Augustin's 8 Simple Rules for Open-Source Business Strategy
Dr. Larry Augustin was present at a moment in history of sorts—the genesis of the term "open source" in Mountain View, Calif., on Feb. 3, 1998. That was when a small group of Silicon Valley software folks (which also included Eric Raymond and Christine Peterson) sat down to decide that there needed to be an actual name for what this new and uncharted genre represented. So he owns a deep perspective on open source. And last week, he shared some of that perspective at the first Open Source Business Conference here by outlining his eight simple rules for open-source business strategy.
Augustin, who founded VA Research in 1993 and VA Linux Systems in 1998 (now VA Software, parent of the OSDN), developed the first Linux-loaded desktop computer; raised more than $30 million in capital from backers such as Sequoia Capital, Intel Corp. and SGI; and made a mint when the company went public. VA Linux begat SourceForge in 1999 and posted the SourceForge.net Web site based on the platform later that same year. SourceForge.net was (and is) an overwhelming success as a central clearinghouse for open-source projects. Augustin, remains chairman of the board of VA Software but spends most of his time using his deep perspective on the business to identify promising IT companies as a principal with Azure Capital Partners in the Bay area.
