{"id":641994,"date":"2024-10-20T17:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-10-20T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/joseph-jacks-bets-on-open-source-startups-a-paradox-of-philanthropy-and-capitalism\/"},"modified":"2024-10-20T17:00:00","modified_gmt":"2024-10-20T14:00:00","slug":"joseph-jacks-bets-on-open-source-startups-a-paradox-of-philanthropy-and-capitalism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/joseph-jacks-bets-on-open-source-startups-a-paradox-of-philanthropy-and-capitalism\/","title":{"rendered":"#Joseph Jacks bets on open source startups, a &#8216;paradox of philanthropy and capitalism&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a4ec766e7c36\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a4ec766e7c36\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/joseph-jacks-bets-on-open-source-startups-a-paradox-of-philanthropy-and-capitalism\/#Open_for_business\" >Open for business<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/joseph-jacks-bets-on-open-source-startups-a-paradox-of-philanthropy-and-capitalism\/#Open_network\" >Open network<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<div>\n<p id=\"speakable-summary\" class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Open source might be many things, but one thing it\u2019s not <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/opensourcewatch.beehiiv.com\/p\/open-source-not-business-model-never\">is a business model<\/a> \u2014 by <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/quora\/2017\/09\/29\/open-source-isnt-a-business-model-its-a-market-strategy\/\">most estimations<\/a>, at least. However, that hasn\u2019t stopped <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/josephjacks\/\">Joseph Jacks<\/a> and <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/oss.capital\/\">OSS Capital<\/a> from seeking some of the earliest-stage, open source startups and funding them through their formative years.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">These include the likes of open source <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/formbricks.com\/\">Qualtrics<\/a>-alternative <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/formbricks.com\/\">Formbricks<\/a>, which <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20231211193637\/https:\/\/formbricks.com\/blog\/preseed-announcement\">raised<\/a> a pre-seed round of funding last year. Elsewhere, there is Notion alternative <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">App<\/a>Flowy; Jira alternative Plane; <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/venturebeat.com\/uncategorized\/how-hoppscotch-is-building-an-open-source-api-development-ecosystem\/\">Calendly alternative<\/a> Cal.com; <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/venturebeat.com\/uncategorized\/how-hoppscotch-is-building-an-open-source-api-development-ecosystem\/\">Postman alternative<\/a> Hoppscotch; and for those seeking an alternative to Okta, Cerbos is worth a look. The one thing they all have in common is that they are open source, and they have all raised cash from OSS Capital. But they also highlight the perennial struggle between the open source and proprietary domains, showcasing two diametrically opposing ideas \u2014 that of giving something away for free and that of making a profit.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe cool thing, though, about these open source companies is they are inherently philanthropic, while at the same time capitalistic and pursuing business models that actually generate sustainable revenue outcomes,\u201d Jacks said in an interview with TechCrunch. \u201cAnd I think they\u2019re very paradoxical, from the very beginning all the way to when they\u2019re large companies.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This juxtaposition of \u201cphilanthropy\u201d and \u201cbusiness\u201d is at the heart of OSS Capital\u2019s investment thesis, according to Jacks \u2014 he believes there should be more open source in the world, and his way of \u201cexpressing that belief\u201d is one built around this idea of capitalism.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI think capitalism can promote positive and sustainable behavior much better than philanthropy can for positive and sustainable behavior,\u201d Jacks said. \u201cI believe that capitalism itself <em>is<\/em> the penultimate manifestation of philanthropy, and commercial open source networks and startups are the most well-suited type of capitalism toward accelerating open source innovation in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-open-for-business\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Open_for_business\"><\/span>Open for business<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jacks founded one of the first commercial companies to spring up around Kubernetes, the containerized application platform spun out from Google in 2014. Kismatic, as Jacks\u2019 startup was called, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.prnewswire.com\/news-releases\/apprenda-announces-enterprise-kubernetes-with-acquisition-of-kismatic-300271751.html\">was acquired by<\/a> enterprise software company Apprenda in 2016. Jacks also kickstarted the Kubernetes community conference KubeCon, which Kismatic <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cncf.io\/announcements\/2016\/04\/26\/cloud-native-computing-foundation-presents-cloudnativecon-and-hosts-future-kubecon-events\/\">donated to the<\/a> Cloud Native Computing Foundation in 2016.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After Kismatic, Jacks co-founded cloud data management startup <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.crunchbase.com\/organization\/aljabr\">Aljabr<\/a>, and though this company ultimately went nowhere, it was around this time that Jacks <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/jjacks.svbtle.com\/commercial-open-source-paradox\">started blogging<\/a> about his thoughts on open source companies.