Stories
In-depth founder interviews, MRR journeys and post-mortems, with the real numbers.
180 posts
Common Crawl revenue: $1,467,641 in FY2024, and the 13 donors nobody has named
Common Crawl reported $1,467,641 of revenue in FY2024. Because it files as a private foundation, its donor list is public, and it names Anthropic and OpenAI at $250,000 each in both FY2023 and FY2024, matching the founder's family foundation to the dollar.
The month a voluntary disclosure did not cap the tax I had collected, at 79K MRR
A composite founder diary. A voluntary disclosure agreement is supposed to buy you a wall about three years back. In March 2026 I learned that the wall is built around the business that never charged the tax, and that for the one that charged it and kept it the look-back is extended as far back as necessary.
Bytecode Alliance Foundation revenue: $288,126 in FY2024, and the half-million-dollar number Google still shows
The Bytecode Alliance Foundation reported $288,126 of revenue in FY2024, down 48.63% from its $560,835 peak. All of it is membership dues, it has zero employees, and 77.90% of its spending is one line called Consultants. A four-year read of the filed returns.
Open Compute Project Foundation revenue: $18,947,048 in 2024, and the year its bottom line changes sign
The body behind OCP earns three quarters of its money from conferences, not members. Its 2024 Form 990 shows $18,947,048 of revenue, a record $4,056,054 surplus, a switch from cash to accrual accounting with a $735,275 section 481(a) adjustment, and audited statements that turn 2023's surplus into a $907,254 deficit.
The month CMMC Level 1 turned out to have a higher pass mark than Level 2, at 78K MRR
A composite founder diary. Everyone calls CMMC Level 1 the easy tier because it has fifteen requirements. In September 2026 I found it is the only level in the model where no plan of action is permitted at any time, so a Level 2 contractor reaches award at 0.8 while Level 1 needs every requirement MET.
Khronos Group revenue: $3,881,427 in 2024, and the first deficit in eleven years
The body behind Vulkan, OpenGL and glTF publishes no accounts and commissions no audit. Its Form 990 shows a $612,855 loss for 2024, member dues down 13.55 percent, events spending doubled, zero employees, and five contractors taking 38 percent of the budget.
Unicode Consortium revenue: $860,373 in 2025, and the investment gain that out-earned the organisation
The body that decides how the world stores text publishes no accounts and commissions no audit. Its Form 990 is the only public record, and it shows dues on both sides of the revenue statement, a loss that raised the balance sheet, and two contractors nobody has named.
The month FedRAMP turned out to have an expiry date at 77K MRR
A composite founder diary. Everyone treats FedRAMP as a property of your product. In September 2026 I found that only the buying agency may decide whether it applies, and that every section of the FedRAMP Authorization Act carries a note repealing itself on 23 December 2027.
NetBSD Foundation revenue: $51,146 in 2024, $80,607 in 2025, and the $8,704 gap between its own books and its tax return
The NetBSD Foundation filed $51,146 of revenue and a $14,928 deficit for 2024, and published $80,607.21 of income and a record $314,748.48 balance for 2025. It also publishes twenty-two years of its own accounts, which lets you check them against the tax return. They differ by exactly one line.
The month PCI compliance turned out to be a statute at 76K MRR
A composite founder diary. Everyone says PCI compliance is contractual and not law. In September 2026 I read three state statutes and found Nevada making the current version of a private standard a legal duty, Minnesota deeming me in violation for my processor's act, and Washington inverting both.
