Ask Slashdot: Viable Open Source Models For Early Startups?

Posted by timothy on Sunday April 8, 2012 @09:56AM from the what's-the-mojo-kenneth? dept.

New submitter rchoetzlein writes "I am a software developer working independently for five years on various projects, and preparing to go public with my first product. Everyone is telling me I should make it open source. I would love to, but I just don't see how an early startup can afford to become profitable on service alone. My projects are no longer small-scale hobbies, they are large frameworks, and I need to make a living. Any ideas on business models that would allow me to open source while guaranteeing I can feed myself?"

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Re:If you think open source is not the way to go.. by Oligonicella · 2012-04-08 13:53 · Score: 0, Offtopic

Ethics are perforce abstract. They are something you reach for, not an absolute without contexts. For instance, if your ethics tell you to help others eat, that in no way means you need starve to do it.

Shooting the shit out of your example.