Are Investors Bad?  ## Metadata - Author: [[September 20]] - Full Title: Are Investors Bad? - Category: #articles - Document Note: --- tags: [#WordPress, #open-source, #investors] - #WordPress - #open-source - #investors Author: Matt Mullenweg Source: [Are Investors Bad?](https://ma.tt/2024/09/are-investors-bad/) Reference: [Matt Mullenweg's Blog](https://ma.tt/2024/09/are-investors-bad/) date created: 2024-09-23 13:00 --- # Title: Are Investors Bad? ## Table of Contents: - [📝 Summary](#📝-summary) - [📖 Main Content](#📖-main-content) - [🗒️ Notes](#🗒️-notes) - [📖 References](#📖-references) - [🗣️ Paraphrase](#🗣️-paraphrase) - [📰 Newsletter](#📰-newsletter) - [✅ Action Items](#✅-action-items) - [🧪 Hypotheses](#🧪-hypotheses) - [📊 Methodology](#📊-methodology) - [❓ Questions](#❓-questions) - [🔮 Future Research](#🔮-future-research) - [💡 Implications](#💡-implications) - [🧠 Learning Styles Assessment](#🧠-learning-styles-assessment) - [📊 Accessibility Assessment](#📊-accessibility-assessment) - [🌍 DEIB Assessment](#🌍-deib-assessment) - [✅ Logical Validity](#✅-logical-validity) - [🔍 SEO Evaluation](#🔍-seo-evaluation) - [🎯 Conclusion](#🎯-conclusion) ### References: - Matt Mullenweg: [Are Investors Bad?](https://ma.tt/2024/09/are-investors-bad/) ## 📝 Summary: In this article, Matt Mullenweg explores the relationship between investors and open-source projects like WordPress. He addresses concerns about whether investors inherently harm the ecosystem or if they can play a positive role in its growth. Mullenweg advocates for a balanced approach, where investors contribute without compromising the values that make open-source unique. ## 📖 Main Content: The article delves into the often controversial role of investors in open-source projects. Mullenweg discusses how financial backing can fuel innovation, but there’s also a risk that investor-driven motives might overshadow community-driven principles. He provides examples from the WordPress ecosystem, arguing that investors, when aligned with the community's values, can help propel the project forward without detracting from its open-source roots. ### 🗒️ Notes - **The Role of Investors**: - Investors are not inherently harmful but can be beneficial if aligned with open-source values. - Financial backing can accelerate innovation and product development. - **Potential Risks**: - Investor-driven companies may prioritize profit over the community, risking the loss of the open-source ethos. - Striking a balance between corporate interests and community needs is crucial. - **Examples from WordPress**: - WordPress has grown significantly thanks to financial backing, but Mullenweg emphasizes that the core values of openness and collaboration must remain intact. ## 📖 References: - Mullenweg, Matt: [Are Investors Bad?](https://ma.tt/2024/09/are-investors-bad/) ## 🗣️ Paraphrase:  1. "While it’s easy to see investors as a potential threat to open-source, when they share the community’s values, they can fuel growth in ways that benefit everyone involved." - Investors can be seen as a threat to open-source projects, but when their goals align with community values, they can help stimulate beneficial growth. 2. "WordPress has flourished with the help of investors, but maintaining the core principles of openness and community involvement ensures it remains true to its roots." - Despite the financial support from investors, WordPress continues to thrive by staying committed to its founding principles of openness and community collaboration. ## 📰 Newsletter: In the latest from Matt Mullenweg, the debate over investors in open-source takes center stage. In his blog post, "Are Investors Bad?" Mullenweg argues that investors can play a positive role in projects like WordPress—if their interests align with the community’s values. The challenge is ensuring that financial backing enhances innovation without compromising the open-source spirit. For WordPress enthusiasts, this discussion is key to understanding how the platform balances growth with its commitment to openness. Read the full post [here](https://ma.tt/2024/09/are-investors-bad/). ## ✅ Action Items: This article aligns with my focus as a Developer Advocate on navigating the balance between financial backing and community-driven open-source efforts. It highlights the importance of maintaining the integrity of open-source principles while working with investors. As I continue to support WordPress contributors and advocate for sustainable funding models, understanding this balance is crucial. This article provides insights into how I can better engage with investors who share the values of openness and community collaboration, guiding my future role in an OSPO. ## 🧪 Hypotheses: 1. Investors can positively impact open-source projects when their goals align with community values. 2. Open-source projects that accept investor funding without compromising their core principles will experience sustainable growth. ### 📊 Methodology: 1. **Case Study**: Analyze successful open-source projects that have received investor funding without compromising their community-driven ethos. 2. **Surveys**: Conduct surveys among WordPress contributors to measure how investor involvement has impacted their experience. ### ❓ Questions: 1. How can the WordPress community ensure that investor-driven projects align with open-source principles? 