A Case Against Starting Your SaaS as an Open-Source Company with Steven Renwick

This week I’m chatting with Steven Renwick, CEO of Tilores. As you’ll hear in the episode, we connected when I mistook Tilores for an open-source company. Steven graciously agreed to come on the show to discuss why they decided against making the product open source — which is actually a conversation worth having, and one that open source founders should probably have more often.

There are a few options for companies building SaaS tools to solve problems for engineers and enterprises, from open source and open core all the way to completely closed source. In this episode, Steven and I discuss some of these options and why his company decided that going closed source would be the option that provided them the greatest opportunity for growth. Steven himself thought they would start the company as an open-source company, but upon further examination, realized they weren’t leaning in that direction for the right reasons. Listen to hear the journey from the beginning of their search for funding, to heading into the end of their second year in business as a closed-source company.

Highlights:

• I introduce Steven, tell the story of how we met, and he fills us in on the origin of Tilores. (0:32)
• Steven delves deeper into how Tilores started and why they decided against open source. (1:47)
• Steven and I discuss how companies sometimes get into open source before they fully understand all of the licensing options and how it will effect their business. (6:05)
• I point out that transparency is a commonly appreciated value in open source projects and Steven agrees that while it hasn’t been an issue so far, that is something that may push Tilores to open source in the future. (8:58)
• In seeking funding for Tilores, Steven found investors hesitant to buy into an open source company, so he explains why he thinks that is. (10:37)
• Steven and I discuss the many reasons going closed source keeps things simple. (14:27)
• Steven and I debate the idea that being open source implies a grander vision or hope of becoming the standard of service. (16:01)
• I mention that companies have gone from open source to closed source, which leads us to how open source can make it difficult for a company to become profitable. (19:43)
• We then dive into what the difference in vision between making boatloads of money, hoping to become the standard of service, and hoping to serve a particular niche. (21:06)
• If you don’t have a really good reason to go open source, maybe you shouldn’t. (24:15)
• Steven recalls a mistake in the early development of Tilores. (27:12)
• Steven shares his advice for folks making a product for engineers. (29:22)
• Steven reviews Tilores’s biggest challenge now. (30:58)
• Steven shares some final thoughts on open source. (34:07)

Links:

Steven

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevenrenwick/
• Twitter: @Major_Grooves
• Company: tilores.io/