Quite a while ago we sent out 5 questions to Michael Roberston CEO of Linspire and SIPphone. It was meant to be for a new section but I thought I would post them here anyway.

Questions:
1. Is open source here to stay?
2. The cost of Linspire is far less than that of Windows and your
consumer base is far smaller. How do you pay for promotion,
development and employees and still charge low prices for software?
3. What advice can you give to people starting a new website/ web company?
4. To you, what is success?
5. What would you do with $10 million?

The Anwers:

1. Is open source here to stay?


Anyone objectively measuring the momentum behind Linux, Firefox and OpenOffice.org would have to agree that open source is here to stay. I think what is still being fleshed out is the economic model behind those initiatives. Many are propped up by commercial companies who forging their economic connections. e.g. IBM, Redhat and others employ many Linux developers. AOL's 2MM gift to Mozilla foundation is making Firefox go. Sun's engineers at StarOffice do virtually all of the engineering for that project. It's clear that having commercial company support at some level is helping these projects.

2. The cost of Linspire is far less than that of Windows and your consumer base is far smaller. How do you pay for promotion, development and employees and still charge low prices for software?


Traditional promotion (tv, radio, print, etc.) is very expensive. Value focused companies by definition have to let their price do much of their marketing. Because value companies charge less for their product, they have fewer dollars for marketing and must rely on word of mouth, evangelists, and other more cost effective ways to educate the marketplace about their products. At Linspire, we kicked off an innovative campaign at http://www.lraiser.com. It shows a map of actual locations where Linspire computer users are appearing around the globe. Users can zoom in on those maps and look at different time periods. We're also encouraging people to help us grow.

I think of Linux like generic products. You rarely see advertisements for generic products. Their best advertisement is that they are cheaper then the big brand companies. When consumers look at the products on the store shelves, they can see the price difference and decide what fits their budget and needs the best. What we're focused on at Linspire is getting computer manufacturers to pre-install our operating system in desktops and laptops. And then get retailers to carry these products so they're in front of mainstream users. This is the most important promotion Linux needs.

It's doubtful you'll ever see Linux ads as prevalent as Microsoft advertisements for the simple reason that Linux companies will never have the high profit margins that Microsoft enjoys.

3. What advice can you give to people starting a new website/ web company?


Run fast. Build it, keep expense low and then measure consumer response to validate your idea or product. Then take that data and tune your offering. Let the marketplace drive the process and you will identify the opportunities and be able to respond to them.

4. To you, what is success?


Leaving the world a better place then you found it. Money is of course one measure of success. I grew up very poor so I wanted to be able to provide for my family and I have reached that goal. So for me, success is steering the world in a positive direction. That means different things to different people, but for me it means making things better for consumers. I'm a big believer in open standards and consumer rights. These are critical components if the digital age will be a better one for consumers.

5. What would you do with $10 million?

I'm a big believer of investing in yourself. So I would invest it in Linspire and SIPphone two of the companies I started which I'm very excited about. Both companies are promoting open standards (Linux and SIP) which will only gain momentum. I am always willing to bet on myself because I know how hard I work and the people I have around me. To me, this is safer then investing in stocks, bonds or other financial vehicles which are largely out of your control.