The Business of Open Source

Haseeb Budhani, co-founder and CEO of Rafay Systems, a Kubernetes operations company joins the conversation. What a Kubernetes operation company is as companies use Kubernetes across their organizations they need the right automation, security, visibility and more. These are needs that come from multiple teams working across multiple applications, and it creates a lot of work. This is where Rafay Systems is looking to cover down.Haseeb introduces us to the work at Rafay systems, and his own discovery of the problems they want to address. Haseeb discusses the history of Rafay’s establishment, and how they are striving to create a fluid and robust workflow engine. He reflects on how his previous experience has reinforced the lessons he brought to Rafay, how to connect to the customers, and more! Check out the conversation!Highlights:An introduction to Haseeb and Rafay Systems (00:00)Lessons learned at other companies and staying the course (6:12)Successfully connecting with the customers needs (12:29)The lessons learned already at Rafay and some helpful advice (15:36)Where the Kubernete’s ecosystem is headed (25:22)Links:HaseebLinkedInTwitterCompany

Andrew Rynhard, Founder and CTO of Sidero Labs, joins the show today to discuss his work and Sidero Labs. Sidero is a Kubernetes lifecycle management reimagined from the operating system to entire stack. Andrew has origins steeped deeply in open source, and it has become a central focus to his entire ethos and drive.Andrew breaks down his own trajectory that lead to Sidero and the passion he leveled for the endevour from the onset. Andrew’s passion for open source served as the impetus founding the company, and he shares his love for open source and the pathways that it created for him through his career. Andrew shares Sidero Lab’s successful initial funding, the shift to it being his full-time job, and their meteoric rise.Highlights:An introduction to Andrew and Sidero Labs (00:00)The early days of Sidero Labs and their current position (03:10)The moment Sidero became Andrew’s primary focus and the companies journey (08:05)Sidero’s focus on distributed systems (17:48)The challenges of a project that is far down the stack (22:15)Some final thoughts from Andrew (31:35)Links:AndrewLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewrynhard/Twitter: https://twitter.com/andrewrynhard?lang=enCompany:https://www.siderolabs.com

Today’s episode is a round table with Morgan McClean, Ben Sigelman, and Alolita Sharma, the maintainers of Open Telemetry. Open Telemetry is a high-quality, ubiquitous, and portable telemetry to enable effective observability with a mission to make telemetry as approachable and applicable as possible. Open Telemetry’s values center on compatibility, reliability, resilience, and performance. With these objectives in hand, our maintainers are making waves in open space.In this episode Morgan, Ben, and Alolita breakdown their individaul involvement in Open Telemetry. They discuss the paths each of them took to end up there, and the varied skillsets the bring to the project. Open Telemetry’s vision and mission is unique in its clarity and precision, and they share some insight as to why. Open Telemetry’s collaboration allows the space for their mission statement to shine through, and as a project before a product, give to the open source community. Check out the conversation for Morgan, Ben and Alolita’s excellent perspectives!Highlights:Introductions to our three maintainers and their invovlement in Open Telemetry (00:26)Why and how Open Telemetry has such an explicitly clear mission and vision (03:44)Making it clear what Open Telemetry is not (08:20)Thinking as a project, not product (10:45)The pros and cons of working with “frenemies” (17:55)Why Open Telemetry has been successful (27:22)Closing comments on Open Telemetry (32:35)Links:Open TelemetryTwitter: @opentelemetry, Ben (@el_bhs), Alolita (@alolita)Company: https://opentelemetry.io

Tyler Jewell, Managing Director at Dell Technologies Capital, joins me for a deep conversation about the intersection of capital and technology. As a managing director, Tyler harnesses a focus on developer lead companies and the push he makes for those companies when it comes to funding. For Dell Technologies Capital, the focus is on providing the financial support and backing for the market that is developing around the developers themselves.Tyler breaks down how he honed his focus on backing developers. He refers to the rise of software developers as a “talent class” where he could cultivate investments and partnerships. Tyler shares his parameters for how he categorizes companies and software into four “buckets,” which facilitates the focus he lends to these companies. From identification, to the intersection with capital, check out this conversation for Tyler’s in-depth and exacting definitions.Highlights:Introduction to Tyler and Dell Technologies Capital (00:00)Defining what it means to be “developer lead.” (02:15)Tyler defines his differences between DevTools and DevPlatforms (4:50)Who is a developer? What is the difference between developer lead companies and the rest? (08:20)Tyler provides insight for those who want to found a developer centric company (14:35)Tyler’s predictions for the coming year, and some advice (21:45Links:TylerLinkedInTwitterDell Technologies Capital

Rob Hirschfeld, CEO of and co-founder of RakN, joins the show to discuss their work in the world of automation. Notably so, automation of data centers using infrastructure code principles to create “infrastructure pipelines.” Rob’s honest and open story provides a great example of how to identify areas that need a product, to developing the product itself.In this episode, Rob gives us the history of RakN from the earlier inception when he was at Dell, to where they stand today. Rob shares some insight on the challenges of DevOps when it comes to dealing with the various “silos” that organizations have created. He reflects on their transition away from Dell, and how they realized they needed to be table to talk to customers about how they used their products.Highlights:Introduction to Rob and RakN, a focus on automation, and their origins (00:00)The differences between building and shipping instead of just building on site (04:40)The transition away from Dell and RakN’s early growing pains (08:20) The hardest parts of the technology/commercial balance (14:45)Some critical lessons from the transition (23:25)Reflecting on the early days and lessons (30:25) Links:RobTwitterLinkedIn

