Commercial Open Source: How It's Similar to Selling Hot Dogs From a Cart
Imagine trying to sell hot dogs in a park where everyone knows the recipe and can make their own hot dogs. How do you survive? You sell premium buns with artisanal mustard. Or you offer a "hot dog as a service" (aka, delivery). Or you make it really annoying to cook hot dogs at scale without your industrial-grade hot dog infrastructure. This is Commercial Open Source in a nutshell, and your license is basically deciding which condiments you're allowed to charge for. Choose wrong, and you're the person handing out free samples while Costco builds a hot dog empire using your exact recipe. Choose right, and you've got defensible margins and a path to exit.
Hacker Noon• Jan 13, 2026, 09:26 PM
