Why I Stopped Treating Open Source Compliance as a Legal Task
Most compliance problems don’t look like lawsuits. They look like blockers. They burn time. They kill trust. If you’re still copying code from Stack Overflow, maybe don’t call it your IP.
When I first worked with open-source projects, compliance felt like paperwork. Boring. Something to deal with later.
Then I saw what happens when you don’t: engineers rewriting code mid-sprint, investor calls going awkward, entire features needing to be rebuilt because of license issues.
That’s when I realised it’s not about ticking legal boxes. It’s about making sure your product isn’t fragile.
It’s how you keep momentum - how you make sure your next developer doesn’t spend their first month just decoding your tech stack. It’s what lets a potential acquirer stay interested after the second meeting.
Blog like you own the place
Most founders today still build their content on rented land - LinkedIn, Medium, Substack.
It works. Until it doesn’t.
Platforms change their rules. Your audience slips behind an algorithm. You get throttled for saying something “non-performative.” One day, you hit post and the reach just vanishes.
That’s why Web3 publishing isn’t just a tech experiment - it’s an ownership shift.
In Web3, your blog is your asset.
- The monetization is direct.
- You don’t rely on ads, likes, or newsletter hacks.
- You set your terms.
It’s not for everyone. It’s still early. But if you’re a global founder building outside the “Silicon Valley default,” it can be a moat.
I’ve seen founders use tokenized memberships, NFT-accessed archives, even subscriber-funded R&D posts. These aren’t just trends. They’re new distribution strategies, ones that don’t ask permission from platforms built for someone else.
If your content is the clearest thing you own, maybe stop giving it away, especially to companies that wouldn’t even hire you.
Why Open AI Isn’t Just About the Tech
For a long time, AI felt like something only big tech could play with. Expensive models. Closed APIs. A few companies controlling everything.
Then open-source AI happened. And suddenly, the door cracked open.
You didn’t need millions in funding to experiment. You didn’t need a Silicon Valley office to train a model. You could self-host. You could fork. You could learn.
And for a lot of first-time or immigrant founders, that access changed the game. Not just technically, but psychologically.
Because now, building with AI doesn’t mean “waiting for permission.” It means shipping, testing, adjusting, and of course - owning.
Open-source AI won’t solve everything. But it does something important: it makes power feel slightly more available.
Which is more than I can say for most things in this space.
If you have any thoughts on Web3 and opensource, share your experience in the comments.