Ask HN: How do YOU make money from open source projects?

5 points·hunt··5 comments

I am not looking for tips, I am just genuinely interested in what methods people use- Flattr, Gittip etc.

By running a service - a lot of software today isn't valuable because of the product, but because of the service it provides. Facebook, Twitter or Drobox software is not particularly difficult to clone - many companies built clones. What sets the popular sites apart from clones is the service they provide (community, reach, availability, easy access). I guess that's one of the failures of G+ - the software was there, but the service wasn't.

Our code is in the open[1], and anyone could install it and run it, but there is a convenient web site[2] out there that lets people get the service easily without bothering with an install. We make money from subscription fees for higher capacity.

[1] - http://github.com/mindmup

[2] - http://www.mindmup.com

I enjoyed tinkering with this and thought it was cool. I've never used a mind mapper before. What sort of customers pay for something like this? Just curious.

a lot of people use us for planning, mind mapping seems to be popular for test session planning and for project roadmaps. we built some nice features to address this vertical (see http://discover.mindmup.com/impactmapping).

This is how I envisage what I would call "public facing" (websites etc) open source projects making money. Do you think this idea of trying to provide the best form of service translates to applications, through regular updates and support for users?

many opensource application developers make money from selling auxiliary services (eg premium support) or training workshops around their products. this is particularly a good idea if your target market are developers.

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