
Solving Universal, Persistant Problems with David Aronchick
From The Business of Open Source by Emily Omier
June 11, 2025 · 46 min · Episode 259
About this episode
David Aronchick discusses the importance of timing and solving persistent problems in business.
This week on The Business of Open Source, I spoke with David Aronchick , CEO and founder of Expanso , about luck and timing, building into universal truths and the reasons for Kubernetes’ success. Before David founded Expanso (which is behind the project Bacalhau ), he was the first non-founding PM on the Kubernetes project, and we kicked off by talking a bit about what made Kubernetes so successful… and you probably can guess that it didn’t have to do with having the most awesome technology. A big part of it was that it was the right time and a number of factors in the larger ecosystem were aligned in favor of making Kubernetes a success. It comes down to luck and building to where the puck is going… so how do you know where the puck is going to be a year from now? David talks about selling into basic truths. If you’re pegged to a specific technology, you’re putting yourself at huge risk. But if you are solving a problem that has always been a problem and is likely to continue to be a problem, you are more likely to be successful. We also talked about Adam Jacob’s talk on building a business around open source that he gave at KubeCon Salt Lake City, which you should definitely…
People in this episode
Host: Emily Omier
Guest: David Aronchick
Topics covered
- open source
- Kubernetes
- business strategy
- entrepreneurship
- go-to-market strategy
Keywords
- Kubernetes
- open source
- business strategy
- go-to-market
- entrepreneurship
- David Aronchick
- Expanso
- Bacalhau
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Expanso, Kubernetes
Products: Bacalhau
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