Embracing Building an Open Source Business: Balancing Profit and Community Without Compromise
E144 | Fri 14 Jul 2 p.m.–3 p.m.
Presented by
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Matt Yonkovit is the Head of Open Source Strategy and Growth ( The HOSS!) at Scarf. He is a passionate open source professional with over 20 years of experience, where he has made a significant impact at open source companies like Percona, MySQL, StreamNative, Mattermost, and now Scarf. As a long-time veteran in the industry, Matt's passion lies in building sustainable open source businesses and bridging the gap between community and business objectives.
With a unique ability to engage both engineers and business professionals, Matt aims to make business topics approachable and appealing to those in the open source space. He wants to make engineers and open source professionals not cringe when thinking or talking about business topics. His focus on linking both technical innovation and business growth has played a crucial role in the success of the organizations he has been part of.
Matt has held roles across the technical and leadership spectrum at open source companies, including VP of services (support, consulting, managed services), chief experience officer, chief customer officer, and now the HOSS. He is the co-host of the Hacking Open Source Business Podcast.
Abstract
Open source maintainers and developers should never feel guilty about building a business around their projects. It is entirely possible to create a thriving open source business without sacrificing your community or your values. In this talk, we will reveal how, by sharing best practices, stories, ideas, and invaluable advice collected over the past seven years from some of the brightest founders, executives, and leaders in the open source space.
We will explore the challenges of building and growing an open source business, focusing on the transformation of free users into satisfied paying customers. With insights drawn from 20 years of experience and conversations with hundreds of business executives, maintainers, and product owners, we will discuss the best practices, metrics, and processes that can help drive growth and adoption in the open source space.
Join us as we delve into the unique nature of selling open source and how it differs from traditional business models. We will emphasize the importance of differentiating your paid-for offerings from freely available software, and guide you on how to navigate the open source landscape to build a sustainable, scalable, and profitable business around your project – all while fostering a strong community that supports both your commercial and technical objectives.
Open source maintainers and developers should never feel guilty about building a business around their projects. It is entirely possible to create a thriving open source business without sacrificing your community or your values. In this talk, we will reveal how, by sharing best practices, stories, ideas, and invaluable advice collected over the past seven years from some of the brightest founders, executives, and leaders in the open source space. We will explore the challenges of building and growing an open source business, focusing on the transformation of free users into satisfied paying customers. With insights drawn from 20 years of experience and conversations with hundreds of business executives, maintainers, and product owners, we will discuss the best practices, metrics, and processes that can help drive growth and adoption in the open source space. Join us as we delve into the unique nature of selling open source and how it differs from traditional business models. We will emphasize the importance of differentiating your paid-for offerings from freely available software, and guide you on how to navigate the open source landscape to build a sustainable, scalable, and profitable business around your project – all while fostering a strong community that supports both your commercial and technical objectives.