Ask Slashdot: Viable Open Source Models For Early Startups?

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?"

Comments

If you think open source is not the way to go....

[jawtheshark]

If you think open source is not the way to go, then why bother asking slashdot? Seriously? You won't get the answers you're looking for here.

Basically, the only reply to OSS business models is "support your product". If the product is so easy/good that no support is required, then you might as well have no product at all. Then the only thing that remains is using your free product as a showcase for your paid products, but those won't be open source.

As much as I love open source, if you don't serve specific niches or aren't a big company, you're unlikely to get far when you're a one man shop.