Recently, we had the opportunity to interview Doug Leone at Sequoia Capital in Menlo Park, California. Sequoia seems to have a unique perspective on Open Source Software (OSS) and the way it’s transforming software and hardware industries.
Recently, we had the opportunity to interview Doug Leone at Sequoia Capital in Menlo Park, California. Sequoia seems to have a unique perspective on Open Source Software (OSS) and the way it’s transforming software and hardware industries.
Their commitment to OSS principles is strong — they’ve added a member to their board of directors whose sole purpose is to remind them to remain true to open source principles: always remember to give your creations back to the community.
You Can’t Stop Open Source: Doug Leone, Partner at Sequoia Capital
Sequoia was one of the first venture capital groups to fund an open source company. In late 1998 they made an investment in VA Research, the Mountain View manufacturer of Linux hardware. Again and again Doug reminded me of how important it is for VA to stay true to its open source roots. “If they don’t they’ll lose,” he said.
LM: How do you see Linux and OSS affecting the industry in the long term?
Doug: Well, the issue as we see it is: if you are a traditional “closed source” company, how do you take advantage of the open source model without destroying your base business? Take…
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