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I think Hashicorp[0] has nailed down the open source enterprise model perfectly. Where they make open source software for enterprise and provide services to su

I think Hashicorp[0] has nailed down the open source enterprise model perfectly. Where they make open source software for enterprise and provide services to support. [0]: https://www.hashicorp.com https://www.hashicorp.com

user5994461 8y ago
They barely have any revenue and they're struggling. It's probably one of the next companies to be acquired in the coming years.
- the_common_man 8y ago
  I have always wondered what this enterprise support means? So if a big company starts using vagrant, they would dole out 100k for a support contract? I find this hard to believe but what do I know.
  - GenerocUsername 8y ago
    My enterprise company wont even get us Postman Premium to the tune of ~$150 per seat per year... So here we are slacking postman collections back and forth on our current year mac books.
    - pavelevst 8y ago
      Did you consider to create testing app to simulate customer experience? I can be a single html+js file in a git, for each major feature
  - sokoloff 8y ago
    You would be amazed at the spread between big companies who decide "we won't pay $20 for support for something critical!" and other companies who decide "OMG, we can't run /bin/bash without a support contract and someone to yell at if it goes wrong!"
- sqs 8y ago
  HashiCorp is doing VERY well revenue-wise. They are not struggling. Where did you hear they are struggling? (I have no affiliation with HashiCorp.)
  - dymk 8y ago
    Instead of taking either of your words for it, are there any actual direct sources on Hashicorp's earnings? The only source I found was https://www.hashicorp.com/blog/2017-year-in-review https://www.hashicorp.com/blog/2017-year-in-review which just says the company "can be successful", not that it is making money.
    - nemothekid 8y ago
      https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18363453 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18363453 From Mitchell himself - at the very least they are growing very quickly. For all the complaining about "pricing pages", I think hashicorp is doing the right thing. Focus on selling to the big dogs who can give you a sustainable business and don't cloud your pipeline with smaller shops who wish to shop around.
      - SteveNuts 8y ago
        Hashi should honestly set up a donations page, we'd love to throw them some money because we use their entire suite, but the pricing is clearly geared towards whales.
- nodesocket 8y ago
  Do you have inside knowledge of this? I wouldn't be surprised; open-source enterprise software is incredibly hard, but Terraform Enterprise for example is a really solid offering and not to expensive. It is actually very doable even for small (< 5 people) startups.
- mitchellh 8y ago
  I'm one of the founders of HashiCorp. We don't publicly talk about exact numbers, but we broke through 9-figures last year, and a very low % of that is support (its mostly enterprise software). That also isn't using any accounting tricks (such as a ton of multi-year deals). We're doing very well. We're in no talks to be acquired, either. I can't prove any of this, you'd have to take my word for it! I guess if we ever go public in N years (not saying we are, but _if_), you'll see for yourself on historical results. :)
  - Terretta 8y ago
    Fantastic to hear you’re still crushing it.
  - ETHisso2017 8y ago
    Congrats on the success! Given your enterprise traction, though, how do you guys intend to avoid the problem Elastic is facing from AWS?
imroot 8y ago
I love Hashicorp products, however, all of their pricing behind "Contact Sales" is a major turn off. Why? I don't want to be the subject of a constant dripping of emails, calls, and missings from a sales person who is constant to get their numbers and puts me in their sales automation pipeline. Give me a ballpark estimate, I can go to whomever is needed, and we can go from there: I've never ran into a case where "I don't know" how much this costs is an appropriate answer to give a manager.
- core-questions 8y ago
  I agree, but since so many companies still do this, the math must work out such that having sales staff work out the prices results in higher profits even including lost sales to people like yourself who won't jump through the hoops. The polar opposite of this would be Atlassian, who publishes every price and doesn't negotiate at all. At least it's easy to deal with...
  - clan 8y ago
    It is quite hard to A/B test. And the sales people making the bonus is often part of setting the strategy.
  - mattdeboard 8y ago
    > since so many companies still do this, the math must work out survivorship bias
  - arbie 8y ago
    > Atlassian [...] doesn't negotiate at all. Untrue if you license multiple products from them at scale.
- argd678 8y ago
  It’s likely because they give different pricing based on who’s asking, which is normal for products that aren’t commodities.
- VectorLock 8y ago
  "How much is it?" "How much you got?"
kawsper 8y ago
Hashicorp is one of those companies I want to support, but all of their pricing and enterprise details are behind a "Contact sales" button, so it is really hard to get to know their offerings and their pricing. I understand we might be too small to matter for them if we aren't ready to dump thousands of dollars per month into their bankaccount, but it does makes me cautious about what is going to happen with them when their investment money runs out.
- pavelevst 8y ago
  I really dislike when companies don't put pricing on their website. 1. I need to spend hours or days just to understand if I should consider it or walk away 2. Feels like they may give different price to different customers and we have to negotiate price like on asian market 3. If price is kept in secret who know what else is hidden from us

user5994461 8y ago

They barely have any revenue and they're struggling. It's probably one of the next companies to be acquired in the coming years.

