An open source project is not a business. Or at least not on its own. If there’s one thing I had to learn the hard way when I started my first open source business, it was this lesson. Since letting go that business a few months ago, I’ve seen the same story played out time and again in the open …
How to make Batman save 10 times more people
Can you save more people than Batman? Entrepreneurs want to save the world. Specially social entrepreneurs. There is plenty of inspiration to be taken from great entrepreneurs who have had an amazing impact on people’s lives. Mohamed Yunus was one of the first to start this movement. He lifted millions of people from poverty with his micro-credits in Bangladesh. Another famous …
Is a Creative Commons-Non Commercial License killing your project?
Your stuff is being copied. Nobody is calling you to ask where they can pay for what you made. They just download it, consume it and call it a day. Gratitude seems scarce. You don’t want to go through this pain, especially after all the effort and money that you’ve invested. So you’ve decided to use a Non-Commercial Creative Commons …
How to sell an open source project ethically
Open hardware and social entrepreneurs are pretty good at having ideas and creating new stuff. But they have a harder time selling their creations and ultimately moving from part-time to full-time. When we put our heart into a project we tend to get in love with our idea and we believe everybody else will also immediately fall in love with …
How to open source your idea to create a thriving business
Tl;dr: If you want to make sure you can turn your open source idea into a business and that it’s not stolen or commercialized by others, first validate people are interested in using and paying for it. Then find a few contributors who are interested in developing it with you and open a space for the communities’ contributions. Once you …
8 things humans will still be paid for when robots make everything free
It’s 2025 and Artificial Intelligence, 3D Printers, Drones, Robots, Autonomous cars and the Internet have made it possible to copy, distribute and access everything almost for free. You wake up at 7am, stretch yourself and ask your Artificial Intelligence app to give you the morning news. Taxi and Uber Drivers alike are organizing a demonstration to protest about being replaced …
How serial entrepreneurs avoid taking risks
Many collaborative entrepreneurs wonder if there is a silver bullet that would help them get their company to work right now. And there is a truth that every serial entrepreneur knows. There is a way to “succeed” systematically, and there is a way to “struggle” systematically. It’s a mindset difference. Those who struggle always build a product before making sure …
How entrepreneurs find profitable ideas
Have you ever been scared that someone will copy your idea and take advantage of you? After all, what’s stopping others from not giving you credit, defacing your creation and making billions on the back of your idea? Every entrepreneur who feels this fear lives in a paradox. To make your project work you know you have to share it …
How to Cut Your Pollution While Growing Economy, Nature & Society
We’re bombarded with apocalyptic images of Polar Bears floating in despair on blocks of ice. Climate Change is here to drown us, and our actions have caused this. Then we have some people like Louis CK and this boy, crying over the mess we have created. Both of them are pretty lucid about how silly we’ve been. We’ve extracted oil …
The secret to create a successful Open Source Company
“How can I make a living if I allow others to steal my ideas?” When I speak about getting designs available to all through Open Source, people look at me with a mixed feeling. I can see them thinking “This guy is just another hippie who wants to wreck my world!”. But they are still fascinated by the thought of …