What You Give Away Might Be Worth More Than What You Keep

Almost every technology leader I speak with wrestles with the same dilemma: What do I give away for free, and what stays behind the paywall?

The sticking point is the word "free". If you do happen to get stuck there (and a lot of things will push you in that direction), a lot of the magic in the decision math gets missed. Everything has a Give and a Get and, if you're doing it right, nothing is ever given away for free.

Instead of thinking about sharing research and open-sourcing purely as a "free" versus "paid" decision - think about it in terms of making a strategic trade against future revenue and value.

Sure, you're potentially giving up enterprise deals and short-term competitive moats - but what you get in return might be worth exponentially more: Authentic advocacy from people who matter to you, your mission, and your market, real-world validation of your approach, and the kind of market education that no amount of marketing budget can buy.

The math behind this view of things is even more drastic in an evangelistic market, when you realize that most people are still trying to understand what you actually do. Proprietary capability gathering dust behind a paywall might be worth more as proof of concept than as product - especially if it gets the right people to finally say "oh, NOW I get it..."

So... the real question isn't as simple as whether to give or hoard. It's whether the thing you're consider serves your vision best applied towards optimizing for immediate revenue, or shared in the interest of long-term market position.

Sometimes the best business decision is the one that feels like you're leaving money on the table.