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Oct 1, 2018 · 19m · top-founders

1164 Want Your Own Alexa, Without Amazon Influence? Mycroft Raises $8m For Opensource Voice Stack

Josh Montgomery · 11m spoken Nathan Latka · 6m spoken
0:00 / 0:00

gold bands on the timeline = statements, start to end. Hover to read, click to jump. CC turns on captions

In this episode of The Top Entrepreneurs Podcast, Mycroft founder Josh Montgomery discusses building an open-source voice assistant platform to rival Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, detailing the company's $8.5 million funding journey, enterprise monetization model, and bottom-up developer adoption strategy.

How this conversation actually went

Every chapter scored 0–10 on four independent dynamics. Hover any point for the reasoning behind the score. Nathan holds 36.6% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 4.6 Guest teaching 4.6 Guest disagreement 2.6 Nathan pushing back 3.2
05100:0010:001:15–3:52 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 Josh Montgomery's Background and the Origin of Mycroft Latka explores Montgomery's background and presses on how Mycroft monetizes given its fully open-source nature. Montgomery clearly lays out the distinction between consumer hardware and backend licensing while contextualizing Amazon's Alexa investment scale.3:53–8:32 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Funding Timeline and Crowdfunding Validation Latka pushes Montgomery on the potential conflict of serving anti-corporate hacker communities while attempting to sell B2B enterprise licenses to corporations like Jaguar. Montgomery counters by explaining how enterprise developers at Cisco contribute to open source and drive internal software adoption.8:32–13:08 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Industry Applications in Retail and Cybersecurity Latka demands concrete enterprise use cases beyond hardware retail distribution. Montgomery provides a detailed technical example involving conversational network router security and sets the vision for voice as the future computational interface.13:08–17:41 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Security Advantages and the Precedent of Open Source Latka challenges Montgomery with potential security hesitations and the historical risk of open-source community backlash when companies commercialize (referencing WordPress). Montgomery counters effectively by explaining open-source transparency and detailing their StartEngine community equity model.17:42–18:45 · Nathan as informed peer 3/10 The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions Standard Famous Five rapid-fire sequence where Montgomery answers questions directly and pleasantly about his routine, family, and past SpaceX opportunity.1:15–3:52 · Guest teaching 5/10 Josh Montgomery's Background and the Origin of Mycroft Latka explores Montgomery's background and presses on how Mycroft monetizes given its fully open-source nature. Montgomery clearly lays out the distinction between consumer hardware and backend licensing while contextualizing Amazon's Alexa investment scale.3:53–8:32 · Guest teaching 5/10 Funding Timeline and Crowdfunding Validation Latka pushes Montgomery on the potential conflict of serving anti-corporate hacker communities while attempting to sell B2B enterprise licenses to corporations like Jaguar. Montgomery counters by explaining how enterprise developers at Cisco contribute to open source and drive internal software adoption.8:32–13:08 · Guest teaching 6/10 Industry Applications in Retail and Cybersecurity Latka demands concrete enterprise use cases beyond hardware retail distribution. Montgomery provides a detailed technical example involving conversational network router security and sets the vision for voice as the future computational interface.13:08–17:41 · Guest teaching 6/10 Security Advantages and the Precedent of Open Source Latka challenges Montgomery with potential security hesitations and the historical risk of open-source community backlash when companies commercialize (referencing WordPress). Montgomery counters effectively by explaining open-source transparency and detailing their StartEngine community equity model.17:42–18:45 · Guest teaching 1/10 The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions Standard Famous Five rapid-fire sequence where Montgomery answers questions directly and pleasantly about his routine, family, and past SpaceX opportunity.1:15–3:52 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Josh Montgomery's Background and the Origin of Mycroft Latka explores Montgomery's background and presses on how Mycroft monetizes given its fully open-source nature. Montgomery clearly lays out the distinction between consumer hardware and backend licensing while contextualizing Amazon's Alexa investment scale.3:53–8:32 · Guest disagreement 3/10 Funding Timeline and Crowdfunding Validation Latka pushes Montgomery on the potential conflict of serving anti-corporate hacker communities while attempting to sell B2B enterprise licenses to corporations like Jaguar. Montgomery counters by explaining how enterprise developers at Cisco contribute to open source and drive internal software adoption.8:32–13:08 · Guest disagreement 3/10 Industry Applications in Retail and Cybersecurity Latka demands concrete enterprise use cases beyond hardware retail distribution. Montgomery provides a detailed technical example involving conversational network router security and sets the vision for voice as the future computational interface.13:08–17:41 · Guest disagreement 4/10 Security Advantages and the Precedent of Open Source Latka challenges Montgomery with potential security hesitations and the historical risk of open-source community backlash when companies commercialize (referencing WordPress). Montgomery counters effectively by explaining open-source transparency and detailing their StartEngine community equity model.17:42–18:45 · Guest disagreement 1/10 The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions Standard Famous Five rapid-fire sequence where Montgomery answers questions directly and pleasantly about his routine, family, and past SpaceX opportunity.1:15–3:52 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Josh Montgomery's Background and the Origin of Mycroft Latka explores Montgomery's background and presses on how Mycroft monetizes given its fully open-source nature. Montgomery clearly lays out the distinction between consumer hardware and backend licensing while contextualizing Amazon's Alexa investment scale.3:53–8:32 · Nathan pushing back 4/10 Funding Timeline and Crowdfunding Validation Latka pushes Montgomery on the potential conflict of serving anti-corporate hacker communities while attempting to sell B2B enterprise licenses to corporations like Jaguar. Montgomery counters by explaining how enterprise developers at Cisco contribute to open source and drive internal software adoption.8:32–13:08 · Nathan pushing back 4/10 Industry Applications in Retail and Cybersecurity Latka demands concrete enterprise use cases beyond hardware retail distribution. Montgomery provides a detailed technical example involving conversational network router security and sets the vision for voice as the future computational interface.13:08–17:41 · Nathan pushing back 5/10 Security Advantages and the Precedent of Open Source Latka challenges Montgomery with potential security hesitations and the historical risk of open-source community backlash when companies commercialize (referencing WordPress). Montgomery counters effectively by explaining open-source transparency and detailing their StartEngine community equity model.17:42–18:45 · Nathan pushing back 1/10 The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions Standard Famous Five rapid-fire sequence where Montgomery answers questions directly and pleasantly about his routine, family, and past SpaceX opportunity.

