> Company A spends X% of their revenue on improving the product. Company B spends nothing. Company B will be able to price their product lower, and take Company A's customers. It's not sustainable.

Then don't make an open source product.

What you can't do is try to earn the goodwill that comes with open source, but also expect the profitability of a proprietary product.

Don't try to base a company around developing and selling open source is a lesson that folks will keep learning again and again. You have to make money doing something else and if your core competency isn't that something else you'll lose to someone where it is.

If you want to sell software then sell software.

WP Engine is not winning because it’s cheaper. It is a better product than what Automattic offers.

That’s why this action by Matt is ridiculous. WP Engine has grown the overall WP market through good product development and investment. That has produced positive effects for the many companies and people who make their money developing and supporting WP sites for clients.