Founder Advice

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Your pricing page should be boring and predictable

Most startup founders overcomplicate their pricing pages, trying to make them do too much.

October 20, 2025

Channel partners can amplify success, but they don’t create it

Successful partnerships are a force multiplier for existing momentum, not a substitute for product-market fit or direct sales.

October 2, 2025

Building venture-scale open core

There is no perfect playbook, but there are proven strategies you can use to build open core businesses that scale while maintaining the trust of the open source community.

Every startup needs an AI strategy

A roundtable discussion with Sid Sijbrandij on AI and open core reveals that every startup needs an AI strategy, and open core companies still have a speed advantage in the AI era.

Startups & business

5 Takeaways: Selling Open Core to the Government with Sid Sijbrandij

The federal sales process is distinctly different from typical B2B sales. OCV’s founder and GP, Sid Sijbrandij, shares what he’s learned about selling to agencies in the U.S. federal government.

When doing the “right” thing isn’t the right thing

Startup success depends on focus, not just doing the “right” thing. Prioritize what drives growth now, maintain momentum, and choose the path of least resistance to reach your next milestone faster.

Startups & business

Let demand steer early-stage open core product development

Early-stage open-core founders: Don’t overcomplicate feature decisions. Let demand guide development, stack rank requests, and price based on users. Build momentum by solving what users ask for most.

Startups & business

Technical founders need a demand-focused co-founder from the start

Technical founders can’t go it alone—startups need a demand-focused CEO from day one. OCV’s approach to recruiting the right CEO accelerates growth and ensures product-market fit early on.

Startups & business

Don’t listen to feedback from VCs who pass on investing

VCs who pass on investing often give vague or risk-averse feedback—ignore it and focus on improving your pitch, not pivoting your business based on advice from those who don’t believe in it yet.

Startups & business

Open source startups with growing communities benefit from passionate people, early signals of PMF, and an existing user base

Open source startups gain a head start with passionate contributors, early product-market fit signals, and an existing user base, making adoption, hiring, and growth easier than traditional startups.

In-person marketing events are overvalued

In-person marketing events are costly and hard to measure, while content marketing is a cheaper, more effective way for startups to build visibility and drive growth.

Startups & business

Founder-compensated startups are default dead

Founder-compensated startups are default dead under traditional metrics, but by prioritizing rapid growth over absolute ARR, they can secure funding and scale successfully.

Startups & business

Artificially constraining your company to one goal creates velocity and creativity

Artificially constraining your company to one ambitious goal fuels creativity, accelerates decision-making, and drives relentless progress toward meaningful growth.

Startups & business

Don't listen to potential customers "if only" requests

Prioritize feedback from your heaviest users, not potential customers—true product growth comes from iterating on real user needs, not chasing every last sales objection.

Startups & business