speaking balance: gold is Nathan, purple is the guest (3 minute bins)

0:00 · Nathan 59% · guest 41%0:00 · Nathan 59% · guest 41%3:00 · Nathan 30.1% · guest 69.9%3:00 · Nathan 30.1% · guest 69.9%6:00 · Nathan 36.7% · guest 63.3%6:00 · Nathan 36.7% · guest 63.3%9:00 · Nathan 23.6% · guest 76.4%9:00 · Nathan 23.6% · guest 76.4%12:00 · Nathan 17.1% · guest 82.9%12:00 · Nathan 17.1% · guest 82.9%15:00 · Nathan 41.6% · guest 58.4%15:00 · Nathan 41.6% · guest 58.4%18:00 · Nathan 65.2% · guest 34.8%18:00 · Nathan 65.2% · guest 34.8%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 13:08 Rebutting open source security doubts

Montgomery directly rejects the premise that open source implies low quality or security vulnerabilities, using the lock analogy to argue transparency makes software more secure.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 14:47 Citing WordPress community backlash

Latka challenges Montgomery's optimistic open-source narrative by citing Matt Mullenweg's difficulties with community resentment once WordPress generated over $100M.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 7:17 Explaining corporate open source contribution

Montgomery dismantles Latka's skepticism about hacker communities by detailing how corporate developers at Cisco work on open source during business hours to build internal production solutions.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 8:32 Latka referencing hardware-software peers

Latka demonstrates industry knowledge by citing specific comparable startups like Purple WiFi and Eero that successfully paired hardware with licensed backend software.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
Josh Montgomery's Background and the Origin of Mycroft 4522 Latka explores Montgomery's background and presses on how Mycroft monetizes given its fully open-source nature. Montgomery clearly lays out the distinction between consumer hardware and backend licensing while contextualizing Amazon's Alexa investment scale.
Funding Timeline and Crowdfunding Validation 5534 Latka pushes Montgomery on the potential conflict of serving anti-corporate hacker communities while attempting to sell B2B enterprise licenses to corporations like Jaguar. Montgomery counters by explaining how enterprise developers at Cisco contribute to open source and drive internal software adoption.
Industry Applications in Retail and Cybersecurity 5634 Latka demands concrete enterprise use cases beyond hardware retail distribution. Montgomery provides a detailed technical example involving conversational network router security and sets the vision for voice as the future computational interface.
Security Advantages and the Precedent of Open Source 6645 Latka challenges Montgomery with potential security hesitations and the historical risk of open-source community backlash when companies commercialize (referencing WordPress). Montgomery counters effectively by explaining open-source transparency and detailing their StartEngine community equity model.
The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions 3111 Standard Famous Five rapid-fire sequence where Montgomery answers questions directly and pleasantly about his routine, family, and past SpaceX opportunity.

