paying-the-piper Offer hosting

Of course, this model can only be used if the project is hostable in some way. Examples are sentry and the paid hosting option at wordpress.com

Oct 15 '15 12:10 jayfk

A secondary problem: running/maintaining a hosted version of a product can be a distraction, depending on how heavy the support load is. If you're really lucky, you can just set the code running and forget it; if it's more complex, though, handling support queries can easily consume a full time resource (speaking from my experience running a SaaS company).

Oct 15 '15 13:10 freakboy3742

This works nicely for "ready to use" open-source apps (like sentry indeed), less for components or frameworks like Sidekiq or my own Kiba ETL, which are building blocks that you can use.

I second @freakboy3742 too, also running a SaaS, that support can be an issue depending on who you target, and how complex is your app!

Oct 15 '15 14:10 thbar

Another secondary problem: You have to be available all the time. If your service is down, you have to bring it up immediately.

Oct 15 '15 14:10 jayfk

Sidenote: I believe this is how ghost operates.

Oct 15 '15 16:10 ArtskydJ

I'd call the bit that @jayfk mentioned the primary problem. Being "on call" and responsible for uptime for a hosted service is a sure-fire way to burn yourself out.

Oct 16 '15 04:10 ericholscher