The Business of Open Source

Peer Richelsen is the Co-founder of Cal.com, an open-source calendar scheduling tool. This week, Peer and I discuss his personal experience with needing a customizable scheduling tool, the big leap from taking donations to running a profitable business, and the thought process behind seeking VC funding. Peer also talks about the major advantage of starting with only a paid version of the product in order to build a small community of super users. Lastly, I pick Peer’s brain about how he feels being constantly compared to non open-source scheduling products.Highlights:Intro (00:00) I introduce Peer Richelsen, the Co-founder of Cal.com, and he discusses the company and its calendar scheduling tool (00:59)Does Peer think about Cal.com as a dev tool (2:09)What is Cal.com’s business model (03:57)The lack of customizability in the scheduling tool marketplace (06:15)Switching from accepting donations to selling a profitable product (09:48)Launching without a free version (12:50)The human cost of freemium usage (16:20)The decision to raise VC funds (17:41)What business value being open source brings to the company (20:48)How Cal.com positions itself in the market (24:13)Interesting mistakes Peer has made as an entrepreneur (28:22)How “free” is the software (30:57)Peer’s parting words (32:27)Where listeners can connect with Peer and learn more about Cal.com (33:04)Links:PeerLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peer-richelsen-221233138/Twitter: @peer_richCompany: https://cal.com/

17 Jan 202434min

Birthe Lindenthal is the Co-founder and CMO of OpenProject, a web-based project management system. On this episode, Birthe and I discuss the inception of the company, how being open source directly benefits both the business and its customers, and why the connection to their community is so strong. Plus, Birthe talks about the motivation she feels when contributing to something larger than herself, including the joy of knowing NGOs use her product for free. We also discuss the unique challenges of marketing an open-source product. Highlights:Intro (00:00)I introduce Birthe Lindenthal, the Co-founder and CMO of OpenProject, and she gives us her background along with the company’s history (00:59)How OpenProject used custom developments to fund the business (02:42)The pros and cons of not taking VC funding (04:15)Ways in which being open source benefit the business and the customers (06:09)How OpenProject was able to monetize the user base (08:34)The division of revenue and users between on-prem and cloud versions of the software (10:24)Who are OpenProject’s customers and users (13:57)The most interesting mistakes Birthe made along the way (16:44)Merging branding between the free and paid versions (18:52)Why Birthe got involved with open source (22:38)Marketing challenges and strategies specific to an open-source product (24:47)The surprising difficulty of creating a glossary of company terminology (29:11)Birthe’s advice for founders of open-source companies (31:02)Where listeners can connect with Birthe and learn more about OpenProject (32:05)Links:BirtheLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/birthe-lindenthal/Company: https://www.openproject.org/

10 Jan 202433min

Didier Lopes, Co-founder and CEO of OpenBB, joins me to share the story of how OpenBB went from receiving 4000 GitHub stars in the first 24 hours of the project to a fully funded company launching new monetization initiatives. Didier and I chat about his background, what led him to start OpenBB in his spare time, and his vision for the company's future. He shares the story of teaming up with his co-founder, why he loves working in the open source ecosystem, and how his team continues contributing to OpenBB's success. Highlights:Didier introduces himself and recounts his background and what led him to start OpenBB (1:20)Why Didier didn't know OpenBB would become a business when he started the project (6:47)Didier affirms my thought that part of what makes OpneBB's origin interesting is that the idea was unrelated to his day job. (10:13)Didier tells the story of how his co-founder, James, came on board once the project went viral (16:36)How OpenBB has changed since the project began (19:16)How open source has shaped the development of OpenBB (21:35)Didier outlines the current monetization plans for OpenBB (24:44)Didier's vision for the future of OpenBB and the democratization of investment research (26:30)What Didier learned from his most interesting mistake - believing users know what they want. (29:45)Didier emphasizes the importance of building a cohesive team with shared values (32:58)Links:DidierLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/didier-lopes/Twitter: @didier_lopesCompany: http://openbb.coPersonal Site: https://didierlopes.com

