A burning topic in the open source community is how to generate income ( in any way, including commercialisation ) with open source software or hardware? Recently, questions were asked in the WILDLABS forums ( here and here, and longer ago ) and during the latest Open Source Solutions group webinar.

WILDLABS’ Open Source Solutions, and Funding and Finance groups are preparing an interactive / case webinar on this topic, to be held sometime in the upcoming months.

We would like to offer the stage to inspiring minds and stories, and are aiming for a total of three project leaders to showcase how their open source endeavor generates income through various means. We are looking for cases in various stages of development of either software or hardware development.

For reference, the de facto dictionary definitions of open source software and hardware can be found here: Open Source Software Definition and here Open Source Hardware Definition.

Would you be willing to share your story? Or do you know people whom we might approach?

If so, then please leave a comment or DM me.

We will ask presenters to talk for 10 minutes or less on the following points and to participate in an ensuing Q&A session :

• Very briefly introduce your project (e.g. a 1 minute elevator pitch!)
• Explain why your project is an open source project
• Describe a timeline of the income sources of your project
• Your views on grants versus commercialisation ( although we acknowledge that these are not the only sources of income nor mutually exclusive )