# vc Published articles for vc. This is one page of public article previews, not the complete archive. Follow Next page to continue. Summaries are not the original full articles. ## Investing in Developers -- Zoom Developer Summit and Competition 2020 DevFeed: [Investing in Developers -- Zoom Developer Summit and Competition 2020]() Original publisher: [Read original article]() Author: Aleks Swerdlow Published: 2020-02-13T02:10:56Z Content type: release Language: en Sources: [Zoom Developer Blog - Medium]() Topics: [zoom](), [Development]() Tags: [competition](), [developer](), [developers](), [funding](), [innovation](), [investing](), [platform](), [vc](), [zoom]() ### AI overview Zoom announces the 2020 Zoom Marketplace Competition, a pitch competition for developers building on the Zoom platform. Eligible for-profit organizations that have raised less than $10 million can compete for up to $2 million in funding and additional support and prizes. ### Source excerpt Investing in Developers -- Zoom Marketplace Competition 2020 The Zoom Marketplace Competition -- announced in October at Zoomtopia 2019, is a pitch competition to develop on the Zoom platform for a chance to earn $2 million in funding. The competition provides developers the opportunity to grow their reach and users, while also adding value-producing, high-quality apps that will delight Zoom customers. The competition is open to for-profit organizations that have raised less than $10M. Finalists will be chosen to pitch their ideas to partners at Emergence, Horizons Ventures, Maven Ventures, and Sequoia. The final selected winner would be eligible to potentially receive up to $2 million in funding in addition to advisory sessions with senior Zoom product experts, priority development support from the Zoom platform team, a DTEN D7 55" all-in-one interactive whiteboard with a 3-year Zoom Rooms license, and 10 Zoom Pro licenses for 3 years. What makes a great submission? An easy-to-understand pitch that shows that you have thought about how to use the Zoom platform to scale your business. A clear to follow problem you are solving for. Identify the pain points that exist today. Describe when and where you have observed the problem, and under which circumstances. Explain the cost of the problem (financial, time, quality, environmental, personal, etc.). Show that you understand who you are solving for. Tell us about your customers. Where, and for whom, will your solution bring value? How many of that kind of customer is out in the world? Where in the world are they? Show us the proof that somebody wants your product. What kind of traction does your solution have? Has a similar solution been tried before successfully? Investors invest because they see the potential to make money WITH you and your solution. Tell us how this solution will make money. Tell us about the business model, define your revenue stream. Not sure about your business model, use a business model canvas to ## HTTP Toolkit's bootstrapped freemium and open-source business model DevFeed: [HTTP Toolkit's bootstrapped freemium and open-source business model]() Original publisher: [Read original article]() Author: HTTP Toolkit; Tim Perry Published: 2020-01-06T18:00:00Z Content type: opinion Language: en Sources: [HTTP Toolkit]() Topics: [dev-tools](), [Open Source](), [Software](), [Development]() Tags: [business](), [developer-tools](), [development](), [free](), [growth](), [open-source](), [software](), [vc]() ### AI overview The author explains how HTTP Toolkit combines a bootstrapped commercial model with open-source development. The project charges power and enterprise users for advanced features while allowing free users to use the core product without forced upgrades. The article argues that broad free usage can generate feedback, testing, and word-of-mouth growth that helps sustain and improve the software. ### Source excerpt HTTP Toolkit is a bootstrapped commercial open-source project. It takes work from me, and it needs to make money to survive, but it's also directly powered by the feedback, testing & contributions of its users. As you might imagine, this is a complicated balancing act. I want to talk a little about how and why this works now, and the next step in this direction. Philosophy 101 To make this work, I've taken a few philosophical positions on how HTTP Toolkit should operate. First on the business model, and second on the licensing. Freemium HTTP Toolkit aims to be profitable by charging for features that power & enterprise users need, not by charging everybody. It doesn't hook you then cut you off, it doesn't nag you into submission, and it doesn't integrate itself into your life to force you to upgrade. Instead I separate features by use cases & audience. The aim is to let free users get on with things unhindered, but ensure advanced users reward the project for the value they get from it. This is a practical stance, rather than a purely charitable one. As a small development team, if your goal is to build great & popular software, you need a lot of marketing, and a lot of user feedback. Free & widely used software provides more feedback & testers, especially early on. As long as the project is sustainable enough that somebody can actually work on that feedback, this builds better software for everybody. Good free software then lends itself to word of mouth growth, some of the most effective long-term marketing possible for a small team. All together, this is a automated virtuous cycle. More feedback makes better software makes more growth makes even more feedback. As a model, bootstrapped freemium lets you pair sustainable businesses with a deep understanding & focus of your users. If more developer tools followed this, rather than gambling on VC for funding or going 100% freeware for growth, we might even trade shiny & transient for reliable & effective. Better tools