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Ask HN: How can we open-source a 7 year old SaaS codebase and build a community?

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Re: Ask HN: How can we open-source a 7 year old SaaS codebase and build a community?

#11

Post by dangus »

MarkinK wrote: post #8
dangus wrote: post #6

> and pivoting to adding value with LLMs on top lol, maybe you could go back in time and add some value with Blockchain or Big Data too! Is your business profitable? Maybe a small sustainable business isn’t exciting to someone who is seeking a moonshot but it seems like you’re looking for recognition and business fame rather than actually solving customers’ problems. In my opinion, open sourcing your product won’t ma…

I'm not interested in developing a product that's too slow to grow. And if it is, I guess there is no point in keeping the code closed. We are trying big moves and changes. Some of them will work. Will see. At least my integration partners really want my codebase open source :-)

My gut feeling first impression is that your integration partners probably want your code open source so that you give away all the value that you’ve worked to create.

They are looking at their best interests, not yours.

I’m thinking that you’re not looking at how to change the product to solve more customer pain and therefore grow, you’re just interested in dumping your work into open source, hoping it brings more attention to your company like a marketing campaign, and then you want to build a new fad product (AI, LLMs) in the hope that it will be your high risk high reward high growth moonshot.

Just be careful because LLMs aren’t well-suited to every single use case just like Blockchain and Big Data (which is why I brought up those fad technologies that used to make VCs salivate).

Re: Ask HN: How can we open-source a 7 year old SaaS codebase and build a community?

#13

Post by MarkinK »

dangus wrote: post #11
MarkinK wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not interested in developing a product that's too slow to grow. And if it is, I guess there is no point in keeping the code closed. We are trying big moves and changes. Some of them will work. Will see. At least my integration partners really want my codebase open source :-)

My gut feeling first impression is that your integration partners probably want your code open source so that you give away all the value that you’ve worked to create. They are looking at their best interests, not yours. I’m thinking that you’re not looking at how to change the product to solve more customer pain and therefore grow, you’re just interested in dumping your work into open source, hoping it brings more a…

Yes, I understand. But we've created a value that's too slow to grow. It doesn't make sense.

Re: Ask HN: How can we open-source a 7 year old SaaS codebase and build a community?

#14

Post by giancarlostoro »

I would definitely focus more than anything on figuring out what kind of license you want to do. For example AGPL is probably the most sensible if you want to force anyone making back-end changes to share them back, but it also puts off people like me, who avoid that license like the plague, but when something is AGPL and I only care about using it as-is, that's perfectly fine. The caveat there being you could dual-license it so that if someone doesn't want to contribute back, they just pay for a commercial less restrictive license.

As for the front-end I think MIT or even GPL type of licenses make more sense, since everyone can just view that code anyway.

I would consider what kind of licensing you want to do, I would also consider goals in doing this. One huge benefit of an open source SaaS offering is the freedom to take control of what you're getting out of it in-house, or going straight to the vendor.

Will you be offering migration to and from your SaaS service? These are all key things you need to put front and center. Definitely consider what kind of license you want to use, very important.

The way something is licensed makes a big difference.

.NET and Visual Studio Code are both MIT licensed, which is why any time someone cries about "its microsoft they're just gonna take it proprietary" I point out that the MIT is the least restrictive license you could use aside from just public domain, and it makes their point moot.

As for building a community, definitely make a Discord and a forum, places people can come together and get help publicly, figure out how to get a stackoverflow space for it as well.

Re: Ask HN: How can we open-source a 7 year old SaaS codebase and build a community?

#15

Post by rjzzleep »

giancarlostoro wrote: post #14

I would definitely focus more than anything on figuring out what kind of license you want to do. For example AGPL is probably the most sensible if you want to force anyone making back-end changes to share them back, but it also puts off people like me, who avoid that license like the plague, but when something is AGPL and I only care about using it as-is, that's perfectly fine. The caveat there being you could dual-l…

Would it make sense to have a license that gives any contributors a full license as long as they have ownership in the company they want to use it with or if that company makes a million in revenue?

Re: Ask HN: How can we open-source a 7 year old SaaS codebase and build a community?

#16

Post by from-nibly »

Your other comments sound dispassionate about your product. It makes it sound like you are only interested in growing a company and not in solving problems for your customers. You said you arent interested in slowly growing a business that is currently making you money

This is completely at odds with growing an open source community. Its typically one of the slowest and most thankless jobs you can do in software. nix has been around for 10+ years and only recently are normies like me becoming interested in it.

Your product sounds like its niche, making it open source and getting other developers to contribute sounds like trying to grow a niche within a niche. Add F# and there might be like 5 people in the whole world who might care about your open source project.

Im sure your integration partners say they would like your project to be open source but they arent going to be doing ANY of the work.

I would sell your business as a turn key.

Re: Ask HN: How can we open-source a 7 year old SaaS codebase and build a community?

#17

Post by dangus »

MarkinK wrote: post #13
dangus wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My gut feeling first impression is that your integration partners probably want your code open source so that you give away all the value that you’ve worked to create. They are looking at their best interests, not yours. I’m thinking that you’re not looking at how to change the product to solve more customer pain and therefore grow, you’re just interested in dumping your work into open source, hoping it brings more a…

Yes, I understand. But we've created a value that's too slow to grow. It doesn't make sense.

Going back to the original question of the thread, it’s starting to sound more like a grieving process than an answerable question. How do you open source the code? You flip it from private to public. That’s pretty much it. Well, okay, maybe an over-simplification.

If the business is small and profitable but it’s not growing how you’d like then I’d probably be more interested in selling it if it was me. I am not sure you will be able to sell it if the code is all open source.

Re: Ask HN: How can we open-source a 7 year old SaaS codebase and build a community?

#18

Post by dangus »

MarkinK wrote: post #12
jppope wrote: post #7

have you considered selling the business?

We thought about it, but it's too boring and not enough money is offered. I want to do something fun and something that people need, not to get a little bit of money.

Selling the business would free up your time to do something else that scratches your itch.

A lot of people are interested in owning boring low-growth businesses. If that’s not you that’s okay.

Re: Ask HN: How can we open-source a 7 year old SaaS codebase and build a community?

#19

Post by MarkinK »

from-nibly wrote: post #16

Your other comments sound dispassionate about your product. It makes it sound like you are only interested in growing a company and not in solving problems for your customers. You said you arent interested in slowly growing a business that is currently making you money This is completely at odds with growing an open source community. Its typically one of the slowest and most thankless jobs you can do in software. nix…

> Your other comments sound dispassionate about your product.

I really like what we've been able to create. I want more people to use it.

> You said you arent interested in slowly growing a business

I want more users. If the price is that many of them won't pay because it's open source, then that's the price.

> Im sure your integration partners say they would like your project to be open source but they arent going to be doing ANY of the work.

We have a very well-isolated back end (F#) and front end. I don't think integrators will be able to write in F#, but hopefully, they will be happy to refine the front end in Vue.

Re: Ask HN: How can we open-source a 7 year old SaaS codebase and build a community?

#20

Post by yobbo »

ozmo.io feels odd. Considering the examples in the screenshots, it seems aimed at some foreign market, but all text is in English and it reads slightly "off".

I think most of website design/copy is about creating the appearance of being legitimate, but that is difficult without being culturally native.

Why not try marketing to actual customers in their own language(s)?

I don't think there any downsides to open-sourcing, but probably no up-sides either.

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