The Business of Open Source

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

26 Loka 202228min

Andrew Aitken, Global Open Source Leader at Wipro, joins me to discuss the benefits and challenges that come with adopting open source as a large-scale enterprise organization. In this episode, Andrew and I discuss the three stages of open source maturity from curiosity to full-scale adoption and mastery. Tune into this episode to learn more about the trigger events that cause large-scale enterprises to explore open source, as well as the barriers and legal challenges they must overcome to effectively adopt it, and most importantly - why Andrew feels it’s so important that every large-scale enterprise goes through this process. Highlights:Andrew introduces Wipro and explains what it means to be a Global Open Source Leader (00:52)The challenges Andrew helps his clients solve in the world of open source (03:16)How Andrew sees high-security companies like banks view and approach open source (04:28)Do Andrew’s clients view open source software as being more, less, or just as secure as closed source software? (07:41)The three different open-source maturity stages Andrew sees at large companies (10:47)Why Andrew feels most large enterprises would benefit from reaching full maturation in their open-source strategy (14:52)The biggest barriers Andrew sees companies run into when considering moving towards open-source maturity (17:53)Is being enterprise-ready truly a requirement for an open-source start-up? (20:52)The legalities of adopting open source as a large-scale enterprise (25:24)Links:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/opensourcestrategy/Email: andrew.aitken@wipro.comCompany: https://www.wipro.com/

19 Loka 202231min

Randy Abernethy, Managing Director at RX-M, joins me for a chat about the relationship between open source and cloud native. In this episode, Randy and I discuss how the clients he works with at RX-M are looking to cloud-native as part of their forward-thinking strategies. Tune into this episode to learn how Randy sees the C-Suite viewing open source, how he sees clients evaluate risk in open-source projects, and his views on the relationship between open source and cloud native. Highlights:Randy introduces himself and his company, RX-M (00:46)Why do companies come to RX-M for help when evaluating and implementing cloud native? (03:44)How do RX-M clients approach open source? (9:35)What are the C-Suite’s views open source (16:19)How Randy’s clients evaluate risk in open-source projects (23:34)The role CNCF plays in how companies evaluate and implement cloud-native solutions (30:31)Randy’s view on the relationship between open source and cloud native (32:39)Links:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/randyabernethy/Twitter: @randyabernethyCompany: www.rx-m.com

12 Loka 202237min

Ian Tien, CEO and Co-Founder of Mattermost, joins me to talk about how Mattermost went from being a video game company to an open-source messaging platform that provides collaboration for developers and other mission-critical teams. In this episode, Ian and I discuss the reality of product-led growth in open-source companies, Ian’s perspective on open source moving towards platform-based solutions, and the advice he would give to other open-source founders.  Highlights:Ian introduces himself and the Mattermost open-source project (00:45)The use cases Ian sees for Mattermost (05:17)Ian takes us through the origin story of Mattermost and how it went from being a video game company to an open-source messaging solution (08:59)The role open source played in the success of Mattermost (15:07)Ian’s perspective on open source moving towards platform based solutions (20:22)Does Ian think the product-led growth model of “If you build it, they will come” is realistic, and how can that mentality lead to success? (27:34)The advice Ian would give other open-source founders (28:33)Links:IanTwitter: https://www.linkedin.com/in/iantien/Company: https://www.mattermost.com

5 Loka 202231min

Amanda Brock, CEO of Open UK, joins me for an engaging conversation on best practices in founding an open-source company. In this episode, Amanda and I chat about the various business models available for building a company around open-source technology, the common pitfalls and crossroads open-source founders find themselves facing, and how to do open-source in a way that leads to long-term success and profitability. Highlights:What is Open UK? (00:40)The various business models for building a company around open-source technology (04:09)Which business models Amanda feels work best and why (08:07)The importance of founders prioritizing open-source communities (14:07)How and why to do open-source the right way (17:04)What is the true cost of founding an open-source company compared to traditional business models? (26:44)Who are you building for, and how do you get to profitability? (30:35)Links:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amandabrocktech/Twitter: www.twitter.com/amandabrocktechOpen UK www.twitter.com/openuk_ukCompany: www.openuk.uk

28 Syys 202233min

Wes McKinney, CTO & Co-Founder of Voltron Data, joins me for an in-depth conversation on how his quest to develop Python as an open-source programming language led him to creating the pandas project and founding four companies. In this episode, Wes and I dive into his unique background as the founder of the pandas project and he describes his perspective on the early days of Python, his journey into the world of open-source start-ups, and the risks and benefits of paying developers to work on open-source projects. Highlights:Wes introduces himself and describes his role (00:46)Wes’ role in elevating Python to a mainstream programming language (02:15)How working with Python led Wes to co-founding his first two companies (09:01)Apache Arrow’s critical role at Voltron Data and their focus on accelerating Arrow adoption (12:52)How did the team at Voltron Data decide on an open-source business model? (18:54)Wes speaks to the risk that can come from having developers work on an open-source project (22:31)Wes’ perspective on the real-world applications and benefits of paying developers to work on open-source projects (27:44)Links:WesLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wesmckinn/Twitter: https://twitter.com/wesmckinnCompany: https://voltrondata.com/

21 Syys 202233min

Braden Hancock, Co-founder and Head of Technology at Snorkel AI, joins me to talk about his path from academia to start-up co-founder and his vision to make AI more accessible to both traditional and no-code development. In this episode, Braden and I explore the journey he and his co-founders took to go from having an interesting idea to forming a company and the strategic business decisions they made along the way, such as why they opted not to use an open-source business model and the educational marketing strategy they’ve adopted. Highlights:Braden discusses his role as co-founder of Snorkel AI. (00:25)An introduction to Snorkel Flow, Snorkel AI’s data-centric AI development program and the challenges they solve for. (01:49)Snorkel AI’s relationship with open source. (06:30)Why Snorkel AI decided not to use an open-source business model in order to lower the barrier to entry. (09:01)Snorkel AI’s trajectory coming from academia to the world of start-ups. (12:50)The unexpected challenges of building Snorkel AI. (17:50)Taking an educational approach to the marketing at Snorkel AI. (22:27)Braden discusses the meaningful applications of AI as well as where he sees AI being used as more of a buzzword. (27:27)Links:BradenLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bradenhancock/Twitter: https://twitter.com/bradenjhancockCompany: snorkel.ai  Snorkel AI Twitter: https://twitter.com/SnorkelAI

14 Syys 202232min

Anna Filippova, Director of Community & Data at DBT Labs, joins me to chat about the fundamental role community plays in the world of open source and her role helping to create a thriving community. In this episode, Anna and I dive into the concept of a community: why it’s essential for open-source development, how to create business value through community, and how to track community health above and beyond user count. Highlights:Why community is mission critical at DBT Labs (02:07)The fundamental role open source played in creating DBT Labs as its known today (05:57)The approach DBT Labs uses to create business value through community (08:13)Anna’s framework for the three buckets of communities (09:42)Why measuring and tracking community health is a more valuable metric than just user count (11:34)What do people get out of communities, and why are they so valuable?  (19:06)Common misconceptions around building communities as a business strategy (24:19)Links:Anna LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annafilippova/Twitter: https://twitter.com/anna_filDBT Labs: getdbt.com/communityCoalesce Conference: https://coalesce.getdbt.com/

7 Syys 202231min