Show me the money
From a CNet article yesterday about SugarCRM, an open source company that got $2M in VC funding:
By tapping into the open-source world, fledgling software outfits can assemble their software products from freely available components. Volunteer programmers not only help develop the product, they also create a pool of potential customers for starting companies. In return, programmers develop new skills and get free software.
I don't really understand. How do you get the volunteers to create the compoents that you need? How do the volunteers create a pool of potential customers for starting companies? I can see the value of new skills (gotta have 'em) but what good are new skills in a job market if the companies that employ you are relying on volunteer labor?
Open source is a very cool model, and as a consumer of software, the cheaper the better, but it remains to be seen if people can actually make money doing this in the long term.