👓 Debug 001: When Sales Meets Open Source

Hey folks! 👋

Welcome to the inaugural edition of Debug, where I answer your growth and go-to-market questions!

In Debug 001 I’m answering a question from a founder considering hiring an SDR to tap into commercial opportunity in their open-source user base.

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DEBUG

The founder of a dev tool with an open core model (i.e. they’re building a commercial offering around an open-source core) asks:

I love this question - it’s a common challenge for open source founders working in the dev tool space.

Here’s my take.

You’ve got this amazing open source community, with over 1000 companies using your tool in production.

That’s a huge asset, and you’re right to want to bring some of those users closer to your commercial product.

But you’re also totally right about developers - most of them hate anything that smells like traditional sales.

So when you’re thinking about this SDR-type position, I’d reframe it a bit: this isn’t sales.

Think of this role as a developer advocate for the business side.

The key is to build trust and create value in every single interaction.

Instead of reaching out with, “Hey, wanna hop on a demo?” it’s more like:

“Hey! Notice you’ve been using our open-source tool for X months now, which is awesome. I’d love to learn how it’s going and see if there’s anything we can do to help you scale or solve XYZ challenge.”

The idea is to approach it as a peer - even as a member of the community - not someone on the outside trying to sell them something.

Maybe they need help implementing a feature, or migrating to your commercial version.

Those conversations naturally open a door for you to talk about your paid offering in a way that doesn’t feel salesy.

It’s also worth considering: who is this person you’re hiring?

The ideal candidate might not be your typical SDR.

You want someone who speaks devs’ language - maybe even a former developer themselves.

It doesn’t have to be someone with recent hard-core coding experience, but they need that credibility and an ability to build rapport without coming off as pushy.

Other tactical ideas to make this work:

Leverage your data smartly. If you’re using tools like Clearbit to figure out which companies are adopting your tool, prioritise outreach based on product signals. For example: if you notice that a company has grown its deployment significantly or started using an advanced feature, that’s a good signal!

Make it collaborative. Sometimes an email or message that says, ‘Hey, we’d love your feedback on where we should go next with our roadmap!’ is a non-threatening way to kick off a conversation while learning about their pain points.

Create a feedback loop. As this hire profiles users and has conversations, they’re going to uncover insights. Feeding that back into your product team can help refine both your free tool and how you position your commercial offering.

So, TL;DR:

This isn’t a traditional SDR.

It’s someone rooted in community and trust-building.

Approach the people you reach out to like partners in the journey - not contacts on a list - and you’ll get them to lean in, not tune out.

Hope that helps!

THAT’S A WRAP

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Until next time!

— Ben