From 4,000 GitHub Stars to a Successful Open Source Business with Didier Lopes of OpenBB

The Business of Open Source

Didier Lopes, Co-founder and CEO of OpenBB, joins me to share the story of how OpenBB went from receiving 4000 GitHub stars in the first 24 hours of the project to a fully funded company launching new monetization initiatives.

Didier and I chat about his background, what led him to start OpenBB in his spare time, and his vision for the company's future. He shares the story of teaming up with his co-founder, why he loves working in the open source ecosystem, and how his team continues contributing to OpenBB's success.

Highlights:

• Didier introduces himself and recounts his background and what led him to start OpenBB (1:20)
• Why Didier didn't know OpenBB would become a business when he started the project (6:47)
• Didier affirms my thought that part of what makes OpneBB's origin interesting is that the idea was unrelated to his day job. (10:13)
• Didier tells the story of how his co-founder, James, came on board once the project went viral (16:36)
• How OpenBB has changed since the project began (19:16)
• How open source has shaped the development of OpenBB (21:35)
• Didier outlines the current monetization plans for OpenBB (24:44)
• Didier's vision for the future of OpenBB and the democratization of investment research (26:30)
• What Didier learned from his most interesting mistake - believing users know what they want. (29:45)
• Didier emphasizes the importance of building a cohesive team with shared values (32:58)

Links:

Didier

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/didier-lopes/
• Twitter: @didier_lopes
• Company: http://openbb.co
• Personal Site: https://didierlopes.com