What is an open source company?
For me, it’s pretty straightforward, actually. There are two criteria you have to meet to be an open source company:
You have an open source project, with an OSI-approved license, that provides real value to users on its own. That last point is important. There are a bunch of companies that have, for example, an open source API that connects with their paid software. But you wouldn’t ever use the API if you aren’t a customers. To meet this criteria, the users of the open source project should be able to get value out of the project without having any other relationship with the company.
You have to be a for-profit organization that is serious about building revenue and becoming profitable. Strangely enough, a fair number of founders flounder with the second point. You can’t just want to build the most awesome project / the most awesome technology. You have to really be committed to building a software company that is, at a minimum, financially sustainable. Ideally one that’s profitable.
What do you think? What’s your definition of an open source company? And do you meet the above two criteria?