Monetized Open Source

Hey there, Welcome to the 383 new entrepreneurs who joined last week. Congrats to [eranium.eth]( for becoming a Lifetime Trends Pro Member by collecting the MetaTrends #0079 NFT. We have another up for grabs this week. 👉 To check it out, [click here]( ⌨️ Let's talk about Monetized Open Source. Thanks [Stewart Townsend](, [Steve Sewell](, [Tarun Muvvala](, [Marc Seitz](, Ashwin, [Ime Essien](, [Jorge Masta](, [Jordan Divecha](, [Yarty Kim](, Chaitanya and [Clint Gible](. We had a great time jamming on this report What you'll learn: - What is monetized open source? - What are the benefits of monetized open source? - Who earns $1,000,000+/year from an open-source project as a solo developer? - What are 8 ways to monetize an open-source project? - What are open-source alternatives to Airtable, Zapier and Shopify? - What's the future of user-owned networks? - What is counter positioning? This report is brought to you by… Want to be a guest on more podcasts, share your story and reach more people? [Podcast Hawk]( saves you time by targeting podcasts and automatically reaching out to hosts for guest spots. Reach organic audiences, share your knowledge and gain SEO love from links. Special Deal for Trends.vc Subscribers Ready to reach more people? [Click here]( to get 1 month free.  Monetized Open Source]( "GitHub stars don't pay the rent." 💎 Why It Matters Open-source projects give creators and companies flexibility and lowers [platform risk](. Monetization makes these efforts sustainable. 🔍 Problem [Platform risk]( puts you at the mercy of closed-source companies. You are subject to vendor lock-in and [rent-seeking behavior](. Using an Oracle database? They just raised prices? And won't listen to request features? Too bad. You [can't touch the code](. And [switching costs]( are high. 💡 Solution Monetized open-source projects give some or all of the code away for free. With the ability to change it. Projects are [monetized]( via services, premium features, hosting and more. ​​🏁 Players Projects - [WordPress]( • The most popular website builder - [Plausible]( • Google Analytics alternative - [Elastic]( • Search, analyze and visualize data - [Medusa]( • Shopify alternative - [Builder]( • Visual website builder - [Posthog]( • Alternative to Mixpanel and Amplitude - [Supabase]( • Firebase alternative - [Semgrep]( • Static analysis tool - [AnonAddy]( • Anonymous email forwarding - [Penpot]( • Figma alternative  🔮 Predictions - Monetized open source projects will become more ambitious. - [NocoDB]( and [Baserow]( are [Airtable]( alternatives. - [n8n]( is an alternative to [Zapier]( and [Integromat](. - [Medusa]( is a [Shopify]( alternative. - Networks will become public goods. Centralized networks have been one of the most effective ways to generate wealth. For a few. As [NFX states](, “70% of value in tech is driven by network effects." See [Facebook]( and [Amazon](. Value from user-owned networks accrues to network principals and participants. [LooksRare]( is an [OpenSea]( alternative. Network effects will remain powerful. Where value accrues will change. ☁️ Opportunities - [Counter position]( to compete with incumbents. Make it hard for them to mimic your strategy. Copying should lead to cannibalizing their existing business. [Medusa]( is a [Shopify]( alternative. It's unlikely that Shopify will open source. Even if Medusa becomes a formidable competitor. - Permissionlessly contribute to open-source projects. Use open-source contributions to build a portfolio and find jobs. Laszlo Block, former VP of People Operations at Google, [says]( the number of Google employees without a college education is rising. - Use open-source alternatives to avoid [platform risk](, [vendor lock-in]( and [rent-seeking behavior](. Use code that you can fork and self-host. [Oracle]( can raise prices without providing more value because switching costs are high. Bounce cut costs 80% by switching from [Retool]( to [Appsmith](. - Turn complaints into contributions. Accept [pull requests](. Along with feature requests. Augment your dev team with open-source contributions. 🏔️ Risks - Consulting • [Services]( are less scalable than hosting and dual-license models. Consider marginal costs before you choose this strategy. - Community Backlash • Moving free features to paid tiers may lead to backlash. 🔑 Key Lessons - Users are the real winners of monetized open source. Public goods have less lock-in. - Value creation does not automatically lead to value capture. Two-way rating systems, proof of stake protocols and airdrops are "uncornered" innovations. 🔥 Hot Takes - IP rights will be hard to enforce in the new world. [CryptoPunks creators]( are under fire for an inconsistent approach to derivatives. [Bored Apes]( are slightly more lenient. [NFTs]( gave us digital scarcity. [Legitimacy]( and social consensus will rule the day. - Wealthy benefactors will use open-source projects to prop up closed ecosystems and attract talent. See [Apple with Swift]( and [Meta with React.]( 😠Haters "Monetization pollutes intrinsic motivation of developers." Why do open-source projects seek donations and sponsors? Great software requires resources. Sustainable public goods matter. This is why [Gitcoin]( is gaining traction. "This sounds idealistic. Very few people actually contribute to these projects." Contributions are one side of the equation. The other is the ability to fork and customize code. This leads to less lock-in and less rent-seeking. The ability to fork a project, paradoxically, makes it less likely that you'll need to. Forkability forces fairness. "I can make more money with a closed-source model." Monetized open source is not a [hammer](. Think from [first principles](. What's the best way to achieve your mission? Do that 🔗 Links - [Who should I talk to about monetized open source?]( • The tweet behind this report. - [Building a $1 Million Business Solo with Mike Perham of Sidekiq]( • Mike reached $80,000/month without hiring. - [8 Ways to Make Money from Open Source]( • Includes donations, paid support, dual licensing and more. What Else? [Trends PRO #0080 — Monetized Open Source]( has more insights. What you'll get: - 30 Projects (200% More) - 5 Predictions (150% More) - 11 Opportunities (175% More) - 4 Risks (100% More) - 4 Key Lessons (100% More) - 4 Hot Takes (100% More) - 9 Links (200% More) - 14-minute audio episode with exclusive Monetized Open Source stories, insights and opportunities. With Trends Pro you'll learn: - (📈 Pro) Who built a $1,500,000/year productized service on an open-source ecosystem? - (📈 Pro) What's dual licensing? - (📈 Pro) How do NFTs succeed with CC0 licenses? - (📈 Pro) Who built a $750,000,000 company on open data? - (📈 Pro) How to find 200+ open-source alternatives to popular tools? - (📈 Pro) What's value-market fit? - (📈 Pro) What new moat comes from rollups? Unlock Trends Pro ✅ Access All Trends Pro Reports ✅ Stay Accountable with Daily Standups ✅ Meet Curious Entrepreneurs in Weekly Meetups ✅ Discuss Reports with Domain Experts ✅ Collaborate on Upcoming Reports [Become a Trends Pro Member]( To sign up for Trends Pro, [click here](. To get insights on Twitter, [click here](. Trends.vc 101 Marietta Street Northwest, Atlanta Georgia 30303 United States You received this email because you signed up on our website or made a purchase from us. [Unsubscribe](