges of building a Commercial Open Source Company (17:21)The importance of differentiating between your users and your customers (19:57)Freemium vs. Open Source (22:04)Links:Joseph LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/josephjacks/Twitter: https://twitter.com/JosephJacks_Company: https://oss.capital/

Jon Gottfried, Co-founder of Major League Hacking, joins me to chat about community building, open source as a career accelerator, and how Major League Hacking began.In this episode, Jon and I discuss the role of open source in Major League Hacking and the lessons maintainers can learn from new developers and vice versa. Jon also shares his thoughts on community, sharing responsibilities, and tips for ensuring the future of open source. Listen to hear his perspective and learn how Major League Hacking came to be. Highlights:Jon introduces himself and Major League Hacking (0:42)How Open Source fits into the work MLH does with developers entering the industry (1:44)How to be a successful open source contributor (3:20)Lessons maintainers can learn from the new developer experience (6:07)Jon shares his thoughts on community building (13:06)Jon shares his views on meeting in person vs. virtually (15:40)Sharing responsibilities in a business vs. an open source project (18:03)How contributing to an open source project can accelerate a career trajectory (21:48)How Major League Hacking began (24:01)Links:JonLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonmarkgo/Twitter: https://twitter.com/jonmarkgoCompany: https://mlh.io/

Brian Douglas, CEO of OpenSauced, joins me to discuss insights - how they’ve been provided in the past, how OpenSauced is different, and how he hopes to contribute to the future of open source. In this episode, Brian and I explore the origins and future of OpenSauced, including his hopes for how providing different insights can help contributors find worthy projects and maintainers find worthy contributors to hire. We also discuss the importance of community and telling fairer and fuller stories of open source projects. Listen to hear Brian’s unique perspective on the business of open source.Highlights:Brian introduces himself and OpenSauced (0:45)Brian describes his ideal OpenSauced users (4:42)How OpenSauced began and why Brian chose and stuck with the pizza theme (8:29)Why OpenSauced focuses on the contributor first (15:01)Using data to tell the full story of an open source project (18:44)Brian describes his target company size and use case (20:42)The value of the open source community (22:38)What companies get wrong when working with open source (24:42)Links:BrianLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianldouglasTwitter: https://twitter.com/bdougieYOCompany: https://opensauced.pizza/The Secret Sauce PodcastAudio: https://thesecretsauce.transistor.fm/YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLHyZ0Wz_A44VR4BXl_JOWSecQeWcZ-kS3

Matt Butcher, CEO of Fermyon, joins me to discuss the ethics of open source and how to keep your company's health in mind when growing your business.In this episode, Matt and I dig into the ethics of open source and how his background in philosophy influences the decisions he makes as a CEO. We also cover how you can intentionally create and maintain your company values and culture. Finally, Matt reveals his top mistakes as a CEO and how he's overcome them to improve his business. Highlights:Matt introduces himself and his background in open source and philosophy (0:47)How Matt's background in philosophy changed his perspective on the ethics of open source (3:14)How that background influences how they began and continue to run Fermyon (8:58)How to establish values for a new company and stick to them (15:16)Why Matt started Fermyon when he did and with the focus on web assembly (21:59)Matt reviews the top mistakes he made as a founder and how addressing them has helped him improve the company culture (26:44)Links:MattLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattbutcher/Twitter: https://twitter.com/technosophosCompany: https://www.fermyon.com/Fermyon Discord: https://discord.com/invite/AAFNfS7NGf

Henrik Rosendahl, CEO of Spiio, joins me to chat about his experience as an entrepreneur and what he’s learned about building successful companies. In this episode, Henrik and I cover the many aspects of building startups. From the top mistakes new founders make to the best way to monetize your open source business. Listen to learn Henrik’s thoughts on entrepreneurship, including monetization, the three things you need to build a successful startup, and whether or not founding a startup should always feel like a struggle. Highlights:Henrik introduces himself and gives a brief overview of his experience as an entrepreneur. (0:43)The top mistakes entrepreneurs make building their first startup. (2:25)Monetization and valuable feedback from customers (9:05)How the relationship between the user and the buyer impacts startups. (14:27)Focusing on enterprise vs. a mid-market segment. (16:57)What’s next for Henrik (19:34)Links:HenrikLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hrosendahlTwitter: https://twitter.com/hrosendahlCompany: https://www.spiio.com/

