GitHub, a widely popular platform for developers, has revolutionized the way code is shared, collaborated on, and managed. However, despite its commitment to open-source software, GitHub itself is not open-source. In a recent interview with Zach Holman, an engineer who worked at GitHub for five years and later advised GitLab, we gain insights into the factors that contributed to GitHub's success, its approach to building a developer community, and the decision to keep the platform closed-source. Let's explore the key takeaways from this conversation.
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Timing and Building a Developer Community
One of the significant factors that played a crucial role in GitHub's success was timing. Zach Holman emphasizes the importance of seizing the right moment to launch a product. GitHub's founders had a deep understanding of the Ruby community, which allowed them to build a strong initial user base. By capturing the attention of influential developers and providing a valuable platform, GitHub started gaining traction organically.
Culture and Developer Evangelism
Zach Holman sheds light on the role of culture and developer evangelism in GitHub's growth. GitHub embraced an open-source approach internally, modeling itself after successful open-source projects. This approach fostered a culture of collaboration and transparency, resonating with developers worldwide. Zach Holman played a pivotal role in promoting this culture through conference talks and advocating for the open-source way of working.
Transitioning to a Larger Organization
As GitHub grew from a small team to a company of 250 employees, it faced unique challenges in maintaining its culture. The addition of managers and the need for more structured processes became inevitable. Zach acknowledges that scaling the company culture while maintaining productivity and innovation was a complex task. The transition from a managerless organization to one with a hierarchical structure required careful implementation and adjustments.
The Open-Source Dilemma
The decision to keep GitHub itself closed-source, despite its focus on open-source software, was a subject of ongoing discussion within the company. Zach Holman acknowledges the merits of both approaches. While open-sourcing aspects of the product can promote transparency and community collaboration, it also presents challenges in managing contributions, dealing with potential negativity, and maintaining a competitive advantage. GitHub's experience and exposure to various scenarios influenced the team's perspective on open-sourcing their entire product.
GitHub vs. GitLab: Differences and Perspectives
Having also advised GitLab, another prominent platform for developers, Zach Holman provides insights into the significant differences between the two companies. GitLab's strong commitment to open-source principles and its transparent decision-making processes set it apart. Zach acknowledges that GitLab's open-sourceness has a significant impact on its culture and product development pace. However, he emphasizes that both GitHub and GitLab have found success by employing different approaches, proving that there isn't a single correct path.
Transitioning from Engineering to Angel Investing
Zach Holman's journey from engineering at GitHub to angel investing brings a unique perspective to the discussion. He highlights the advantage of having technical knowledge when investing in tech companies. By advising and investing in different startups, Zach gained valuable insights into diverse industries, broadening his perspective. Investing became an extension of his advisory role, allowing him to leverage his experience to make informed decisions.
Wrapping up
The interview with Zach Holman provides valuable insights into the growth of GitHub, the challenges of scaling company culture, and the decision-making process behind keeping the platform closed-source. GitHub's success can be attributed to factors such as perfect timing, a strong developer community, and an open-source culture. While GitHub remains closed-source, the conversation also highlights the merits of open-sourcing aspects of a product. Ultimately, the success of platforms like GitHub and GitLab showcases that different approaches can lead to remarkable achievements in the developer community.
Top comments (2)
Interesting and funny at times, for the obvious contradiction in GitHub's own existence.
What is not mentioned is that Microsoft bought GitHub in June 2018 for 7.5 billion US$.
Many developers, including myself, found it a bold move of Microsoft. 7.5 billion is rather a lot of money for a website/service that doesn't generate a lot of it. Maybe big companies go enterprise. But. Do you? Do I? No.
So what's the catch, we all asked ourselves at the time.
What I will write next can easily be wrapper under the carpet as a conspiracy theory. Nobody can prove it. Microsoft is notorious for keeping its code a secret. Not only Windows.
Now, what if they implement code, uploaded to GitHub, into their own codebase, without telling the developers? Even if their repository is set to private. As Microsoft is closed-source, who will ever know? If true, this practice is un-sportsmanship at least, theft at worst. It can potentially save them thousands of work-hours developing the code themselves.
Is that why they payed 7.5 billion for the acquisition of GitHub?
Asking or a friend...
Hey @dimitrim, thanks for your comment and feedback!
Obviously, I can't touch the whole company history in less than 30 mins and the focus on the interview was much rather on the early days and how GitHub compares to GitLab. Zach wasn't involved with GitHub anymore when Microsoft bought it, so he could also just have given me an outsider perspective.
Personally, I believe that Microsoft made a very smart acquisition with GitHub. Even $7.5B might turn out to be a very low price. Last year, GitHub made an estimated $1B in revenue, which would already justify this valuation. On top of this, it enabled Microsoft to build/distribute an ecosystem of developer products, include VS Code, Co-Pilot, and many more.
That said, you are also right: There is indeed a law suite against Microsoft for using open-source code to train Co-Pilot.