How to Monetize from Open Source Projects - Riza Fahmi X Frans Allen
fmgono
0 reactions 2022-06-06
These are some key notes that I got from Mas Riza’s podcast (Developer’s Story) featuring Frans Allen. It turns out, that if we have a correct business model, we can get money from open source projects.
Try to Solve The Problems We Have First
Try to start overcoming the problems that we experience ourselves. Because it could be in other parts of the world, there are people who face the same problems as we experience. That way, we also actually solving other people’s problems.
After creating a solution to our problem, and we open source our project, we can monetize our open source project in several ways, including the following below
Get Sponsorship
This can happen if the open source project that we make, turns out to be a lot of people who use it, and some technology companies are no exception.
It is possible that developers or companies who find it very helpful in overcoming their problems will be happy to provide support by becoming a sponsor.
Another benefit for sponsors can also be getting an “exposure”, because usually open source projects will also show who is sponsoring the project.
Offer Services
This method is quite simple, we offer services. for example, we can offer installation services for our open source applications by customizing some parts.
Freemium
This business model is has a free version (with limitation), but there is also a premium version with full features but have to pay / subscribe to get it.
Summary
Often people say open source projects are free. Yes, it is indeed free to use, but with some limitations. We must know that:
- There are developers who work voluntarily to solve a problem.
- The software is free, but that doesn’t mean we can blame the developer when we find a bug. Because, if we want the software to have a good support team, that’s where we have to pay them.