The Problem with Open Source and How to Fix It with Max Howell, Founder of Tea Protocol

Modern Web

Dec 16, 2024•28 min

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Episode description

Backstage at All Things Open 2024, hosts Rob Ocel and Danny Thompson talk with Max Howell, creator of Homebrew and founder of the Tea Protocol, about making open source sustainable. Max shares his journey from building Homebrew as a passion project to launching Tea Protocol, which uses token-based economics to support maintainers without compromising open source values. They explore challenges like corporate involvement, project monetization, and building resilient open source communities.

Chapters

00:00 - Introduction

02:20 - Max’s Open Source Journey

09:09 - The Problem with Open Source Sustainability

13:54 - Why Traditional Funding Models Fail

16:08 - Tea Protocol’s Economic Model

18:34 - What Happens Without Open Source?

20:59 - Sacrifices Open Source Maintainers Make

23:09 - Capturing Value in Open Source

25:10 - Advice for Aspiring Open Source Developers

27:36 - Where to Learn More

Follow Max Howell on Social Media

Twitter: https://x.com/mxcl

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mxcl/

Check out Tea Protocol: https://tea.xyz/