Sam Bhagwat, Co-founder & Chief Strategy Officer at Gatsby, joins me for a conversation about his work. Gatsby is an open source project using React with a focus on building web sites, and not just web apps. As CSO Sam tracks the trends in the modern web development space and helps Gatsby to stay on the innovative edge. From the origin of the open source project in 2015, to the establishment of the company in 2017, Sam and Gatsby’s contributions have only grown exponentially since then.Sam talks about the history of Gatsby’s rise to prominence and their shift from open source into a proper business. Sam dives into how and why they’ve leaned on investment into the company to help them better address the needs of the web site development ecosystem. From the first service they charged money for, Sam’s take on open source and commercial crossing paths, to Gatsby’s global focus, Sam offers up a lot for consideration! Highlights:Introduction to Sam and Gatsby (00:00)Moving from purely open source into a business (03:20)Sam’s perspectives on open source and commercial offerings (08:20)Open source as not only a DevTool (12:03)Building websites and brining multiple parties on board (15:16)Sam’s advice to others starting open source projects (21:06)Where to find Sam (25:40)Links:SamLinkedInTwitterhttps://www.gatsbyjs.com/

Avi Press, CEO and Co-Founder of Scarf, joins me for an in depth conversation about Scarf and the work they are doing in transparecny in open source maintainers. Avi’s career and the tools he built lead to a decision to capitalize on his tools. Now Scarf is an extension of his work into a commercial opportunity to change the open source ecosystem. Avi addresses the general maintaner issues that Scarf wishes to solve. Avi expands on his processes that have landed on a data forward approach and the importance of making that data is a viable capital value. Avi also breaks down the uses of Scarf for maintainers and the suite of tools they are implementing. Importantly so, Avi talks about the ways that the open source space can change to stay innovative and relevant. Highlights:Introduction to Avi and Scarf’s work (00:00)Shaping his own tools for use (03:50)Scarf’s suite of tools and engaging with the metrics (06:14)Some highlights and information for Scarf users (12:41)Areas where Scarf is building (17:00)How Scarf is working to guard privacy (22:12)Making registry lock in a conversation (27:30)Avi discusses the open source world and some changes that can be made (30:00)Links:AviLinkedInTwitter: @avi_pressScarf

Alex Chircop, CEO of Ondat.io, joins me to talk about his company and their recent rebrand to reflect their shift to focus on some fundamental changes in the industry. With a changing persepective that mirrors the changes happening in cloud data and its uses, Alex and the teams at Ondat.io are staying ahead of the curve and implementing some institutional changes.In this episode Alex goes into the details of their rebranding, and he discusses how they are shifting to answer what Alex calls the “infrastructural dilemma.” With the massive shift to cloud native that developers are making, and the requirements that are demanded by the adoption of these infrastructural demands, Alex and his team are staying in step with the larger community. Alex also discusses the “why” behind their drive to rebrand, and their determination to maneuver the concept of storage as server based into data services that are application centric.Highlights:Alex’s introdcution and the rebranding of Ondat (00:29)What was happening inside Storage OS that drove them to rebrand (05:00)What it took to follow through a succesful rebranding (09:33)The feedback from the rebranding and branding as a personal choice (14:10)The teams coalescence around the new brand and landing on a name (18:57)Some advice for others who are looking to rebrand (22:33) What is next for Ondat and thier coming services (24:30)Links:AlexLinkedInTwitterwww.ondat.io

Matt Yonkovit, Head of Open Source Strategy at Percona, joins me for a conversation about Percona’s work and their robust history in open source. Percona has been at it for 15 years now and Matt’s work there is both prolific and sets him up to be very well informed about open source strategy at large.In this episode, Matt discusses what exactly his job means within the context of Percona, and how he covers down to help both the higher echelons of the company, but also the community. Matt provides an excellent bird's eye view of what is going on in the world of open source. His experience highlights many of the challenges that the open source model is currently facing, and can expect to face in the near future. Highlights:Introduction to Percona and the work Matt does there (00:00)Open source strategy and Matt’s take on its role in an organization (04:20) Choosing where to place priorities and where open source is going (08:00) The ins and outs of pricing models/Percona’s contributions (12:00)Who doesn’t fit the Percona mold? (17:09)Maintaining integrity and staying malleable (21:30) “Shooting [the] sacred cows” of growth (30:45)Links:Connect with MattLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/myonkTwitter: https://twitter.com/myonkovitPercona: https://www.percona.com

Dawn Foster, Director of Open Source Community Strategy at VMware, joins me to chat about open sourcing and the potential risks to consider. With 20+ years of experience in business technology, Dawn lends great insight not only as a leader in the realm of open source, but as a champion for measuring project health.In this episode, Dawn discusses key risks to consider when open sourcing a project and what startups and small companies should think about as they embrace open source technologies. We also explore trust as a currency of open source, donating to neutral foundations, the CNCF Project Health Measurement Guide, and more.Highlights:What companies should consider when open sourcing a project. (00:24)Risks associated with open sourcing and the advantage of contributing projects to foundations. (03:59)Dawn explores the interrelation between using and contributing to an open source project. (07:26)  A discussion about evaluating and prioritizing a large number of projects - and why smaller companies should be deliberate about the open source technologies they embrace. (11:49)  A look at contributor risk with examples of how the risks can vary depending on the project. (17:09)  The value of trust in the open source - and Kim’s final thoughts on measuring project health. (22:35)  Links:Connect with Dawn:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dawnfoster/Twitter: https://twitter.com/geekygirldawnFast Wonder Blog: https://fastwonderblog.com/VMware: https://www.vmware.com/