3 ms·

GitLab CEO here, AMA

by sytse 10y ago

jontonsoup 10y ago
Will you read over my application? Would love feedback!
- sytse 10y ago
  Yes, please coordinate with kirsten@gitlab.com for a 25 minute Google Hangout with me, please link to this comment in your email to her. If the advice is generic enough we might work with you to publish it https://about.gitlab.com/handbook/people-operations/ceo-preferences/#pick-your-brain-meetings https://about.gitlab.com/handbook/people-operations/ceo-pref... (you have a final say in what gets published). This process was also used to produce the OP.
  - jontonsoup 10y ago
    Oh wow that's awesome. Thanks! Will send an email.
    - sytse 10y ago
      Great, looking forward to it.
  - jnpatel 10y ago
    Sid, willing to meet with us too? It'd be very appreciated! (I totally understand you can't do this for everyone who'll ask.) P.S. I'm also open to a peer feedback session for anyone else applying!
    - sytse 10y ago
      I'd be happy to. Shall we make it a video call other people can join too? Tomorrow, Saturday, at 11:00 Pacific? I'll be in https://gitlab.zoom.us/j/351494573 https://gitlab.zoom.us/j/351494573 at that time for anyone that can discuss their application publicly. If you attend please comment so, if you can't also comment so we can try to find an alternative. By the way, I'm a YC participant and not a YC partner. I don't speak for YC and I'm just trying to help.
      - jnpatel 10y ago
        Sounds great, looking forward to chatting with you and others!
        sytse 10y ago
        Great, looking forward to it too.
        deleted 10y ago
        [deleted]
        mellavora 10y ago
        wildfire looks kindof cool.
        sytse 10y ago
        Yeah, jnpatel (Jay's) app http://www.wildfireapp.io/ http://www.wildfireapp.io/ does look cool. I wonder how they get the data for that.
        icebraining 10y ago
        I got curious too; in the Berkeleyside article about it, they say "right now, posts come from a combination of community users, Wildfire staffers and local news partners, including Berkeleyside. To verify information, and decide whether or not to push out an alert to the community, the team checks posts against what is released by authorities and the local media, too."
        sytse 10y ago
        I'm waiting for you in https://gitlab.zoom.us/j/351494573 https://gitlab.zoom.us/j/351494573
        jnpatel 10y ago
        I'm seeing "Please wait for the host to start this meeting"
  - dvdhsu 10y ago
    Sid, are you willing to meet with us quickly too? It would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
    - sytse 10y ago
      Sure! Are you able to join https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12616194 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12616194 ?
      - dvdhsu 10y ago
        If possible, private would be better for us. I'd be happy to make literally any 25' slot you have over the next 2 days. This is really generous of you, and we really appreciate it. Thanks!
        sytse 10y ago
        No problem, please email kirsten@gitlab.com to coordinate a time, please link to this comment, if you want it the next 2 days my preference is Sunday 4pm Pacific but I'm not sure that works for you. I propose we do https://about.gitlab.com/handbook/people-operations/ceo-preferences/#pick-your-brain-meetings https://about.gitlab.com/handbook/people-operations/ceo-pref... (you get to redact the notes)
        dvdhsu 10y ago
        The time and process are both fine by us. Just sent an email to Kirsten -- thanks for taking the time again!
        sytse 10y ago
        Glad to hear that works. See you on Sunday.
the_watcher 10y ago
Just an FYI - looks like the link to Placket points to https://about.gitlab.com/2016/09/30/what-founders-ask-founders-about-getting-into-yc/www.placker.com https://about.gitlab.com/2016/09/30/what-founders-ask-founde..., so it just 404s.
- sytse 10y ago
  Thanks for watching out for us. Fixed with https://gitlab.com/gitlab-com/www-gitlab-com/commit/e213dac8d5d36d7595a5f8deaa061fccb1cc96ce https://gitlab.com/gitlab-com/www-gitlab-com/commit/e213dac8... (deploy is in progress)
  - the_watcher 10y ago
    No problem - I've made that mistake myself on more than one occasion.
idlewords 10y ago
How many wolves in Sweden?
- sytse 10y ago
  Less since January http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/swedish-hunters-to-begin-mass-slaughter-of-wolves-despite-legal-challenges-a6794841.html http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/swedish-hunte...
open-source-ux 10y ago
In your Y Combinator application, you say: "...to create and grow a competitive open source offering you need to have a proprietary commercial version to generate scalable revenue, support income alone is not enough." I've often wondered if you can make money selling an open source software product that isn't dependent on support or services. In your application form, you're essentially saying this isn't possible. Do you have any advice for people creating open source products regarding this view of open source vs closed source for sales and revenue? Do you still feel that anyone with an open source product should also be providing a closed-source commercial version which will actually be the main source of revenue? How have people in the Open Source field reacted to this viewpoint given that there is a strong negative reaction to closed source in some quarters. I'd love to find a way of selling an open source product that didn't have to rely on a service contract or support for revenue. Is it impossible without a closed source offering? Any thoughts, much appreciated.
- agibsonccc 10y ago
  Another open core YC founder here. Can confirm it's the best way to go. Pure oss tends to become services heavy quick. Another thing to think about: If your open source support is good enough, they may not pay for your support offering either.
  - sytse 10y ago
    Thanks for chiming in, I totally agree. Of course some products and markets have been able to make the support model work, like RedHat. But it is very hard to pull off and I think it used to be easier in the past when companies where very worried about support and licensing. Nowadays they are much more comfortable with open source. What we are seeing is that companies that pay for our premium support tend to cancel that after the first year because they didn't need it. We want to make a product that is easy to install and maintain. This reduces the demand for support. There is a incentive for companies selling support to be a bit less aggressive documenting everything. An open core model needs a very careful balance between being a good steward of the project and the need for revenue. We documented what we learned so far on https://about.gitlab.com/about/#stewardship https://about.gitlab.com/about/#stewardship and keep our ears open on forums like these.

