Filestash

"An open-source Dropbox-like frontend for any cloud storage protocol (S3, SFTP, FTP, SMB, NFS) with revenue from enterprise plugins and customization services."
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Maker: mickael-kerjean
no rev. info provided

Marketing Channels

Primary

Open source (GitHub)

Core product is open source on GitHub, providing organic discovery and community trust

Secondary

Hacker News

Creator references the famous Dropbox/FTP HN comment as inspiration, sharing the product in the HN community where the story resonates

Growth Levers

  • Expand the plugin marketplace to encourage community contributions and increase lock-in
  • Target enterprise buyers who need compliant file management with SSO and audit trails
  • Create integration guides for popular cloud providers to capture search traffic
  • Build case studies from enterprise deployments to establish credibility with larger buyers
  • Offer managed hosting as an additional revenue stream alongside self-hosted
  • Position against proprietary file management solutions on cost and flexibility

First Customer Strategy

Built an open-source file management frontend inspired by the iconic HN Dropbox/FTP comment. Revenue comes from enterprise customization and plugins (SSO, audit), leveraging the open-source community as a funnel for paid enterprise features.

Pricing Insight

Open-core model: free open-source base product with revenue from enterprise plugins (SSO, audit) and custom file management solution consulting. The plugin architecture enables modular upselling.

Key Takeaways

  • • Open-core business models can generate revenue through enterprise plugins while maintaining community goodwill
  • • A modular plugin architecture allows selling individual features (SSO, audit) to enterprise customers
  • • Building on top of existing protocols (S3, SFTP, FTP, SMB, NFS) rather than proprietary storage reduces adoption friction
  • • Cultural touchstones (the infamous HN FTP comment) make for compelling product origin stories that resonate with technical audiences
  • • Custom file management solutions represent a steady B2B revenue stream alongside the open-source product

Sentiment Analysis

1 Neu

Notable Quotes

"This was made as a reflection of the Dropbox launch top comment with the infamous FTP guy as I was wondering what was missing from the FTP specs to be able to make a great interface to a protocol like FTP — mickael-kerjean"

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