Open Source Can Also Be a Business

Open Source Can Be a Business

If there’s one dream that all developers share, it might be contributing to open source. The influence of open source in software development is immense. Whether it’s backend or frontend, most projects necessarily utilize open source.

As developers, we often think about contributing to this ecosystem. However, there are concerns such as “it doesn’t make money” or “it’s not motivating.” Contrary to these worries, there are more businesses based on open source than one might think.

Famous Open Source-Centric Companies

Typically, open source companies are divided into cloud/enterprise options and self-hosting options. From a customer’s perspective, self-hosting is more costly, which encourages them to opt for the cloud option. In fact, whether a service is open source or not doesn’t make a big difference to customers. What matters is the quality of the service, and if the service is open source, it can be slightly more trustworthy.

For those creating services, open source is also attractive. To engage global community participation, you need to find the best code conventions for collaboration. Since your code is visible to many people, you pay attention to every line of code.

Some open source-centric companies include:

MongoDB: The most famous NoSQL database. While individual users rarely purchase it, it generates revenue through enterprise versions or cloud platforms that build serverless or independent SQL servers.

Vercel: A startup that significantly impacts the frontend ecosystem with Next.js. It generates revenue by making it easier to deploy services developed with Next. Vercel is known not only for creating open source but also for sponsoring various open sources. A notable example of sponsorship is Svelte.

Plausible: Considered the best alternative to Google Analytics. It can be self-hosted, and it’s one of the attractive products worth paying for.

Open Startups

Sometimes, there are crazy startups that open up the entire company. There are truly open startups that disclose all metrics, including MAU, subscriber numbers, and visitors, as well as the salaries of all employees(!). Ghost and Buffer are the most representative companies.

Buffer, in particular, plays the role of the founder of open startups and continues to disclose metrics annually. If you’re curious, you might want to look it up. I just found out that the CEO’s salary is $298,958. Of course, the salaries of all other employees are also disclosed.

These startups voluntarily disclose all metrics, making them notable examples worldwide. It’s not easy for a typical company to expect this level of transparency. Nevertheless, it’s astonishing to see them still uphold their founding beliefs.

Advantages of Open Source Business

First of all, transparency might be the biggest advantage. Customers using the product can trust it, and even if the company operating it goes bankrupt, a sustainable community exists to maintain the product’s lifespan. Moreover, even if you run it alone, it’s a business with the least risk if it fails. (If it fails, it becomes a high-quality portfolio.)

You can also receive community contributions. Through bug bounties, you can find security vulnerabilities, or quickly resolve features that users genuinely need through the community.

It’s easier to hire people. Since your code is public, developers are more cautious, and you can check the level of community contribution, leading to cases where someone voluntarily contributing to open source gets hired.

It naturally becomes global. Due to the nature of open source, it’s a space where developers worldwide participate, and the default language is English. You just need to translate the Readme into English.

These days, one-person startup ventures are increasing. With AI, rapid development has become possible. How about starting a small business by running an open source business after work? If it succeeds, it’s a startup; if it fails, it’s a portfolio. It can be the way to start a business with the least risk.