Note
This is a long-term follow up on my previous On npm and scalenpm.org post.
This thread on reddit caught my eye. First reaction: What the fuck? Second reaction: What did they expect?
Maybe this isn’t a fair reaction as the “backers” were probably well under-informed as to the situation and what was actually going on. Nodejitsu is a private company focused around offering a platform-as-a-service (PaaS) specifically for applications written in JavaScript using Node.js. They have accepted $2,700,000 in funding1 and compete with the likes of Heroku, Azure, and Engine Yard. An oft-ignored face of their business is running a private package manager. I’m not clear on how big that piece is in terms of their bottom line.
Last year they launched the #scalenpm efforts. They were running the public npm registry on a shoestring budget and figured that a crowd funding campaign was the way to go. They rolled out the following pricing tiers:
| Tier | Price | Benefits2 |
|---|---|---|
| Tiny | $7 | Mentioned and linked on scalenpm.org |
| Small | $35 | Tiny + Personal thank you note from the team; $25 credit on Nodejitsu or Iriscouch. |
| Medium | $75 | Small + Exclusive npm t-shirt; Nodejitsu and npm stickers |
| Big | $200 | Medium + 15 minute Skype chat with Node.js veteran; Signed haiku written by a jitsuka |
| Huge | $500 | Big + $100 credit on Nodejitsu or IrisCouch; Exclusive Nodejitsu ninja hoodie; 10 words about a module of your choice by Mikeal Rogers |
| Bronze | $3,000 | Huge + 250x75 logo on the site; Featured on npm.nodejitsu.com; Included in swag mail-out |
| Silver | $7,000 | Huge + 250x180 logo on the site; Featured on npm.nodejitsu.com; Included in swag mail-out; Shared blog post with other Silver sponsors; Dedicated Twitter love from @npmjs and @nodejitsu; 5 months of private npm service; 2 hours pair programming session with either FrozenRidge, Nodejitsu, or YLD! |
| Gold | $15,000 | Huge + 550x180 logo on the site; Featured on npm.nodejitsu.com; Included in swag mail-out; Dedicated blog post; 1 year of private npm service; 4 hours pair programming session with either FrozenRidge, Nodejitsu, or YLD!; 1 day on-site training by a Node.js veteran |
| Adamantium | $20,000+ | Huge + 1100x180 logo on the site; Featured on npm.nodejitsu.com; Included in swag mail-out; Dedicated blog post; Dedicated Twitter love from @npmjs and @nodejitsu; Conference Mentions; 1 year of private npm service; 6 hours pair programming session with either FrozenRidge, Nodejitsu, or YLD!; 2 days on-site training by a Node.js veteran |
That’s a lot of stuff for very little money. At $35 donated you get a personalized thank you message from the team! Sounds great, they hit their goal. Here’s a timeline of what happened next:
- December 16th, 2013: Thank you post goes live with a significant promises and proposed timelines.
- December 29th, 2013: Emails go out
- January 2014: scalenpm.org redirects to scalenpm.nodejitsu.com.
- January 27th, 2014: Nodejitsu posts a breakdown of costs.
- February 5th, 2014: npm, Inc. is founded to sponsor the public npm registry.
- February 11th, 2014: npm, Inc. closes $2,600,000 in funding.
- February 26th, 2014: Nodejitsu files for a trademark on npm with USPTO.
- February 28th, 2014: Nodejitsu drops trademark application.
I view this as Nodejitsu took $256,000 ** $326,424 **3 from well-minded people large and small, shuffled responsibility for hosting the registry to another private company (npm, Inc.) who then raised a massive seed round. Both are currently ignoring the people who funded the Nodejitsu #scalenpm campaign in the first place.
What do you think? Comment on reddit’s /r/node.
Donated to #scalenpm 9 months ago, provided shirt size 8 months ago, still no T-shirt. @nodejitsu @indexzero
#scalenpm What’s going on with the t-shirts and stickers?!
Seems like I’m not gonna get my hoodie after that $500 donated :( #scalenpm
So it seems that npm inc pretty much just spat in the face of everyone who funded #scalenpm
Update 09/11/2014 12:57pm
Updated the funds raised to match total funds including community not just major donors.
Update 09/11/2014 3:20pm
Added the Nodejitsu cost breakdown post to the timeline.
Update 09/12/2014 1:49pm
Isaac Schlueter added a blog post npm, Inc. and Scalenpm.
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Source: CrunchBase ↩︎
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Source: archive.org copy of scalenpm.org ↩︎
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Source: scalenpm.nodejitsu.com ↩︎