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe fund wasn\u2019t a big grand plan \u2014 it was a process of being really obsessed with these open source companies, and I started a blog <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/watch-movies-tv-seriess\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"8\" title=\"Watch Movies &amp; TV Series\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">series<\/a> that eventually led to starting the fund,\u201d Jacks said. \u201cI didn\u2019t have any VC or investing experience.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And so OSS Capital was born in 2018, with Jacks the solo <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/general\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"3\" title=\"General\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">general<\/a> partner (GP) and investor. OSS Capital has now raised three funds, each around $50 million in size, with plans to close a fourth by early 2026.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While most of its investments are at the seed stage, OSS Capital does some follow-on funding, including <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pocketgamer.biz\/w4-games-raises-15-million-to-boost-godot-engine-development-and-services\/\">leading<\/a> on a Series A round last year into W4 <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/game\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"7\" title=\"Game\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Game<\/a>s, which is commercializing the open source game engine Godot. It has also done some larger checks for follow-on rounds, though for that it has used a special purpose vehicle (SPV), which involves setting up an entity for single investments.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There are also a few exits to speak of, including the full-stack web framework <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/remix.run\/\">Remix<\/a>, which Shopify acquired in mid-2022 and which is now the <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/shopify.engineering\/shopifys-platform-is-the-web-platform\">recommended way<\/a> for users building Admin apps on Shopify.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt was a small outcome for us \u2014 we made a few times our money, but it\u2019s had great outcomes for Shopify,\u201d Jacks said. <\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"449\" src=\"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/W4.jpeg?w=680\" alt=\"W4 Games' founding team\" class=\"wp-image-2901208\" srcset=\"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/W4.jpeg 800w, https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/W4.jpeg?resize=150,84 150w, https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/W4.jpeg?resize=300,168 300w, https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/W4.jpeg?resize=768,431 768w, https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/W4.jpeg?resize=680,382 680w, https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/W4.jpeg?resize=430,241 430w, https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/W4.jpeg?resize=720,404 720w, https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/W4.jpeg?resize=668,375 668w, https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/W4.jpeg?resize=708,397 708w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><span class=\"wp-element-caption__text\">W4 Games\u2019 founding team. <\/span><span class=\"wp-block-image__credits\"><strong>Image Credits:<\/strong>W4 Games.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To date, OSS Capital has made in the region of 80 investments, and earlier this week, Jacks <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/feed\/update\/urn:li:activity:7252147889555025922\/\">announced<\/a> that he would be transitioning his firm from an ERA (<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.angellist.com\/learn\/exempt-reporting-advisor\">exempt reporting adviser<\/a>) to an RIA (<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Registered_investment_adviser\">registered investment adviser<\/a>) to fulfill regulatory requirements around crypto. While Jacks stresses he isn\u2019t \u201cdiversifying into crypto,\u201d they have made a handful of investments in the space over the past few years, including $40 million in capital put into Parallel Studios, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/oss.capital\/portfolio\/Bittensor\">Bittensor<\/a>, and Coinbase CEO <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.researchhub.com\/post\/979\/researchhub-raises-5m-to-help-scientists-monetize-their-research\">Brian Armstrong\u2019s ResearchHub<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Today, OSS Capital counts a fairly extensive roster of limited partners (LPs) \u2014 mostly individuals, many of whom have connections to the world of open source software. These include Automattic CEO and WordPress co-creator Matt Mullenweg; Red Hat co-founder Bob Young; Cockroach Labs\u2019 co-founder Spencer Kimball; and MongoDB co-founder Eliot Horowitz. Elsewhere, <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">YouTube<\/a> founders Chad Hurley and Steve Chen are also backers, as are Shopify founder Tobias L\u00fctke, GitHub co-founder Tom Preston-Werner, and founding Google investor Ram Shriram.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">OSS Capital also counts a handful of larger institutional investors, including Automattic, which has been its biggest corporate investor since OSS Capital\u2019s second fund. Other notable names in the institution pot include Insight Partners and Summit Partners, both of which are renowned for their investments across the venture capital and private equity realms.