3 Jan 202435min

Loris Degioanni is the CEO and Founder of Sysdig, an open-source company working to make cloud deployment more secure through the use of runtime insights. Loris and I sit down to discuss the bet Sysdig is making to position itself as a leader in cloud security, how Loris leverages the power of a useful tool to create a brand, and the framework he uses to decide what should be open source and what should be paid for. Loris also shares an in-depth history of his previous company, Wireshark, and his excitement for building open source projects that outlast their business and creators.Highlights:Intro (00:00)I introduce Loris Degioanni who is the CEO and Founder of Sysdig, and he provides a little bit of context about himself and his company (01:00)Loris gives an overview of his previous company, Wireshark (01:57)Ways in which Loris was able to commercialize Wireshark as a tool for open-source end-users (04:30)How Loris used open-source as a marketing tool to create a profitable business model (07:28)The difference between Sysdig and Wireshark in their relationship to open-source (08:57)The bet that Sysdig is making and how that positions the company to become a leader in cloud security (12:36)Loris and I discuss Wireshark’s continued longevity (15:14)Where the inspiration for Sysdig came from and its journey from open-source project to commercial product (19:41)How building something useful replaces the need for a sales and marketing team (24:22)Closing the gap between the Sysdig project and the Sysdig platform (27:52)The framework for deciding what is offered open-source and what needs to be paid for (30:21)Loris’s most interesting mistakes in entrepreneurship and building Sysdig (33:20)How listeners can connect with Loris and learn more about Falco and Sysdig (36:31)Links:LorisLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/degio/Twitter: https://twitter.com/lorisdegioCompany: https://sysdig.com/

27 Dec 202337min

Bob van Luijt is the CEO and Founder of Weaviate, an open-source vector database company that helps contribute to the advancement of AI technology. Throughout this episode, Bob and I discuss the complexities of moving from an open-source project to building an open-source company, and the challenges that come with monetization strategies. Bob shares insightful anecdotes around why it’s important to be careful that you’re measuring the right things for the right reasons, and also emphasizes the importance of determining the best approach to profitability.  Highlights:Intro (00:00)I introduce Bob van Luijt who is the CEO and Founder of Weaviate, and he provides a little bit of context about himself and his company (01:00)Bob gives us the run-down on Weaviate’s operations, including fundraising, staffing, and monetization data (02:04)How the Weaviate project became the company it is today (04:03)The value that open-source brings to Weaviate’s business model (11:21)Bob and I discuss the disadvantages to building a company around an open-source project (17:55)The complexities of having an open-source project that is used within other companies and products/projects (20:19)How Bob and Weaviate have approached monetization (22:18)The most interesting mistakes Bob feels he’s made along the way in his journey to build Weaviate (24:37)Bob tells us more about his decision to shift from professional services to a product-led approach (25:50)Bob and I discuss the complex catch-22 of focusing on either profitability or growth as an open-source founder (28:39)How Bob filtered through product feedback and feature requests when first shifting to a product-led approach (32:19)Bob’s advice to people who want to be a part of the open-source ecosystem (37:54)How listeners can connect with Bob and learn more about Weaviate (39:13)Links:BobLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bobvanluijt/Twitter: https://twitter.com/bobvanluijtCompany: https://weaviate.io/

