Balancing your community and your customers

Building an open source startup means balancing the needs of your open source users, your active open source community members and your commercial users. Oh, and also your company’s need to turn a profit. The needs of those groups often interact in complex ways — a major commercial customer might insist that everything you build for them become part of your open source offering, for example, which can create tension if those features seem like the things that should be monetized.

I’ve never talked to a founder (or anyone else in the ecosystem) who felt like this dance was something they’d completely figured out. Knowing in detail who the market is for each offering is important, as is a deep understanding of what value each offering provides. But because of the complex interplay between open source, commercial product and the needs of very different stakeholders (once again… including the needs of your company), it’s not easy in practice.

That said, I’m moderating a panel at Heavybit’s DevGuild on May 4th in San Francisco to hear from experts on how they manage this balance. If you’re around and interested, here’s the information. And if you’re at the conference, say hello.