When we started the company way back in 2008, we weren’t sure if we were doing products or custom software. Took us a while to realise that the heart was never in custom software, it was always in product. Once we committed to a product, we weren’t sure what is the right way to grow it. Should we do implementation or just pure support? In the first few years, we priced the product so low that we attracted users who wanted to self-implement without a partner. We also attracted a few larger customers, and the amount earned from the larger customers was very attractive and helped us grow much faster. Then when we got some capital, we decided to double down on this kind of customer, build a sales team. This was the conventional knowledge for “software as a service” (SaaS) companies in the mid 2010s. But this came with its own nuances. Running a software product is very different from managing change at a customer’s end while implementing it. But we were not able to sustain the team and this revenue finally collapsed. Then we decided to stick to what we did best - product.

Our product is validated by all the love we get from users and implementation partners. They love the customisability the Framework offers them and the simple and continuously improving user experience. After 2023, we also changed the business model from per-user to a compute based pricing model, fueling even more growth. Frappe’s growth has been driven by the customers and the ecosystem. It is only when we have dithered in the past, we have suffered. Large customers have frequently knocked on our doors and have taken too much time and attention. Some of the business has been profitable as well and they are super happy with our services, but this is not where we thrive as a company. We thrive because we create options for our users and our ecosystem and we enable them to do things rather than doing things for them. We do this by creating a platform that is beautiful, affordable and reliable. Sundar, sasta, tikau (SST) as we call it in Hindi.

This should have been our only goal through the years, but if I have to be honest, we have been distracted quite a bit. This Frappeverse put all of that in focus. Frappeverse is this place where we get to “zoom out” from our daily work and see the entire Frappe universe - the products, the partners, the customers, the ecosystem, the team in one sweep. The resonating thought after this Frappeverse is that this approach of creating a beautiful, affordable and reliable platform has to be our single focus. Everything else - users, customers, partners, ecosystem, success is just an outcome. Focusing on the ecosystem over the product is like putting the cart in front of the horse.

The ecosystem (users, partners, community) is because we (along with other contributors) have created the “commons” - which is the free software, not the other way round. There must be an equivalent of Pournelle’s Iron Law of bureaucracy for FOSS communities. Here is my take:

There are two types of people in the community. Those who are dedicated to the purpose (contributing) and those who are dedicated to the community. And the iron law states that every time, the second type will gain and keep control.

I have already seen this happen in other FOSS communities (the one that must not be named) I have been part of, and this might happen in the Frappe community as well. People fighting for control rather than focussing on contributions. And as the community grows, this is going to be a huge distraction as well. I understand that there is a wall between the Frappe team and the community and with time this wall must disappear with no differences within the community, but that cannot come at the cost of poor quality.

Within Frappe, I am super proud that we have such a balanced team. This feels like a winning team if we get our hearts to it. There are a few “chinks” in the armour that need to be cleared, there is some mistrust that needs to be addressed, but the way all of us came together for the conference was fantastic. From our senior most members to our interns, everyone brought in the right energy to contribute and put together an amazing event. I am sure this opportunity will show us the mirror about what we are doing right and help us to build even more conviction.

The venue, Nehru Center, has been amazing as well. There are few places that match the quality and the authenticity as the Nehru Center. Yes, Jio Convention Center is the prime venue these days in the city, but for me the elegance, art and modernity of the Nehru Center is unmatched. Which makes me sad to think that the Frappeverse will be taking a break from Mumbai and will come to Bangalore next year. The event will now be jointly hosted by the Frappe community, and that, I am looking forward to.

During the closing talk, Basawaraj, who has been a pillar of the community, complained that everything we do in Frappe (that is mostly me) is in extremes. For me this is a compliment. The only reason we have raised ourselves from the mundane is that we put conviction in everything we do. Yes sometimes we are proven wrong, but that does not dim the enthusiasm of the next experiment we do. The world is full of inertia and people who just want the status quo to continue. Their force is overwhelming. The only way we can bring change is by putting our full energy in every initiative. By ensuring that there are no half measures. Also knowing that we are fallible and be ready to accept our mistake and course correct.

I was talking to a theatre artist once who went to India’s top drama school about what makes great cinema or theatre, and she said that it is “conviction”. In a great show, everyone in the crew has full conviction. Right from the writer to the actor, the director, the editor and so on, everyone must believe in the story that they are telling. This is true with us as well. When everyone in the team and the community works with the same conviction that what we are doing is right, is when we will do great work. This Frappeverse showed us that we can do this. I hope we continue to do things with this same conviction, while acknowledging our own fallibility, for a long time coming.