Creating an open-source startup as a cooperative in France
We will tell you about the trials and tribulations of our company (BIRU, makers of Tenzu) a year after we decided to take on the open-source editor challenge as a cooperative company.
What funding sources were available to us? How much effort was it? What is our business model anyway? What difficulties did we face by being neither a startup with shares to sell nor a cooperative company with a fairly standard business plan?
Having started in development in 2016, I have mostly worked in Python/Django and Angular. After a couple of years as a CTO, I have started my own cooperative company, that develops the open-source project management application Tenzu.
Working with a small team, I still spend most of my days doing hands-on web development work, which I have to balance with finance and the day-to-day administration of the company.
Since I started out in 2008, I have constantly sought to develop my skills. I moved from being a developer to becoming a deputy IT director in a public service institution, before taking on CIO/CTO roles in various private companies. I have since honed my expertise in project management, risk assessment, programming, and strategic planning, and I have decided to start my own cooperative company that develops the open-source project management application Tenzu.
Working with a small team, I still spend most of my days doing hands-on web development and cluster configuration work.