2. What safeguards can be put in place to prevent investor-driven profit motives from undermining community values? ### 🔮 Future Research: - Explore the long-term effects of investor involvement in other open-source ecosystems, such as Linux or Mozilla. - Investigate strategies for balancing financial backing with community governance in open-source projects. ### 💡 Implications: Research on the role of investors in open-source can guide policy development for future open-source projects seeking financial backing. The findings could help create a framework that ensures financial support enhances, rather than compromises, the community’s values. ### 🧠 Learning Styles Assessment: 1. **Visual Learners**: - **Present**: No visual aids present. - **Improve**: Adding infographics or visual representations of open-source projects and investor involvement could help. 2. **Aural Learners**: - **Improve**: Provide an audio version of the article or link to related podcasts. 3. **Verbal Learners**: - **Present**: The language is clear and uses analogies, but additional examples would enhance understanding. - **Improve**: Expand storytelling and analogy use to illustrate the investor-community balance. 4. **Physical Learners**: - **Improve**: Suggest practical steps for contributors to engage with investor-funded projects while preserving community values. 5. **Logical Learners**: - **Present**: The argument follows a logical progression, but more data-driven analysis would strengthen it. - **Improve**: Provide statistics or case studies on investor impact in other open-source communities. 6. **Social Learners**: - **Present**: The article discusses community reactions but lacks interaction opportunities. - **Improve**: Add prompts for community discussions about investor involvement. 7. **Solitary Learners**: - **Improve**: Encourage personal reflection on how contributors can navigate investor-backed projects without losing their connection to the open-source values. 8. **Naturalistic Learners**: - **Improve**: Use nature-based analogies to explain how external influences (investors) can affect an ecosystem (open-source communities) either positively or negatively. ### 📊 Accessibility Assessment: - **Screen Reader Compatibility**: Ensure future articles include proper alt-text for any accompanying images. - **Keyboard Navigation**: Confirm all interactive elements are accessible via keyboard navigation. - **Contrast and Readability**: Improve font contrast and text readability for users with visual impairments. ### 🌍 DEIB (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging) Assessment: - **Cultural Relevance**: The article does not reference diverse communities directly. - **Improve**: Include examples from diverse communities or companies within the open-source ecosystem to broaden perspectives. - **Inclusive Lang - Document Tags: [[Matt Mullenweg]] [[silver lake]] [[wordpress]] [[wordpress contribution]] [[wpdrama]] - Summary: Some people have been interpreting my comments around private equity and investors as saying they’re all bad and you should never accept investment or trust a company that does… I don&… - URL: https://ma.tt/2024/09/are-investors-bad/ Some people have been interpreting [my comments](https://x.com/photomatt/status/1836862087320195174) around private equity and investors as saying they’re all bad and you should never accept investment or trust a company that does… I don’t agree with that at all. Investors are amazing, they’re the fuel of entrepreneurship and capitalism and responsible for most of what we enjoy today. I can look in the eye of another founder and wholeheartedly recommend Automattic’s investors—True Ventures, Addition, Tiger Global, Salesforce, GIC, ICONIQ, LVMH/Aglaé, , Akkadian, Wellington, Sweetwater, BlackRock, Alta Park, Schonfield, Chris Sacca…—and say they’ve upheld open source values and allowed us to nourish the open source ecosystem and flourish as a business. So investors, even “private equity” ones can be okay, but just like with anything, there are good ones and bad ones, so it is worthwhile to look into their track record. After an investor joins a company, what happens next? Do they change away from an [Open Source](https://opensource.org/) license? Does the community flourish or wither on the vine as a result of their actions? It can be complex because you can have, as we do in WordPress, some companies [contributing](https://wordpress.org/five-for-the-future/) and some companies just taking. Some investors, like ours, our minority investors, which means they don’t control the company. Some buy a majority share in companies and control them, and that’s where who ultimately owns things matters the most. Can they change? Of course. Every saint has a past and every sinner has a future. I think everyone should be afforded that grace. But it can’t just be in words, it has to be in action. I may make [my keynote tomorrow](https://us.wordcamp.org/2024/session/an-in-person-qa-with-matt-mullenweg/) a deep dive presentation into some specific examples of this going poorly, because I think it’s highly relevant to WordPress’ survival. Tune in! [There will be a livestream here](https://us.wordcamp.org/2024/livestream/friday-mt-hood/)., Are Investors Bad?, September 20, 01j88vky46f79yza0q50e6bv4q.