Wildest dreams of making profit on open source: hacker vs. hustler

by Irina Nazarova

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Wildest Dreams of Making Pro fi t on Open Source Irina Nazarova CEO, Evil Martians

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npm-stat.com Jan 2017 Oct 2023 What’s the red line?

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npm-stat.com Jan 2017 Oct 2023 PostCSS, built by Evil Martians

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Why did this happen?

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– Visionary product solving pains with CSS Why did this happen?

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– Visionary product solving pains with CSS – Hard work of the author Why did this happen?

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– Visionary product solving pains with CSS – Hard work of the author – Support and guidance from Evil Martians Why did this happen?

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Product development consulting for dev tools

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Internal COSS: Product development consulting for dev tools

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Mission

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Make authors of open source successful Mission

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#1 problem in the business of open source

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#1 problem in the business of open source Technical?

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#1 problem in the business of open source Technical Limitations of business model?

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#1 problem in the business of open source Technical Limitations of business model Human relationships

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The business of open source = unlikely union

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The business of open source = unlikely union Meet the hacker and the hustler

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Hacker

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– Author/maintainer of the open source Hacker

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– Author/maintainer of the open source – Biased to build Hacker

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– Author/maintainer of the open source – Biased to build – Star in tech community Hacker

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Hacker’s challenges

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❌ Selling feels like a betrayal Hacker’s challenges

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❌ Selling feels like a betrayal ✅ Understand that purchase is win/win Hacker’s challenges

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❌ Selling feels like a betrayal ✅ Understand that purchase is win/win ❌ Expects customers to behave like contributors Hacker’s challenges

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❌ Selling feels like a betrayal. ✅ Understand that purchase is win/win. ❌ Expects customers to behave like contributors ✅ Customers want quick solutions for their pains Hacker’s challenges

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❌ Driven by personal vision for open source Hacker’s challenges

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❌ Driven by personal vision for open source ✅ Make decisions aligned with business goals Hacker’s challenges

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❌ Driven by personal vision for open source ✅ Make decisions aligned with business goals ❌ Trusting and letting go is a challenge Hacker’s challenges

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❌ Driven by personal vision for open source ✅ Make decisions aligned with business goals ❌ Trusting and letting go is a challenge ✅ Trust the hustler Hacker’s challenges

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Hustler

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– Biased to action Hustler

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– Biased to action – Motivated to build a business Hustler

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– Biased to action – Motivated to build a business – Feels the urgency to sell Hustler

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Hustler’s challenges

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Hustler’s challenges ❌ Avoids influencing product decisions (imposter syndrome)

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Hustler’s challenges ❌ Avoids influencing product decisions (imposter syndrome) ✅ Gradually take more responsibility for product strategy

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Hustler’s challenges ❌ Avoids influencing product decisions (imposter syndrome) ✅ Gradually take more responsibility for product strategy ❌ Feels alien to open source community

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Hustler’s challenges ❌ Avoids influencing product decisions (imposter syndrome) ✅ Gradually take more responsibility for product strategy ❌ Feels alien to open source community ✅ Become valuable part of the community

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Hustler’s challenges ❌ Tries to dictate product timelines

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Hustler’s challenges ❌ Tries to dictate product timelines ✅ Trust the hacker

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How did this work out for us at AnyCable? Real-time server for Rails and Next.js apps Open source and Pro version (on premise) GitHub.com/palkan anycable.io

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Results

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✅ Simplified AnyCable’s infrastructure and deploy Results

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✅ Simplified AnyCable’s infrastructure and deploy ✅ Made comprehensible Guides and Demos Results

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✅ Simplified AnyCable’s infrastructure and deploy ✅ Made comprehensible Guides and Demos ✅ Started charging enterprises for consulting and features Results

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✅ Simplified AnyCable’s infrastructure and deploy ✅ Made comprehensible Guides and Demos ✅ Started charging enterprises for consulting and features ✅ Entered new market: Next.js apps Results

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Hustler Hacker Example: responsibilities split

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– Delivery timelines – Product development – Support – Docs: in-depth – Demos – OSS governance – Marketing: releases, educational, memes* – Delivery priorities – Customer interviews – Sales – Docs: Guides, How-to – Pricing – Partnerships – Marketing: case studies, category promotion Example: responsibilities split Hustler Hacker