How to Build an Open Source Business - From Community to Commercialization

Explore a comprehensive framework for building successful open source businesses in this 25-minute talk by a16z General Partner Peter Levine. Discover how to transform developer enthusiasm into enterprise sales, covering key aspects such as product management, licensing, and sales strategies. Learn about the three pillars of open source, the importance of project-community fit and product-market fit, and various business models including cloud and licensing options. Gain insights into common failure modes, success indicators, and the growing significance of open source in the software industry. Download the accompanying slide deck for a visual guide to commercializing open source projects in the SaaS era.

Intro
The Open Source Renaissance Venture Deal Volume and Total Sizes
The Virtuous Cycle of Open Source
Three Pillars of Open Source
Project-Community Fit
Product-Market Fit Goal Organic Adoption
Value-Market Fit Goal: Ravenue from Value to the Enterprise
Value-Market Fit Business Models
Cloud & Licensing
Remember Your Competitive Advantage
Licensing Models 10 Open Source Licenses in 2018
Product Management
Lead-Gen & Sales Development
3 Common Failure Modes
What Success Looks Like
As Software Eats the World, Open Source Eats Software