GitLab CEO here, AMA

by sytse 10y ago

GitLab CEO here, AMA

jontonsoup 10y ago

Will you read over my application? Would love feedback!

sytse 10y ago
Yes, please coordinate with kirsten@gitlab.com for a 25 minute Google Hangout with me, please link to this comment in your email to her. If the advice is generic enough we might work with you to publish it https://about.gitlab.com/handbook/people-operations/ceo-preferences/#pick-your-brain-meetings https://about.gitlab.com/handbook/people-operations/ceo-pref... (you have a final say in what gets published). This process was also used to produce the OP.
- jontonsoup 10y ago
  Oh wow that's awesome. Thanks! Will send an email.
  - sytse 10y ago
    Great, looking forward to it.
- jnpatel 10y ago
  Sid, willing to meet with us too? It'd be very appreciated! (I totally understand you can't do this for everyone who'll ask.) P.S. I'm also open to a peer feedback session for anyone else applying!
  - sytse 10y ago
    I'd be happy to. Shall we make it a video call other people can join too? Tomorrow, Saturday, at 11:00 Pacific? I'll be in https://gitlab.zoom.us/j/351494573 https://gitlab.zoom.us/j/351494573 at that time for anyone that can discuss their application publicly. If you attend please comment so, if you can't also comment so we can try to find an alternative. By the way, I'm a YC participant and not a YC partner. I don't speak for YC and I'm just trying to help.
    - jnpatel 10y ago
      Sounds great, looking forward to chatting with you and others!
      - sytse 10y ago
        Great, looking forward to it too.
        deleted 10y ago
        [deleted]
      - mellavora 10y ago
        wildfire looks kindof cool.
        sytse 10y ago
        Yeah, jnpatel (Jay's) app http://www.wildfireapp.io/ http://www.wildfireapp.io/ does look cool. I wonder how they get the data for that.
        icebraining 10y ago
        I got curious too; in the Berkeleyside article about it, they say "right now, posts come from a combination of community users, Wildfire staffers and local news partners, including Berkeleyside. To verify information, and decide whether or not to push out an alert to the community, the team checks posts against what is released by authorities and the local media, too."
      - sytse 10y ago
        I'm waiting for you in https://gitlab.zoom.us/j/351494573 https://gitlab.zoom.us/j/351494573
        jnpatel 10y ago
        I'm seeing "Please wait for the host to start this meeting"
- dvdhsu 10y ago
  Sid, are you willing to meet with us quickly too? It would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
  - sytse 10y ago
    Sure! Are you able to join https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12616194 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12616194 ?
    - dvdhsu 10y ago
      If possible, private would be better for us. I'd be happy to make literally any 25' slot you have over the next 2 days. This is really generous of you, and we really appreciate it. Thanks!
      - sytse 10y ago
        No problem, please email kirsten@gitlab.com to coordinate a time, please link to this comment, if you want it the next 2 days my preference is Sunday 4pm Pacific but I'm not sure that works for you. I propose we do https://about.gitlab.com/handbook/people-operations/ceo-preferences/#pick-your-brain-meetings https://about.gitlab.com/handbook/people-operations/ceo-pref... (you get to redact the notes)
        dvdhsu 10y ago
        The time and process are both fine by us. Just sent an email to Kirsten -- thanks for taking the time again!
        sytse 10y ago
        Glad to hear that works. See you on Sunday.

