Is open source a marketing hack?

Question

I‘m Marc, an open-source advocate. I see a lot more startups building open source. What are your thoughts?

Aleks Bochkov · Accepted Answer

Good question! Seems to me that it recently became a marketing trend, giving little or limited for free as open source and then opt users in to subscribe for updates or hassle free- hosted version they provide for money.

Marc Seitz · Answer

@aleksbchkv interesting observation! I do love the open-source Saas (or COSS) movement. In general I think open-source makes the world build better products.

Marc Seitz · Answer

@keira_stump yes and potential new employees/contributors

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Open source is not a get-rich-quick scheme. It's a long-term investment in building a community and creating valuable software.

Benjamin Patterson · Answer

Could be, if done right. Open source gets you street cred, community contributions, and can be a lead-gen tool.

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Open source can help you get your project noticed by potential customers and partners.

Marc Seitz · Answer

@diana_iun For me, open source is the ultimate form of innovation. I believe that code by itself is worthless and a commodity. Open source is accelerating new open source development - it's an accelerating cycle.

Therefore, I also deeply believe that we need to find a way to make open source sustainable. By adding a Saas business model, sponsorships, rewards for contributions and more.

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@rehan_aslam So true.

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Being an advocate, can you tell me about what you believe in and stand up for? I'm curious to learn more about your values and the things that matter most to you.

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Marc Seitz · Answer

@mark_curz it's far from get-rich quick or slow hahahaha. it's very much about giving back like you said to the community

Marc Seitz · Answer

@rehan_aslam 3C's = Community, Collaboration, Code

Marc Seitz · Answer

@gull_rana 100% agree with you. Community is key

Is open source a marketing hack?

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