Open Source to subscription pipeline (I don't like it, and it often fails)
Step 1: Build cool shit
Step 2: Start locking features that are historically self hosted or already built in behind a subscription paywall
Step 3: lose diehard users because we are allergic to subscriptions
I have regularly donated to open source projects UNTIL they launch a subscription service. I hate subscriptions with all of my being and I want nothing more for them to burn. It's literally one of the reasons I bitcoin is because I view rentseeking with disdain.
Projects like Amethyst are my favorite, because they make it easy to one tap zap a donation on every release that I like, and it pays all devs. Maybe V4V doesn't scale, but neither does trying to monetize something that another open source project can provide for free.