the_watcher 10y ago

Just an FYI - looks like the link to Placket points to https://about.gitlab.com/2016/09/30/what-founders-ask-founders-about-getting-into-yc/www.placker.com https://about.gitlab.com/2016/09/30/what-founders-ask-founde..., so it just 404s.

sytse 10y ago
Thanks for watching out for us. Fixed with https://gitlab.com/gitlab-com/www-gitlab-com/commit/e213dac8d5d36d7595a5f8deaa061fccb1cc96ce https://gitlab.com/gitlab-com/www-gitlab-com/commit/e213dac8... (deploy is in progress)
- the_watcher 10y ago
  No problem - I've made that mistake myself on more than one occasion.

idlewords 10y ago

How many wolves in Sweden?

sytse 10y ago
Less since January http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/swedish-hunters-to-begin-mass-slaughter-of-wolves-despite-legal-challenges-a6794841.html http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/swedish-hunte...

open-source-ux 10y ago

In your Y Combinator application, you say: "...to create and grow a competitive open source offering you need to have a proprietary commercial version to generate scalable revenue, support income alone is not enough." I've often wondered if you can make money selling an open source software product that isn't dependent on support or services. In your application form, you're essentially saying this isn't possible. Do you have any advice for people creating open source products regarding this view of open source vs closed source for sales and revenue? Do you still feel that anyone with an open source product should also be providing a closed-source commercial version which will actually be the main source of revenue? How have people in the Open Source field reacted to this viewpoint given that there is a strong negative reaction to closed source in some quarters. I'd love to find a way of selling an open source product that didn't have to rely on a service contract or support for revenue. Is it impossible without a closed source offering? Any thoughts, much appreciated.

agibsonccc 10y ago
Another open core YC founder here. Can confirm it's the best way to go. Pure oss tends to become services heavy quick. Another thing to think about: If your open source support is good enough, they may not pay for your support offering either.
- sytse 10y ago
  Thanks for chiming in, I totally agree. Of course some products and markets have been able to make the support model work, like RedHat. But it is very hard to pull off and I think it used to be easier in the past when companies where very worried about support and licensing. Nowadays they are much more comfortable with open source. What we are seeing is that companies that pay for our premium support tend to cancel that after the first year because they didn't need it. We want to make a product that is easy to install and maintain. This reduces the demand for support. There is a incentive for companies selling support to be a bit less aggressive documenting everything. An open core model needs a very careful balance between being a good steward of the project and the need for revenue. We documented what we learned so far on https://about.gitlab.com/about/#stewardship https://about.gitlab.com/about/#stewardship and keep our ears open on forums like these.