
Saasify – Monetize Your OSS Projects - feross
https://saasify.sh/
======
necovek
It's funny how people have different interpretation of general availability:
"this product is in beta and ready for general use" :)

The example is not quite clear: is the stuff in ./src generated automatically?
It doesn't look like it is, since the saasify.json does not contain all the
options.

I would have expected something more declarative.

I am also unsure how is this related to OSS, except for using it as a
marketing gimmick to draw "customers".

~~~
transitivebs
(Saasify Founder)

Thanks for the feedback! It's really, really important for us at this stage of
things.

> I am also unsure how is this related to OSS, except for using it as a
> marketing gimmick to draw "customers".

Definitely not a gimmick. 80% of all revenue goes directly back to the OSS
authors that wrote the underlying open source project. Given that we're giving
back the majority of the money to OSS, I'm not sure how this would qualify as
a gimmick. As an open source author myself, this is the most important part of
the platform by far. I realize that the current version doesn't do a great job
of making this point clear, but we're actively working on improving this
messaging.

> I would have expected something more declarative.

We're working towards this, but product development is a process and the
current version is definitely a stepping off point. Right now, all you have to
do is write a 100% normal TypeScript function without dealing with HTTP,
encoding, parameter validation, etc, which is pretty simple compared with what
it would take to traditionally create SaaS APIs.

> It's funny how people have different interpretation of general availability:
> "this product is in beta and ready for general use"

Anyone can signup and create their own SaaS products, and the service has
already been tested by a few hundred developers. Would love to hear how we can
improve on our beta's messaging here :)

\---

We're working on rolling out more example saasified OSS projects over the
coming weeks, but here's one that's available today:
[https://github.com/saasify-
sh/saasify/tree/master/examples/t...](https://github.com/saasify-
sh/saasify/tree/master/examples/typescript/natural). It provides a simple,
hosted, SaaS version of this OSS project
[https://github.com/NaturalNode/natural](https://github.com/NaturalNode/natural)
with 80% of any revenue going directly back to the project's OSS maintainers.

\-- Travis Fischer

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nailer
Hah we're working on something similar - you can use it to monetize OSS or
build a business around your own proprietary tech in fifteen minutes :
[https://boomsaas.com](https://boomsaas.com)

Feross I know you from node (and I think you know me) - it could be fun
working on this together :)

~~~
transitivebs
boomsaas looks promising :)

One of my core beliefs is that there won't be a single solution to the problem
of OSS sustainability, and I'm excited to see other talented devs like
yourself tackling the problem as well!

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superasn
Good concept. Highlighting the showcase and adding more examples will really
make it more easier to understand.

~~~
transitivebs
Great call -- now that we've launched, our primary focus is to improve docs /
messaging and add dozens more examples over the coming weeks.

Thanks for checking us out!

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crb002
I don’t want them touching my payments or get stuck to their endpoint. This,
but a self hosted version.

~~~
transitivebs
Definitely very reasonable feedback and the self-hosted option is something
we're considering.

Would love to chat with you more about what you'd build with a self-hosted
version if you wanna connect.

Thanks!

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robbya
This looks cool. You can monetize other people's OSS projects too, depending
on the specifics of the license. Could be an interesting approach if you find
the right niche.

~~~
transitivebs
Yeah, this is a legitimate concern.

For any project that makes a decent amount of money, we'll do our best to make
sure the proceeds find their way back to the OSS maintainers who deserve
credit.

Thanks!

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transitivebs
Thanks for sharing us, Feross!

