Not meant as anything but constructive observation - but not open sourcing the core means it could be seen as another closed platform play, with open source plugins being used as a way of getting free features. My guess is that if this idea is compelling enough to get traction, a FOSS version would emerge in any case - for reasons of privacy, price, technical roadmap ownership etc. and the real money would be in offering services and products around that (I'm thinking Wordpress/Automattic). It's an obvious pov and I could be completely wrong of course :p (I guess IFTTT is the counterexample)

Yeah, releasing parts of Crowsnest as FOSS is a hotly debated topic internally. We would certainly be interested to talk to anyone who has experience running a business with a core product that is open source, especially if they were able to raise capital.

At Singly, we raised about $9mm of VC with 100% of our code open source. We saw that as absolutely essential in creating an ecosystem and it was a huge benefit in reducing customer concerns around lock in.

I like what you guys are doing and would be happy to chat if it's helpful!

If you're available, we would love to set up a call or video chat to hear more about your experience! Send me an email: ian at crowsnest dot io

Could be worth talking to Automattic, Acquia, Red Hat - lots of money there