The Business of Open Source

Neil Cresswell, co-founder of Portainer, joins me this week on Cloud Native Startup. In this episode, we talk about the evolution of Neil’s fascinating career, which began at age 17, and how it led to Portainer. We also discuss Portainer’s core ethos of simplicity, open source product, Neil’s predictions on Kubernetes, and more.

Show Notes

Neil Cresswell, co-founder of Portainer, joins me this week on Cloud Native Startup. In this episode, we talk about the evolution of Neil’s fascinating career, which began at age 17, and how it led to Portainer. We also discuss Portainer’s core ethos of simplicity, open source product, Neil’s predictions on Kubernetes, and more.

Highlights:
  • Neil recounts how he went from self-employed to co-founding Portainer. (00:19)
  • A look at who Portainer was originally built for and the moment he realized it would be a commercial entity. (08:09).
  • Neil dives into the three elements to success in open source product. (11:56)
  • Neil’s advice for someone working on an open source - and a look back at his consulting experience. (14:54)
  • Neil’s shares his lessons learned along his journey - and breaks down some differences in his past and present roles. (20:08)
  • How Neil’s team ensures simplicity - and his Kubernetes predictions. (25:09)
  • Neil shares some of the everyday challenges and advantages of working across different timezones. (29:19)

Links:
Neil
Portainer

What is The Business of Open Source?

Whether you're a founder of an open source startup, an open source maintainer or just an open source enthusiast, join host Emily Omier as she talks to the people who work at the intersection of open source and business, from startup founders to leaders of open source giants and all the people who help open source startups grow.