{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"The Business of Open Source","title":"Timing the Evolution of a Successful Open-Source Project with Ben Haynes","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":2440,"description":"Ben Haynes, the Founder and CEO of Directus, created an open-source project while working at his own agency in 2004. In this episode, we explore how he went from maintaining an open-source project to building an open-source company with a solid product-led growth strategy, and how he’s achieved success in the enterprise segment even as a small organization. Ben expands on how he feels open-source is the best way to start a business, and also reveals why timing and transparency can be both your greatest assets and the areas where you have the most regrets if not done right. We also discuss the value of optimizing you product and business for working with government agencies as an open-source company. \n\nHighlights:\nIntro (00:00)\nI introduce Ben Haynes, who is the CEO and Founder of Directus (00:59)\nHow the Directus platform has evolved over time (02:33)\nBen tells the story of what happened after the initial release of the Directus project in 2004 (06:06)\nThe strategy Directus has used to land enterprise customers as a small company (10:20)\nBen and I discuss the importance of early-stage open-source companies optimizing to work with government agencies (13:59)\nBen describes the SaaS business model that he chose for Directus (16:38)\nWhy Ben feels that open-source is the best strategy for starting a company (25:19)\nHow Ben landed on a product-led growth strategy for Directus (27:39)\nWhat Ben learned about mistakes he made in timing his product and company (31:23)\nThe advice Ben would give to another open-source founder (33:52)\nHow listeners can learn more about Directus and connect with Ben (39:32)\n\nLinks:\nBen\nLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/contactbenhaynes/\nTwitter: https://twitter.com/benhaynes\nCompany: https://directus.io/","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/8IkNaFmPeP0cacpN72wvWvmuTJkRWMTzK4anhRhTwJg/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS9zaG93/LzEwNTI5LzE2NTY1/MTIwMDAtYXJ0d29y/ay5qcGc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}