The Open Source Monetization Helix

Open source can be profitable — very profitable. But building a successful open source company is not the same as building a straight SaaS company or building a straight enterprise software company. Even when compared to other tools that are aimed at the engineering department, to be used by cloud engineers, there’s something different about open source. 

Last Friday, I wrote an article for The New Stack that addresses head-on the phases in the customer journey in which the open source project is clearly beneficial — and the phases in the customer journey in which open source is irrelevant. It’s based on the Open Source Monetization Helix by Alessio Fanelli of 645 Ventures. If you’re building a business around open source, check it out here. 

I’m going to leave you all with one more thought that I think deserves more air time (but is not addressed in the article): Is open source a good business strategy? I’m going to write more about this topic in future newsletters, because I think it’s a question that doesn’t get addressed head-on enough (in fact, it feels a little taboo to even ask it!). But in the meantime, if you have any thoughts about whether or not open source is good for business, please share.