The Wonderful World of Open Source

Travis Fischer

January, 2020

Open Source Definition

Open source software (OSS)
Public source code
Royalty-free distribution
Modifications must be adhere to original license

https://opensource.org/osd

Examples

How to view OSS

Efficient vehicle for innovation
Alternative to academia & business
Large spectrum of project types
Global, decentralized, remote
Value creation vs value capture
Not a business model

Why OSS Matters

More efficient innovation
Faster time to market
Transparent by design
Spirit of open source
~90% of companies in non-tech use OSS
~100% of companies in tech use OSS

Source: RedHat

OSS is 🔥 for your Career

⭐ Contributing to OSS ⭐

Great for networking & learning
Can be very rewarding
Doesn't have to be code
Creating issues, improving docs, marketing, design, and many more ways to contribute
Please communicate with respect and empathy
Most maintainers are working for free

Contributing Guidelines

OSS Sustainability

Initial intrinsic motivation
Maintenance, support, growth
Sustainability requires extrinsic motivation ($)
Hobby vs part time vs full time
Options for funding open source work?

OSS Funding Approaches

Approach	Value potential	Barrier to entry
Donations	💰	💪
Grants	💰💰	💪💪💪
Ads	💰💰💰💰	💪
Licensing	💰💰💰	💪💪
Open Core	💰💰💰💰💰💰	💪💪💪💪💪
SaaS	💰💰💰💰💰💰💰	💪💪💪💪💪

(greatly simplified and probably wrong)

OSS Projects != Products

Open Core

Scratching the surface

OSS as a viable career path?
Contributing to open source (opensource.guide)
Licensing (choosealicense.com)
Diversity & inclusion (opensource.guide/building-community)
Funding (github.com/nayafia/lemonade-stand)
Commercial OSS (coss.media)

Thanks!

Travis Fischer (github.com/transitive-bullshit)
https://saasify.sh

The Wonderful World of Open Source

By Saasify

The Wonderful World of Open Source

A bit of background on OSS and a look at options for making OSS funding more sustainable.

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Saasify

Saasify is the easiest way to launch a SaaS.

saasify.sh