Why Funding Open Source is Hard
by Eric BerryIn July of 2017, Nate and I launched a small side project called Code Sponsor. The idea was to provide a way to fund open source projects on GitHub using a small, unobtrusive ethical ad that appears on the GitHub README. You can read about the launch and purpose here.
Over the span of 6 months, this little side projected started to take traction. In November 2017, we had over 1,000 open source projects being funded with CodeFund.
I learned two lessons from my experience with Code Sponsor:
- Do not build a business on top of another company's product.
They can pull it out from under you in a heartbeat.
- Learn to pivot
We needed to pivot in order to keep Code Sponsor alive. Instead of shutting the doors, I ended up bringing back Code Sponsor as CodeFund by providing ethical ads for open source websites (such as redux-form.org and devhints.io).
Here's a blog post that shares the frustrations at the time. I hope it helps others.
