open source business models

draft. The goal is to keep working on this document until it becomes a) inspirational, b) collective, and c) operational. Yes, that's right, this is supposed to inspire, be written by committee, and have a practical handle on the nitty-gritty details, all at once. Starting with unattainable goals takes the pressure off!

Agaric's model is Free and Open: free and open standards, free and open work and management, free and open source code, free and open documentation. We prefer to take on projects that match that vision.

Not ideas, per se, but intellectual work - inventions, software, business practices, fiction, you name it - that benefits many people. These benefits can be shared for free, so it's best for society if they are. People who produce these benefits should be rewarded, provided a means to continue their work, and given the incentive to create. The solution seems pretty obvious.

A Drupal developer asked outright what people thought of attempts to monetize. I responded to icanlocalize's blog:

For-pay support is definitely a model with promise and worth trying. Try to avoid keeping key pieces online and proprietary though; that i think is bad for the ecosystem.

Chris Bryant of Gravitek
Matt Cheney of Chapter Three
Jenn Sramek of Civic Actions
moderated by Ron Huber of Achieve Internet

Ron:
[shops i consider role models]
i don't have them listed or ranked

most people were in the last presentation

in my opinion most [Drupal shops] are about the same size, under 40.

Ch3 = 27

Civic Actions - 37-40

Chris Bryant
gravitek - 10

See also: http://digitalrhino.wordpress.com/2010/10/24/liza-kindred-from-lullabot-presents-keynote-at-montreal-drupal-camp...

Background in arts and fashion.

Asked to start working 5 hours a week doing business stuff for Lullabot.

Another testimonial to the benefits of agile development and hourly pricing.

http://www.thisux.com/articles/on-the-pricing-of-service-work/

Summary: Great diversity in approaches, some common themes: choosing clients who are well-resourced and good to work with, getting a project manager, relentlessly working on internal communication whether in-person or virtual, and sharing everything good. Commoditization of Drupal skills is happening, and the Drupal ecosystem demands a lot of investment in giving stuff away. Being Drupal experts won't be enough to sustain the rates that sustain this, specialization required.