31 min listen
44: Exploring the Open Source Business Model
ratings:
Length:
26 minutes
Released:
May 31, 2018
Format:
Podcast episode
Description
Rob Walling, co-founder at Drip, MicroConf organizer, and host of the Startups For the Rest of Us podcast, continues to co-host with Derrick while Ben is in Hong Kong. Rob is becoming a believer in 3 to 6 hour work days; he is more productive and has more motivation to get things done.
As for Derrick, he read an article titled, After 5 years and $3M, here’s everything we’ve learned from building Ghost, which relates to the business model he is following for his Level product. Ghost is using the open source core product and it’s bootstrapped, which can be difficult. in this episode, Derrick pulls out a few pieces of the article that are relevant to share.
Today’s Topics Include:
Piece 1: Competing on convenience with centralized platforms was a mistake; took too much time and made it a difficult experience for end users
Level customers will either pay or go to the open source version; if they find that self-host vs. buy does not work out, there will be a transition path
Piece 2: Building a distributed team is both easier and harder than imagined; the biggest challenges came from human problems, not business problems
Drip experienced similar issues with a distributed team; Level will probably have a distributed team to find talent but not be able to compete with bigger companies
Pros and cons of remote- vs. office-based teams, such as building camaraderie
Piece 3: Open source development is more broken than ever; you are criticized for not doing something or meeting certain standards
Derrick plans to set expectations up front and promote opportunities for integration; be transparent and provide value
Brand is recognition within a group of people; brand association can be positive when they trust you, but negative if the brand treats them badly
Drive word of mouth; it is one of the biggest attraction channels for companies
Links and resources:
Rob Walling on Twitter (https://twitter.com/robwalling)
Startups for the Rest of Us (http://www.startupsfortherestofus.com/)
Derrick Reimer Website (http://www.derrickreimer.com/)
Derrick Reimer on Twitter (https://twitter.com/derrickreimer)
Ben Orenstein Website (http://www.benorenstein.com/)
Ben Orenstein on Twitter (https://twitter.com/r00k)
MicroConf (https://www.microconf.com/)
Drip (https://www.drip.com/)
After 5 years and $3M, here’s everything we’ve learned from building Ghost (https://blog.ghost.org/5/)
Build Your Saas Podcast (https://saas.transistor.fm/)
SaaStr (https://www.saastr.com/)
As for Derrick, he read an article titled, After 5 years and $3M, here’s everything we’ve learned from building Ghost, which relates to the business model he is following for his Level product. Ghost is using the open source core product and it’s bootstrapped, which can be difficult. in this episode, Derrick pulls out a few pieces of the article that are relevant to share.
Today’s Topics Include:
Piece 1: Competing on convenience with centralized platforms was a mistake; took too much time and made it a difficult experience for end users
Level customers will either pay or go to the open source version; if they find that self-host vs. buy does not work out, there will be a transition path
Piece 2: Building a distributed team is both easier and harder than imagined; the biggest challenges came from human problems, not business problems
Drip experienced similar issues with a distributed team; Level will probably have a distributed team to find talent but not be able to compete with bigger companies
Pros and cons of remote- vs. office-based teams, such as building camaraderie
Piece 3: Open source development is more broken than ever; you are criticized for not doing something or meeting certain standards
Derrick plans to set expectations up front and promote opportunities for integration; be transparent and provide value
Brand is recognition within a group of people; brand association can be positive when they trust you, but negative if the brand treats them badly
Drive word of mouth; it is one of the biggest attraction channels for companies
Links and resources:
Rob Walling on Twitter (https://twitter.com/robwalling)
Startups for the Rest of Us (http://www.startupsfortherestofus.com/)
Derrick Reimer Website (http://www.derrickreimer.com/)
Derrick Reimer on Twitter (https://twitter.com/derrickreimer)
Ben Orenstein Website (http://www.benorenstein.com/)
Ben Orenstein on Twitter (https://twitter.com/r00k)
MicroConf (https://www.microconf.com/)
Drip (https://www.drip.com/)
After 5 years and $3M, here’s everything we’ve learned from building Ghost (https://blog.ghost.org/5/)
Build Your Saas Podcast (https://saas.transistor.fm/)
SaaStr (https://www.saastr.com/)
Released:
May 31, 2018
Format:
Podcast episode
Titles in the series (100)
19: Gourmet Ruby with Avdi Grimm: This week Ben Orenstein is interviewing guest Avdi Grimm, Founder of RubyTapas, which is a subscription service that provides screencasts of “gourmet” ruby programming. Avdi discusses the topic of his talk at Southeast Ruby in Nashville, which was the value of avoiding code and strategies to bypass the need to write unnecessary coding. Join us as he shares his advice on optimizing workflows and his experiences building RubyTapas. by The Art of Product