Obviously I'm biased, but I think this is actually a good method of selecting startup ideas. If open sourcing the code removes most (or all) the value you propose creating, that's a warning sign. Eventually companies thrive by automating tasks with code, but most early stage companies don't provide most of their value in that way. With CodeCombat we intend to either monetize through paid content or recruitment. In either case, having the codebase be open source doesn't impact the value add.