The Business of Open Source at CommonPlaces Room

LizaK

Liza Kindred

open source initiative

turn free software into jobs
lullabot has 401k benefits

lullabot supports 35 ppl with families !!! awesome!!!

openness
credit / attribution
growth

1. free redistribution
   of ideas, no new ideas, someone's already had it, dont keep ideas to yourself. everybody has good ideas

2. source code
   mission statements are dumb, but understand the core values of a company is really really important

3. derived works
   ideas should be able to 1.grow, 2.change, 3.die.

4. integrity of author's source code
   taking credit for stuff is stupid! businesses should only GIVE credit, attribution

5. no descrimination about people or groups
   13 or 14 ppl in lullabot, no office ever. diversity in location. global diversity in client base and workers
   only 2 of the lullabots have college degrees...?

6. no decrimination against fields of endeavor.
   no departments in small companies
   marketing, evil word in opensource :P,

open source smells a bit like patchouli, traditional business models are looked down upon

the most evi;l word in open source is profit. a panel at sxsw said there was no way to make money with open source, what a bunch of dumbasses

150K worth of work went into drupalcon dc,

shouldnt be embarrased about making a profit, we must support our families

1. distribution of license

no red tape, no bereaucracy

1. license must not be specific to a product
   if an idea is good implement it across your org

2. license must not restrict other software
   dont add baggage to stuff/ideas

3. license must be technology neutral
   dont be a mac whore! like everbody else

how do we apply these ideas

openbooks (look it up)

bcorporation.net B Corp's
normal corps is one legal obligation is to make shareholder money
social venture network

ways to start, eco conscious, life balance-time with family

benefits and challenges

recession is going on but drupalcon doubled. drupal is working in a growth industry. govt is interested in open standards

people interested in social change, the most effect way is to start a business. non profits are not the most effective vehicles for social change.

look on slideshare - LizaK

small giants, bo burlingham READ IT

giving back to the drupal community, how to pay developers to do that?
lullabot states that they try to do half client billable time and half contributing time
20 hours per week is fully booked for them, per person

acquia does one day a week, they call this marketing, and training, and becoming the experts they bill themselves as

lullabot is 3.5 years old....

more expertise will get you higher rates, perception of the market rate is lower

explain that they have to maintain, explaint he drupal way, the maintenance costs a crapload

what should matter to the client is what they're gonna do with it.

Resolution