From creating one of the Python’s most influential libraries to co-founding Voltron Data, Wes joins the show to chat about why the book cover of the pandas book doesn’t feature a panda, open source pitfalls to avoid, the pros and cons of hiring engineers at a non-profit, and more.

 

Segments:

(00:02:50 ) Guang’s complaint about the pandas book cover

(00:04:38 ) Quarto and Open Access Publishing

(00:12:00 ) Convincing Wall Street to Open Source

(00:15:31 ) Publishing the first python package over Christmas 

(00:18:01 ) Doubling Down on Building pandas

(00:23:23 ) Personal sacrifices for the sake of impact

(00:26:28 ) The Evolution of Open-Source

(00:29:19 ) “Open source development started out as a very privileged activity”

(00:32:40 ) The Consulting Trap

(00:35:17 ) The Startup Trap

(00:39:29 ) The Corporate User Trap

(00:44:21 ) Avoiding the Startup Trap

(00:46:54 ) Non-Profit vs. For-Profit

(00:48:09 ) The Challenges of Hiring Engineers in a Non-Profit Setting

(00:50:08 ) The Benefits of Remote Work for Open Source Development

(00:52:15 ) Balancing Open Source and Enterprise Interests

(00:57:25 ) New Funding Models for Open Source?

(01:00:01 ) Getting into VC

(01:06:19 ) The Future of Composable Data Systems

 

Show Notes:

- online edition of pandas book: https://wesmckinney.com/book/

- the new digital publishing tool that Wes recommends: https://quarto.org/

 

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Music: Vlad Gluschenko — Forest License: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en