My OSS project wasn’t nearly as well used, but it also was making someone else money, and I also put a lot of time into it without getting paid.
I never had the time or understanding to setup a business around it, so in the end I just got rid of everything. No more open source unless it’s purely for my own enjoyment.
I’m VERY appreciative of free and open source projects and organizations that don’t try to make money. The FSF, GNU, Linux- I love these! I would love if the world just focused on these! I would use a Linux desktop and phone if they were in that Apple sweetspot (iOS 26 not included) of ease for techs and non-techs.
What I’ve noticed about successful open-source projects is that they have:
- a strong leader, who has dedicated their life to it, not as a secondary initiative, and who one day knows they must hand the reins to another
- a willing team that continues to bring in “new meat”
- a project that sells itself by filling a need that will remain for some time by many
- no need or desire for money
Those that end in failure involve:
- a leader/team that sees it as part-time volunteer work, and they do it because it makes them feel good about themselves; they are giving back
- the assumption that one day maybe they’ll get paid
I never had the time or understanding to setup a business around it, so in the end I just got rid of everything. No more open source unless it’s purely for my own enjoyment.
I’m VERY appreciative of free and open source projects and organizations that don’t try to make money. The FSF, GNU, Linux- I love these! I would love if the world just focused on these! I would use a Linux desktop and phone if they were in that Apple sweetspot (iOS 26 not included) of ease for techs and non-techs.
What I’ve noticed about successful open-source projects is that they have:
- a strong leader, who has dedicated their life to it, not as a secondary initiative, and who one day knows they must hand the reins to another
- a willing team that continues to bring in “new meat”
- a project that sells itself by filling a need that will remain for some time by many
- no need or desire for money
Those that end in failure involve:
- a leader/team that sees it as part-time volunteer work, and they do it because it makes them feel good about themselves; they are giving back
- the assumption that one day maybe they’ll get paid