Talend cash does not mean venture window open wide
Talend said its software has been downloaded over 7 million times and it had a record 2009.
So what is wrong with this picture?
- There is less cash in this round than in the previous round. At the bottom of the Great Recession Talend raised $12 million.
- Talend is getting this cash from the same collection of European investors who backed it last time.
This is not to disparage the importance of the news to Talend. But it's news that doesn't change the status quo in the open source space, which is that of a closed venture capital window.
Talend has great technology, growing sales, but it needs cash to turn the proverbial corner and it has gotten that cash. Good for Talend.
But happy days are not here again. Venture capital windows don't usually open to niches after they close. Venture capital moves on.
This does not mean open source is doomed by any means. It means open source entrepreneurs have to come up with additional sources of revenue to interest VCs -- hardware and services rather than just support -- and that they need to find new, more patient sources of capital.
There are many such sources. You can get investment based on a real record of accomplishment from both the public and private market. If you're new, find angels or sugar daddies in the corporate space. You can get loans based on sales. You might even be able to make it on the cash you're already making.
But the venture capital music has stopped in open source, based solely on support contracts and it is not going to re-start. Deal with it.