the_common_man 8y ago
I have always wondered what this enterprise support means? So if a big company starts using vagrant, they would dole out 100k for a support contract? I find this hard to believe but what do I know.
- GenerocUsername 8y ago
  My enterprise company wont even get us Postman Premium to the tune of ~$150 per seat per year... So here we are slacking postman collections back and forth on our current year mac books.
  - pavelevst 8y ago
    Did you consider to create testing app to simulate customer experience? I can be a single html+js file in a git, for each major feature
- sokoloff 8y ago
  You would be amazed at the spread between big companies who decide "we won't pay $20 for support for something critical!" and other companies who decide "OMG, we can't run /bin/bash without a support contract and someone to yell at if it goes wrong!"
sqs 8y ago
HashiCorp is doing VERY well revenue-wise. They are not struggling. Where did you hear they are struggling? (I have no affiliation with HashiCorp.)
- dymk 8y ago
  Instead of taking either of your words for it, are there any actual direct sources on Hashicorp's earnings? The only source I found was https://www.hashicorp.com/blog/2017-year-in-review https://www.hashicorp.com/blog/2017-year-in-review which just says the company "can be successful", not that it is making money.
  - nemothekid 8y ago
    https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18363453 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18363453 From Mitchell himself - at the very least they are growing very quickly. For all the complaining about "pricing pages", I think hashicorp is doing the right thing. Focus on selling to the big dogs who can give you a sustainable business and don't cloud your pipeline with smaller shops who wish to shop around.
    - SteveNuts 8y ago
      Hashi should honestly set up a donations page, we'd love to throw them some money because we use their entire suite, but the pricing is clearly geared towards whales.
nodesocket 8y ago
Do you have inside knowledge of this? I wouldn't be surprised; open-source enterprise software is incredibly hard, but Terraform Enterprise for example is a really solid offering and not to expensive. It is actually very doable even for small (< 5 people) startups.
mitchellh 8y ago
I'm one of the founders of HashiCorp. We don't publicly talk about exact numbers, but we broke through 9-figures last year, and a very low % of that is support (its mostly enterprise software). That also isn't using any accounting tricks (such as a ton of multi-year deals). We're doing very well. We're in no talks to be acquired, either. I can't prove any of this, you'd have to take my word for it! I guess if we ever go public in N years (not saying we are, but _if_), you'll see for yourself on historical results. :)
- Terretta 8y ago
  Fantastic to hear you’re still crushing it.
- ETHisso2017 8y ago
  Congrats on the success! Given your enterprise traction, though, how do you guys intend to avoid the problem Elastic is facing from AWS?

imroot 8y ago

I love Hashicorp products, however, all of their pricing behind "Contact Sales" is a major turn off. Why? I don't want to be the subject of a constant dripping of emails, calls, and missings from a sales person who is constant to get their numbers and puts me in their sales automation pipeline. Give me a ballpark estimate, I can go to whomever is needed, and we can go from there: I've never ran into a case where "I don't know" how much this costs is an appropriate answer to give a manager.

core-questions 8y ago
I agree, but since so many companies still do this, the math must work out such that having sales staff work out the prices results in higher profits even including lost sales to people like yourself who won't jump through the hoops. The polar opposite of this would be Atlassian, who publishes every price and doesn't negotiate at all. At least it's easy to deal with...
- clan 8y ago
  It is quite hard to A/B test. And the sales people making the bonus is often part of setting the strategy.
- mattdeboard 8y ago
  > since so many companies still do this, the math must work out survivorship bias
- arbie 8y ago
  > Atlassian [...] doesn't negotiate at all. Untrue if you license multiple products from them at scale.
argd678 8y ago
It’s likely because they give different pricing based on who’s asking, which is normal for products that aren’t commodities.
VectorLock 8y ago
"How much is it?" "How much you got?"

kawsper 8y ago

Hashicorp is one of those companies I want to support, but all of their pricing and enterprise details are behind a "Contact sales" button, so it is really hard to get to know their offerings and their pricing. I understand we might be too small to matter for them if we aren't ready to dump thousands of dollars per month into their bankaccount, but it does makes me cautious about what is going to happen with them when their investment money runs out.

pavelevst 8y ago
I really dislike when companies don't put pricing on their website. 1. I need to spend hours or days just to understand if I should consider it or walk away 2. Feels like they may give different price to different customers and we have to negotiate price like on asian market 3. If price is kept in secret who know what else is hidden from us