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI haven\u2019t really pushed to get more of these institutional investors, or from the likes of nonprofits, foundations and endowments,\u201d Jacks said. \u201cI just haven\u2019t spent time optimizing the design of the fund. The reason we have mostly individual investors is that they\u2019re people that I really admire and I respect a lot \u2014 they understand what we\u2019re doing, because they\u2019ve built open source companies over the years.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-open-network\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Open_network\"><\/span>Open network<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There are plenty of niche venture capital firms out there, focusing on everything <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.reverepartnersvc.com\/newsroom\/launch\">from wildfires<\/a> to <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.reverepartnersvc.com\/newsroom\/launch\">oral health<\/a>. Such vertical-specific investment philosophies might be an appealing proposition for early founders wanting deep industry expertise.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/didier-lopes\/\">Didier Lope<\/a><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/didier-lopes\/\">s<\/a>, co-founder and CEO of <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/openbb.co\/\">OpenBB<\/a> \u2014 often referred to as an open source alternative to Bloomberg Terminal \u2014 secured <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/venturebeat.com\/data-infrastructure\/openbb-wants-to-be-an-open-source-challenger-to-bloomberg-terminal\/\">$8.5 million<\/a> in a seed round of funding led by OSS Capital just six months after his project\u2019s inception. And Lopes said that the insights and connections fostered through this initial tie-up opened doors.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThey recognized the time required to cultivate a strong and loyal community \u2014 their insights into how other startups navigate the balance between open source and commercial offerings was important for us to define our strategy going forward,\u201d Lopes told TechCrunch. \u201cBut also, being able to connect us with open source leaders.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This included introductions to angel investors, such as Red Hat\u2019s Bob Young and AngelList co-founder <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/navalr\/\">Naval Ra<\/a><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/navalr\/\">vikant<\/a>, in addition to executives from companies such as Elastic and GitLab who now sit on OpenBB\u2019s advisory board.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1737\" height=\"976\" src=\"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Didier_landscape-e1728131913970.jpg?w=680\" alt=\"OpenBB co-founder and CEO Didier Lopes speaking at the Future of Finance and AI conference at Cornell\" class=\"wp-image-2893442\" srcset=\"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Didier_landscape-e1728131913970.jpg 1737w, https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Didier_landscape-e1728131913970.jpg?resize=150,84 150w, https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Didier_landscape-e1728131913970.jpg?resize=300,169 300w, https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Didier_landscape-e1728131913970.jpg?resize=768,432 768w, https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Didier_landscape-e1728131913970.jpg?resize=680,382 680w, https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Didier_landscape-e1728131913970.jpg?resize=1200,674 1200w, https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Didier_landscape-e1728131913970.jpg?resize=1280,719 1280w, https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Didier_landscape-e1728131913970.jpg?resize=430,242 430w, https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Didier_landscape-e1728131913970.jpg?resize=720,405 720w, https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Didier_landscape-e1728131913970.jpg?resize=900,506 900w, https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Didier_landscape-e1728131913970.jpg?resize=800,450 800w, https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Didier_landscape-e1728131913970.jpg?resize=1536,863 1536w, https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Didier_landscape-e1728131913970.jpg?resize=668,375 668w, https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Didier_landscape-e1728131913970.jpg?resize=1098,617 1098w, https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Didier_landscape-e1728131913970.jpg?resize=708,398 708w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1737px) 100vw, 1737px\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><span class=\"wp-element-caption__text\">OpenBB co-founder and CEO Didier Lopes speaking at the Future of Finance and AI conference at Cornell. <\/span><span class=\"wp-block-image__credits\"><strong>Image Credits:<\/strong>OpenBB<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, leaning into \u201copen source\u201d as an investment ethos flies in the face of a growing sense that overly permissive software licensing <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/posts\/danlorenc_oss-opensource-startups-activity-7223432828749815809-N_iI\/\">just isn\u2019t compatible<\/a> with building a sustainable long-term business. By way of example, developer tooling unicorn Sentry, in cahoots with several other startups, is putting its weight behind a new licensing paradigm dubbed \u201c<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/fair.io\/\">fair source<\/a>,\u201d a tacit acknowledgment that while open source as a concept remains popular, startups are wary of its commercial limitations.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cOpen source isn\u2019t a business model \u2014 open source is a distribution model, it\u2019s a software development model, primarily,\u201d\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/chadwhitacre\/\">Chad Whitacre<\/a>, Sentry\u2019s head of open source, told TechCrunch in an interview last month. \u201cAnd in fact, it places severe limits on what business models are available, because of the licensing terms.