Today I’m talking with Fabian Pinckaers, CEO and Founder of Odoo, a suite of business apps to manage all of a business’s activities, about his passion for open source and knowing how and when to pivot as a start-up.In this episode, Fabien and I discuss the highs and lows of running a start-up as he details his history with Odoo. From its inception as a service offering for auction houses to its current state as an open core software vendor with a cloud offering, Odoo has challenged its founder to continue innovating the product and pivoting the business model to find success. Listen in to discover the lessons Fabien has learned in his journey as a founder and CEO.Highlights:Fabien introduces himself and explains how his passion for open source led him to start Odoo (0:49)Why Fabien agrees with other founders that open source is a development model, not a business model (5:09)How to keep going forward when your business is struggling. (9:53)Why Fabien believes that “product is everything,” and how that philosophy relates to his passion for open source (10:51)“Open source is about the masses” (14:06)Odoo’s three pivots (19:47)How pivoting to open core has allowed Odoo to contribute even more (24:17)Links:FabienLinkedIn: https://be.linkedin.com/in/fpodooTwitter: https://twitter.com/fpodooCompany: https://www.odoo.com/

Today I’m chatting with Nicklas Gellner, co-founder  of Medusa, “the open source Shopify alternative” about why he started the company, why open source, and his vision for the future.In this episode, Nicklas details the original inspiration for Medusa as well as why they chose the name. We also review the switch from an agency to a product focused company.  When I mention the buzz around a relatively young company like Medusa, Nicklas emphasizes Medusa’s developer-first approach and explains how that encourages community development.Highlights:Nicklas introduces himself and Medusa (0:46)Nicklas explains the original inspiration for Medusa’s creation (2:09)How Medusa differs from Shopify beyond being open source and its real value for developers (10:48)How and why Nicklas switched from and agency to a product focused company with Medusa (14:46)The buzz around Medusa (20:44)How Medusa’s developer-first approach encourages community development (22:53)Nicklas’s vision for Medusa’s growth in the coming years. (24:09)How they decided on the name “Medusa” (26:17)Links:NicklasLinkedIn: https://dk.linkedin.com/in/ngellnerTwitter: https://twitter.com/nicklasgellner?lang=enCompany: https://medusajs.com/Medusa Community Discord: https://discord.com/invite/medusajs

Michael Chenetz, Head of Technical Marketing at Portainer.io, joins me to discuss why technical marketing is so much more effective for open source companies and also why it’s a hard role to fill. In this episode, Michael and I discuss his unique background that lead him to technical marketing in the open source space, and the importance of relating tech to people. Michael explains the differences between traditional marketing and technical marketing, as well as the impact technical marketing has on a company’s trajectory. Highlights:Michael introduces himself and his role at Portainer.io (00:52)The difference in perception and practice for technical marketing versus traditional marketing (02:39)Michael’s path to becoming a technical marketer (05:59)The open source behind Portainer and Michael’s learnings marketing an open source company (08:43)What Michael sees as the relationship between cloud native and open source (13:06)The different impacts technical marketing can have based on company size (18:44)Some of the biggest mistakes founders of open source companies make, according to Michael (21:36)Links:MichaelLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mchenetz/Twitter: https://twitter.com/mchenetzCompany: https://portainer.io

Liz Rice, Chief Open Source Officer at Isovalent, joins me to discuss the business model behind Cilium and the enjoyment she has found working in open source. In this episode, Liz and I discuss why Isovalent decided to donate Cilium to CNCF, and the additional decisions behind developing for Cilium open source versus Cilium for Enterprise. Tune into this episode to hear how entrepreneurship taught Liz what she didn’t enjoy doing so she could focus on work she enjoys, and what she finds most rewarding about working in open source.Highlights:Liz introduces herself and describes her role as Chief Open Source Officer at Isovalent (00:55)Why Isovalent decided to donate Cilium to CNCF (02:11)What Liz sees as the relationship between cloud native and open source (07:43)Liz’s past experiences as an entrepreneur and how it led her to to where she is now (10:05)How Isovalent has evolved and grown into a company with enterprise product offerings (17:17)How decisions are made differently when developing the open-source version of Cilium versus the enterprise version (22:12)The gratification and value Liz has found working in open source (25:58)Links:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lizriceTwitter: https://twitter.com/lizriceGithub: https://github.com/lizriceCompany: https://isovalent.com/Cilium: www.cilium.ioeBPF: www.eBPF.io