20 Dec 202340min

Ben Rometsch is the CEO and Founder of Flagsmith, an open-source feature flagging platform. In this conversation, we explore how he landed on the idea to develop an open-source feature flagging project and how that has snowballed into running a full-time SaaS company. Ben describes the challenges of creating a SaaS company from the ground up, especially when it comes to pricing and monetizing. We also discuss the importance of understanding and choosing the right licensing for your product. Highlights:Intro (00:00)I introduce Ben Rometsch, who is the CEO of Flagsmith, a commercial open-source feature flagging and remote conflict platform (01:00)What made Ben want to build an open-source feature flagging project (01:29)How the open-source project Ben started led to building a company around Flagsmith (03:39)Why Ben feels licenses are so important and how he learned that through early licensing choices at Flagsmith (09:10)When Ben started to monetize Flagsmith (13:24)How Ben’s understanding of what features users wanted to pay for has evolved (15:36)Why caring about the developer experience has set Flagsmith apart for enterprise customers (20:51)When revenue started to take off and why it took external expertise (23:12)Why pricing can be such a frustrating challenge to get right (26:47)How Flagsmith is currently remotely structured (28:57)Ben shares his thoughts on how open source contributes to his business (33:04)How listeners can connect with Ben and learn more about Flagsmith (38:05)Links:BenLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benrometsch/Twitter: https://twitter.com/ben_rometschCompany: https://www.flagsmith.com/

13 Dec 202339min

Max Howell is the CEO of Tea, a revolutionary open-source project that is seeking to help open-source contributors get paid for their work through crypto. Throughout our conversation, Max explains how he’s created some prolific open-source projects but was still unable to monetize them to the point where open source could be his full-time job, and how that provided the inspiration for Tea. Max and I discuss the importance of re-framing open-source projects in business terms of value, and not simply referring to supporting projects as charity work, and Max also shares valuable insights into the world of open-source crypto development.  Highlights:Intro (00:00)I introduce Max, the CEO of tea.xyz, and he explains his career background and how he started Tea (01:00)Max and I discuss the shift that open source needs to make from relying on charity to speaking in business and value terms (09:39)Max describes how Tea is representing the existing value of open source and translating it into monetary form (12:32)The administrative challenges of paying for open-source tools that are business-critical and how Tea helps solve them (14:36)Tea’s business strategy for monetizing their own open-source project (18:05)How Max’s goal of being able to work on the open-source projects he loves full time has played out with Tea (24:06)Max describes how he successfully pitched Tea to investors (25:21)Tea’s relationship with the rest of the crypto industry (27:32)The biggest challenge Max and his team are working on at the moment (29:06)What Max wishes he would have done differently and what he’s learned from the mistakes he’s made (31:59)Where you can go to learn more about Tea and connect with Max (38:53)Links:MaxLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mxcl/Twitter: https://twitter.com/mxclCompany: https://tea.xyz/

6 Dec 202339min

Nicolas Höning is the Co-Founder and CEO of Seita, an open-source energy optimization and digitalization company. Nicolas took an unconventional path to founding an open-source startup, and throughout this episode he describes how creating a greener world through open-source software is more than a business endeavor for him - it’s a personal mission. Nicolas describes perfectly the challenges that open-source founders face, and is transparent on the decisions he’s still weighing when it comes to choosing an open-source product model and the benefits and challenges of being a boot-strapped startup. I was particularly interested to learn how his company’s project, V2G Liberty, helps individuals who are looking for a greener way to optimize the charging of their electric vehicles, and why Nicolas doesn’t market his other products to individual users. Highlights:I introduce Nicolas Höning, who is the Co-Founder and CEO of Seita, an open-source energy digitalization company (01:00)Nicolas describes the unique nature of building open-source software for the energy sector (03:34)How Nicolas wound up developing software for the energy sector (05:30)The mission at Seita and how it’s also reflected personally in Nicolas’ life mission (06:57)Why open-source was an important part of the delivery of Seita’s mission (09:25)Nicolas describes the challenge of identifying his users and customers (11:28)Why Nicolas doesn’t focus on individual users (14:36)Nicolas describes his project V2G Liberty, which helps individuals optimize their EV charging (17:42)How Nicolas initially funded Seita and his commercial strategy moving forward (19:51)Why Seita launched a commercial product before launching an open-source project (23:30)What Nicolas has been considering when deciding between an open core and open source product model (26:35)The biggest challenge Nicolas is facing right now at Seita (32:43)How listeners can connect with Nicolas and learn more (33:57)Links:NicolasLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nhoening/Twitter: https://twitter.com/nhoeningCompany: https://seita.nl/

29 Nov 202335min