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jacks, for what it\u2019s worth, is fully on board with this sentiment. \u201cI agree with him completely, it\u2019s true,\u201d he said. This is surprising, given that his VC firm is seemingly all-in on open source. The three-letter acronym in \u201cOSS Capital\u201d stands for \u201copen source software,\u201d in case there were any lingering doubts.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But this is where we get into the real nitty-gritty of <em>commercial<\/em> open source software (COSS), which is often less about critical components of the software stack such as the wildly popular Kubernetes, and more about trying to monetize fully fledged SaaS apps that use open source as a carrot-on-a-stick. The go-to model for many of these businesses has come to be known as \u201c<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/opensource.com\/article\/21\/11\/open-core-vs-open-source\">open core<\/a>,\u201d where the core functionality of the software is open source, but a significant portion of the utility is locked behind a premium, proprietary paywall. This allows customers to tinker, inspect, integrate, and self-host \u2014 but if they want hosting or bells-and-whistles enterprise features, they have to pay.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And this is where Jacks is at pains to point out why \u201copen source\u201d in itself isn\u2019t what he invests in.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThere\u2019s a fundamental difference between \u2018open source\u2019 and \u2018commercial open source\u2019,\u201d Jacks said. \u201cOpen source is a licensing paradigm, a <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/technology\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"4\" title=\"Technology\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">technology<\/a> development paradigm, a philosophy \u2014 that is not what I invest in; OSS Capital does not invest in open source. We manage money for people to multiply their investment, and make them tons more money. And I do what I do because I\u2019m also very interested in making tons of money.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Buried in amongst all this is a bet \u2014 a big bet \u2014 that \u201copen core\u201d will ultimately win out over pure proprietary.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cMy view is that this kind of [open core] approach will actually replace closed core SaaS companies,\u201d Jacks said. \u201cI\u2019ve had this thesis from the beginning of the fund, and it builds on what Marc Andreessen said about software eating the world, but my take on that has been that open source is eating software <em>faster<\/em> than software is eating the world.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And he\u2019s not the only person who thinks this. GitLab CEO and co-founder <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/sijbrandij\/\">Sid Sijbrandij<\/a> launched <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/opencoreventures.com\/about\/\">Open Core Ventures<\/a> (OCV) in 2020, and while it\u2019s slightly different in that it\u2019s adopting more of an incubator approach to building and investing in companies around existing open source projects, it has a similar underlying philosophy. Sijbrandij believes that \u201copen core\u201d startups will <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/opencoreventures.com\/about\/\">represent 80%<\/a> of venture-funded startups in the future, though he concedes it may \u201ctake a long time\u201d before we actually reach that stage.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe power of open core comes from giving users the ability to contribute \u2014 open core provides a level of trust, agility, and speed you can\u2019t get with closed-source software,\u201d Sijbrandij told TechCrunch. \u201cWe\u2019re seeing the open core model mature and more entrepreneurs wanting to start businesses under the model \u2014 open core is a broad space between completely proprietary and completely open source. We think that over time most companies will be somewhere on this spectrum, instead of on the extremes.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMN63nwsw68G3Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more like this article, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/technology\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Technology<\/a><\/span> category.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/2024\/10\/20\/joseph-jacks-bets-on-open-source-startups-a-paradox-of-philanthropy-and-capitalism\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Open source might be many things, but one thing it\u2019s not is a business model \u2014 by most estimations, at least. However, that hasn\u2019t stopped Joseph Jacks and OSS Capital from seeking some of the earliest-stage, open source startups and funding them through their formative years. These include the likes of open source Qualtrics-alternative Formbricks,&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":641995,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/1709711483591.jpeg?w=768","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[83071,152395,152396,151454,151477],"class_list":["post-641994","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology","tag-open-source","tag-joseph-jacks","tag-oss-capital","tag-tc","tag-venture"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/641994","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=641994"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/641994\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/641995"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=641994"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=641994"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=641994"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}