[joshberkus]

Why should the success or failure of VC-funded startups be a concern for open source?

If Redis Labs folds, that's sad for them and I'm sure I'll end up writing some references for people.

But it's only a concern for open source if Redis stops being maintained as a result. Which I seriously doubt would happen; Salvatore built Redis before Redis Labs existed, and I'm sure would land a job at one of those "established enterprises" if they fold.

Maybe we should be more focused on how the VC-funded startup model is actually reinforcing the power of established players, instead of messing around with licenses?

[kemitchell]

For the same reason that the success or failure of other companies doing open source should be of concern. Company funding and structure get a lot of open source made. Industry involvement supercharged the open source community. But if it won't make money, industry won't do it. Industry will decide whether to do it based on past performances.

VC-funded startups produce a substantial amount of open source. If what we see at the tail end of this funding boom is a bunch of startups doing open source fail structurally, rather than merely by falling short of numbers, VCs will notice. There will be less funding for startups on any kind of open source model. And therefore less open source.

When we look at projects and define success only in terms of project continuity, and not individual outcomes, we dodge the question of why folks should get involved in the first place. Some baseline motivation will always be there from the bottom, from hobbyists, activists, and the obsessed, and the top, where enterprises use open source for cost reduction and cost sharing. Whether anyone shows up in the middle has a huge effect on what open source achieves, as a movement. And to what extent open source represents a viable opportunity to proprietary products and services.