Bread and butter is also 'open source', but not 'free'. There is no problem with 'open source' that is free for non-commercial usage and paid for commercial usage. Is this what GPL is about?
Problems With Open-Source Business Models
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Re: Problems With Open-Source Business Models
#12>There is no Open Source Business Model. Careful about universal claims. https://vcvrack.com/ is an open-source business model and it works great for me.
Why does this start downloading a file to my computer the moment I click on that link? That's pretty shady...
It definitely shouldn't. What is the filename? Do you have any compromised browser extensions or malware on your machine?
Re: Problems With Open-Source Business Models
#13>There is no Open Source Business Model. Careful about universal claims. https://vcvrack.com/ is an open-source business model and it works great for me.
What is the business model?
Re: Problems With Open-Source Business Models
#14>There is no Open Source Business Model. Careful about universal claims. https://vcvrack.com/ is an open-source business model and it works great for me.
It's a semantic point. There are companies that have created business models that are based on open source software and the open source development model in various ways. But open source, by itself, is not a business model. [ADDED: Any more than "proprietary software" is a business model.]
Re: Problems With Open-Source Business Models
#15From the I'm-going-to-take-millions-in-VC-money-and-build-a-billion-dollar-unicorn perspective Open-Source will never make sense. I propose that it is the investment model that is flawed. Open-Source has many benefits that have nothing to do with making investors rich.
Re: Problems With Open-Source Business Models
#16>There is no Open Source Business Model. Careful about universal claims. https://vcvrack.com/ is an open-source business model and it works great for me.
Why does this start downloading a file to my computer the moment I click on that link? That's pretty shady...
nothing starts for me. what are you using?
Re: Problems With Open-Source Business Models
#17Bread and butter is also 'open source', but not 'free'. There is no problem with 'open source' that is free for non-commercial usage and paid for commercial usage. Is this what GPL is about?
That's not what the GPL is about at all. No (OSI-approved) open source license has the distinction that you draw and one that did wouldn't be approved. (And it wouldn't be an open source license in the eyes of the Free Software Foundation either.)
Re: Problems With Open-Source Business Models
#18Bread and butter is also 'open source', but not 'free'. There is no problem with 'open source' that is free for non-commercial usage and paid for commercial usage. Is this what GPL is about?
That's not what the GPL is about at all. No (OSI-approved) open source license has the distinction that you draw and one that did wouldn't be approved. (And it wouldn't be an open source license in the eyes of the Free Software Foundation either.)
Thank you! So charging for commercial usage is not considered 'open source' even when source is actually available?
Re: Problems With Open-Source Business Models
#19Software, including open source, has a high fixed cost (lots of developer time and effort to get version 1.0 out the door) and a low marginal cost (once it's out there you can distribute via homebrew, for example, for no additional cost).
With most successful software products, you are paying for the exclusive value that the software provides, with open source that value isn't exclusive at all.. I can simply copy your version and try to integrate it myself. So how does open source software make money?
I think freemium and consulting might be good models. Let's say I'm open source organization that builds product X, this product is really popular, has a great developer ecosystem, solid roadmap, lots of folks are using it, etc. If it's good enough large corporations will try to use this product within their systems, why not audit how your customers are building on top of your systems and try to skate to where the puck is going and add an additional layer of features to support those enterprise use cases?
The challenge with open source comes w/ integration, at a large scale your open source product is going to be changed to fit the needs of the customer. As the organization behind an open source product you are in prime position to be the leading consultant of this product and assist with integration. To me, this is the best model to make money on open source, however, it requires a really strong product. Something with very high adoption, not just a plugin that handles a very specific use case.
Re: Problems With Open-Source Business Models
#20A talk worth watching about this is "Why I forked my own project and my own company ownCloud to Nextcloud" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTKvLSnFL6I) about how a Open core approach failed in many ways and a great inspiration on how a Open source business model can succeed.