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Open-sourced codebase

After much deliberation, I made the decision to open source Packstack's codebase. I was initially hesitant to do this because it makes it much easier for other developers to spawn copycat projects. The upside, however, is that developers have been contributing code that makes the core product better.

My plan is to maintain the open-source codebase and continue developing requested features. While I do this, I'll also be developing a native app for Packstack.

The app will be available on iOS and Android, though I haven't determined if it will be a freemium model with in-app upgrades or a flat price. In the meantime, Packstack.io will help me build up a following that I'll be able to leverage once I release the app.

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    Cool! I am considering doing the same, mainly for the purpose of getting more users into our ecosystem and of course hopefully code contributions.
    Curious what swung the decision to do it after all the deliberation?

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      Basically, people were telling me they wanted to contribute, I was starting to get burnt out and there wasn't a clear monetization strategy.

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        Gotcha, so you'll monetize through the app only then? This is the topic I'm deliberating on too, whether to monetize by charging for specific features, or by some sort of service but of course, these things are hard to scale.
        Good luck with your new direction!

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          I wanted to create a SaaS platform but it doesn't make sense for this specific application. What's the project you're working on?

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            I see. It is a real time bidder for placing ads. Very unusual product to open source but we believe in it :) Right now we run it as a managed campaign service, only so much scale there. We want to get more people using it self-serve and also continue generating revenue.

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              Cool, I like the concept. I've followed you and your project – looking forward to future updates! And let me know if you do open source it 🤘

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