Open Source Startup Podcast

Andrew Firestone is CEO and Knut Sveidqvist is CTO of Mermaid Chart, the open source text-based diagraming software platform. The mermaid project has over 70K stars on GitHub and is an open source diagramming and charting tool. Mermaid Chart has raised $7.5M from investors including Open Core Ventures. In this episode, we dig into the mermaid project's 8 year journey, going from side project to company, working with GitLab founder Sid Sijbrandij to bring Andrew in as CEO & more!

Atai Barkai, Co-founder and CEO of Copilotkit, dives into the exciting world of AI copilots and their impressive open-source growth. He discusses how the platform enables building production-grade AI solutions 10x faster and the importance of tutorials in fostering community engagement. Atai emphasizes understanding diverse user needs, the balance of free and premium features, and the future of AI autonomy. He also highlights the vital role of human involvement in AI, setting the stage for collaboration and innovation in technology development.

Lauren Long, Co-founder and CTO of Ampersand, discusses her journey in creating a developer platform for native product integrations. She shares insights on why a code-first approach enhances the developer experience and how their first integration with Salesforce shaped their go-to-market strategy. Lauren explains the balance between open-source CLI tools and a closed-source orchestration layer, emphasizing transparency in pricing as a key differentiator. She also offers valuable advice for aspiring founders about pursuing passion and aligning with long-term goals.

Philippe Noël, Co-founder and CEO of ParadeDB, shares insights on building a modern alternative to Elasticsearch using Postgres. He discusses the seamless integration of search directly with databases and the benefits for e-commerce and FinTech users. Philippe highlights his learnings as a second-time founder, emphasizing the role of user feedback and community engagement in product development. He also addresses the unique challenges of serving enterprise needs and the importance of strategic messaging in competing with established technologies.

Eric Futoran, Co-founder and CEO of Embrace, shares insights on revolutionizing mobile observability. He discusses the unique challenges in mobile engineering and why the industry needed specific tools. Eric explains the benefits of open-sourcing their SDKs, enhancing community engagement and code quality. He also delves into the importance of aligning product-market fit with GTM-market fit and how embracing OpenTelemetry transformed their approach. The conversation covers navigating marketing strategies and the evolution of user personas in the ever-changing SaaS landscape.

Ivan Burazin, Co-founder and CEO of Daytona, discusses revolutionizing developer environments with his open-source platform. He dives into how Daytona's growth strategy leverages consistent content and the importance of understanding user motivations. Ivan shares insights on building credibility through successful DevTool founders acting as angel investors. He also tackles the complexities of open-source licensing, emphasizing MIT and Apache as the gold standards, while exploring how community engagement fuels innovation in the tech landscape.

Steven Tey, Founder & CEO of Dub.co, discusses his open-source link management platform that has garnered almost 18K stars on GitHub. He shares the journey of turning Dub.co from a side project into a company and positioning it as a Bitly alternative. The conversation dives into the importance of great design in product development, how analytics improve customer value, and the impact of a top Hackernews post on their growth. Tey also emphasizes the need for entrepreneurs to follow their passion and take actionable steps despite uncertainties.

Lukas Schulte, Co-Founder and CEO of SDF Labs, shares insights from his journey in data transformation and querying. He discusses the challenges of the Modern Data Stack, including SQL dialect variations, and how SDF Labs enables local SQL validation. Lukas highlights his choice of Rust for robust development and the advantages of a closed-source CLI for speed and flexibility. He emphasizes the importance of strategic partnerships in enhancing functionality and user experience within the data ecosystem. Tune in for valuable lessons from the world of data!

Sameer Al-Sakran is CEO of Metabase, the open-source analytics and business intelligence platform. Their open source project, also called metabase, has over 38K stars on GitHub. Metabase has raised $51M from investors including NEA, Insight and Expa. In this episode, we dig into the company's 10 year journey, what it means to have a "developer friendly analytics platform", eliminating the friction with BI by making Metabase super fast to get started with, keeping the product simple, juggling short-term execution with their long-term vision & more!

Stanislas Polu, Co-Founder of Dust, shares insights into his innovative platform that enables the creation of custom AI assistants. He discusses the importance of open-source development and its challenges in a competitive market. The conversation highlights how Dust enhances productivity through tailored AI solutions while augmenting rather than replacing human roles. Polu also delves into the future of AI agents, addressing user adoption and the role of community in strengthening open-source initiatives. Expect a deep dive into the evolving landscape of AI technology!