Emily Omier Keynote
Emily Omier is a Open Source business consultant and host of the Business of Open Source Podcast.
Lots of founders here on the roller coaster, not so many trying to sell to governments though
More open source models than you think beyond open core
Mind Games
More complexity means more opportunities to second-guess yourself. Not everyone has experience with OSS, especially on the business side like in sales.
If you as a team loose a deal to our open source project, thats okay! They can still pay us money one day and we are happy they use our project.
Bigger learning curve when marketing in an open source company. Be aware as a founder!
Bootstrapped open source actually do well selling to the government. For example: Mattermost. And bootstrapped companies: Nextcloud, Defense Unicorns, Greymatter
Why governments like OSS
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Transparency
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On-premise (non-SASS)
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Security is vital
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They are not self-supporting, lacking in-house eng talent, willing to pay
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Governments have money!
Thinking outside the monetization box
Be intentional about monetization strategy. Some examples:
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Complimentary OSS and commercial product. OSS is loss-leader, with commercial product offering a different outcome. Every customer would also use your open source product. For example: Deepfence
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"Completely Open Source". Requires a license key and technical customers can delete the license key verification. Not open core because is fully open source. Example: Passbolt
Be intentional about the relationship between your OSS Project and Commercial Product
Be aware of differences in your market between your product and project. You can have a unifying strategy.
Knowing it and articulating it allows your team and your external audience to understand expectations.
Be clear why the OSS matters for your business outcomes.
Some examples:
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Increase brand awarenss
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Lead gen
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Accelerate security review with improved transparency
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Build an ecosystem
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Build a better product with more feedback and code contributors
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Because it is table stakes
Lightning round
Don't be the cheap option. Don't use OSS just because you can undercut your competitors. It is not sustainable. Be better, not cheaper.
Focus! If you're running OSS you are already divided focus. Proprietary products are already focused. Focus on solving one problem. Be aware what that problem is.
There is no one-size-fits all playbook for commercial OSS. There are different models, and the most successful products choose several strategies from the menu of options.
Final questions
Does your open source product provide value?
Does your commercial offering provide additional value that people will pay you for?
Can you articulate the difference in value between your commercial and OSS offerings?
Q&A
Q: OSS is being compared directly against proprietary products. These days OSS and proprietary products are in direct competition.
Emily: You will be compared to general software, proprietary competitors, inaction (such as paying a fine for compliance products). Be very aware of the comparisons that people make, by asking the customers directly
Q: You mentioned government as customers, and products require certification. How do you advise startups for this?
Emily: Certification will not be harder for a commercial solution.
Q: Tradeoff between "maximum love from developers" vs profitability
Emily: fundamental question. Classic model: the project is for individuals, the product is for companies/teams/managers. But it depends on the nature of your project. Another examples: support, or paid when going into production.
Q: With regard to governments, how to sell products to governments when they don'tn understand the value?
Emily: A fundamental sales question. You have to sell what people want, not what people need. You can educate your customers
Containing:Mind GamesWhy governments like OSSThinking outside the monetization boxBe intentional about the relationship between your OSS Project and Commercial ProductBe clear why the OSS matters for your business outcomes. Lightning roundFinal questionsQ&A
Published:10 mo. ago Thursday, December 7th, 2023
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