When you think about open source and business, it’s easy to fall into a false dichotomy. Is open source a selfless collaboration, or can it be a business? The answer is…yes!
Some open source projects are labors of love and truly selfless gifts to the world, or a way to establish resume credentials. But some of them can also be a springboard for a new kind of business. Commercial Open Source Software (COSS) businesses are capital-efficient and leverage developer credibility to build brand capital.
From Project to Profit is a handbook to help developers who are building COSS businesses to find their path from an open source project to a sustainable business.
Now available on Amazon.com in Kindle and paperback format.
Audiobook Complements
For the (forthcoming) audiobook, here are key figures in the book and links to the forms. Here is a link to the introduction.
The COSSCI
Figure 1: The demand curve and consumer surplus for a product with a market price of $100.
Figure 2: The supply curve and producer surplus for a product with a market price of $100
Figure 2: The positive cross-elasticity of demand between the strong substitutes screws and bolts
Figure 4: The negative cross-elasticity of demand between the strong complements bolts and nuts
Figure 5: Releasing software under an open source license on GitHub
Figure 7: The “pure” open source model, based on maintenance and support
Figure 8: A model focusing on quality assurance of an upstream open source project. Note this is the same as Figure 7: the licensing paradigm is identical.
Figure 10: The dual licensing model, in which both a community and a proprietary license are offered
Figure 11: The open core model, in which primary functionality is provided under an open source license and other features via a proprietary license
Figure 12: The SaaS model directed at smaller businesses that do not wish to set up their own instance of the software
Figure 13: The SaaS model offering enterprise features to larger businesses. Note the enterprise features not present in Figure 12.
Figure 14: The hardware model, in which hardware is sold to the customer and software is open source
Figure 15: Open source licenses along a spectrum from permissive to copyleft and from no patent grant to patent grant
Figure 16: Venn diagram showing the relationship of open source and source-available licenses
Appendices:
Form of Trademark Policy for Corporate Open Source Project