Fund, Grow, and Abandon

Risks Posed by Private Company Involvement in Open Source

Many open-source projects owe their success to private companies’ leadership and financial support. Often, these companies directly contribute donations, resources, and workforce, which contribute to the ecosystem of open-source software.

There are two main ways in which this support is given:

• Firstly, projects may begin within a private organization and later evolve into open-source endeavors.

• Alternatively, projects could start as open source and later receive funding from private enterprises.

Challenges of Corporate Support

Despite this commendable support, this practice brings about its own set of challenges. These may include:

• centralizing decision-making into the hands of the private company

• limiting engagement from the community

• shifting the focus from user needs to commercial gain.

In situations where the priorities of private companies diverge from those of the pure open-source community, the reliance on these corporations for the functioning of open-source initiatives can become particularly concerning.

Fund, Grow, and Abandon

In more severe cases, a strategy known as the “Fund, grow, and abandon” approach (akin to the “Embrace, extend, and extinguish” strategy) may emerge. This is where corporations potentially take control of an open-source project, possibly leading to its eventual abandonment.

Fund

A private company becomes a significant sponsor of the open-source project or funds initial development. This involves offering considerable resources and funds, along with engaging numerous contributors who align with the project’s principles and culture at first.

It’s important to note that the company’s contributions often come in the form of headcount rather than direct funding or donations. This grants the company a higher degree of control over the project, as donations are subject to the community’s decision.

Grow

Initially, this contribution is welcomed by the initial members, as the company’s support enhances the project’s capabilities. The community embraces the private contributors, appreciating their involvement, and involving them more and more in the decision-making process.

However, as the private company gains majority control, they gradually seize decision-making power and steer the project in a direction that aligns with their own needs and interests. This marginalizes the original community members and contributors, leading them to feel excluded and eventually causing them to leave. Consequently, the future of the project becomes solely dependent on the private company’s decisions and actions.

Abandon

At this stage, the project is very vulnerable to the private company withdrawing its support, whether by intention or accident. This can transpire through various means, such as the enterprise declaring bankruptcy, shifting its priorities, or even deciding to commercialize the open-source project in a manner that deviates from its original alignment, leaving the OSS version unsupported.

The consequences of discontinuing regular support can be severe. The departure of key contributors poses significant challenges for the community, as the sudden loss of their knowledge and expertise makes it difficult to fill the gap. The remaining contributors may face an overwhelming workload, and in the worst-case scenario, the project can appear stagnant or inactive, which discourages new contributors from getting involved. This scenario can lead the project to be obsolete or even collapse.

Eroding Confidence in the Open-Source Ecosystem

The contribution of private companies, while initially welcomed, can pose significant risks to the open-source community. If a prominent project suddenly becomes abandoned, it diminishes trust in the open-source ecosystem.

This outcome may not be intentional, as private companies are driven by their own short-term objectives and priorities. While they may initially find a project attractive, they can later pivot or withdraw their support due to their changing needs or even financial difficulties.

What is the solution?

In an ideal world, projects would flourish without relying on funding or contributions from private companies. They would be self-sustaining, capable of securing their own funding, and maintaining a decentralized governance structure that is resilient against takeovers.

Our mission is to turn this ideal world into reality.

Introducing the “Open Source Economy,” a novel economic model designed to propel open-source to the same level as its closed-source counterparts, offering a viable path for thriving businesses. All of this is achieved while upholding the core values of open-source, in a truly decentralized and democratic manner.

Come to shape with us the future of open source adoption. We have an active discord community, taking part in various subject around open-source. The next one will be about governance in open source projects ! Follow us on linkedin & twitter for more post like this one.

Written by Open Source Economy

We aim to establish open-source as a viable business alternative, readily embraced by projects as a feasible means to build a sustainable enterprise.

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