Statements from this episode (16)

Assertion Not checkable as stated
Montgomery: Mycroft was created because Echo and Google Assistant did not exist
“And at the time, Echo didn't exist. Google Assistant didn't exist. Siri was locked up on the iPhone. And so we set out to build an open technology that allowed us to replicate that experience.”
Josh Montgomery Oct 1, 2018 ▶ 2:16
Assertion Partly supported
Montgomery: Amazon spent $150M and four years developing Alexa
“If you look at what Amazon built, they spent nearly four years, made three acquisitions, and spent a hundred and fifty million dollars Before their Super Bowl ad in 2016”
Josh Montgomery Oct 1, 2018 ▶ 3:16
Disclosure
Montgomery: Mycroft actively discourages general consumers from using its product
“We actively discourage general consumers from adopting our technology today. That'll change next year.”
Josh Montgomery Oct 1, 2018 ▶ 3:35
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Montgomery: 22,000 developers and makers are using Mycroft
“Right now we're really happy with the 22,000 developers and hackers and makers that are using our product.”
Josh Montgomery Oct 1, 2018 ▶ 3:41
Disclosure
Montgomery: Mycroft total funding will reach $8.5M after Series A
“If you include the A, it's going to be about eight and a half million with five of that coming here in the next few months.”
Josh Montgomery Oct 1, 2018 ▶ 4:25
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Montgomery: Smart speakers are the fastest-growing market segment in history
“It turns out it's the fastest growing segment of the fastest growing market in history.”
Josh Montgomery Oct 1, 2018 ▶ 5:08
Assertion Supported
Montgomery: Mycroft raised $127K on Kickstarter and ~$490K on Indiegogo
“That was our first campaign was 127,000, a smaller number of backers, 1120. We ran a second campaign earlier this year, and that's actually at, I think about 490,000.”
Josh Montgomery Oct 1, 2018 ▶ 5:24
Disclosure
Montgomery: Mycroft prices enterprise licensing at $1,500 monthly for 5,000 users
“Our cost structure is scheduled, structured around 1500 dollars a month for a license. That'll serve about 5000 users.”
Josh Montgomery Oct 1, 2018 ▶ 6:32
Disclosure
Montgomery: Makers drive most of Mycroft's revenue, not enterprise licensing
“We've been working with a couple of companies on that, but we don't have any significant sales to report there yet. Most of our revenue so far has come from the maker hacker community that we've been targeting.”
Josh Montgomery Oct 1, 2018 ▶ 6:43
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Montgomery: Cisco employees spend full workdays developing the Mycroft open-source stack
“For example, we found full-time employees at Cisco systems that are spending their entire day working on the Mycroft stack so that they can bring that technology into the parent company.”
Josh Montgomery Oct 1, 2018 ▶ 7:31
Insight
Montgomery: Major Open Source Communities Thrive on Corporate-Paid Full-Time Developers
“And that's really how the bigger open source communities thrive is with full-time developers who are paid by whatever XYZ corporation to develop the technology going forward.”
Josh Montgomery Oct 1, 2018 ▶ 7:40
Opinion
Montgomery: Voice technology in 2018 is like computing in the 1970s
“In the voice market, it's not the first inning of the game. It is literally the first at bat. This technology is so early. It You could think of voice technology like computer technology in the late 19 seventies.”
Josh Montgomery Oct 1, 2018 ▶ 12:17
Disclosure
Montgomery: Mycroft Targets Any Business Competing with Apple, Amazon, or Google
“So we want our target is any business that views Apple, Amazon, and Google as a potential competitor. And given that Google's making self-driving cars and Amazon is launching spaceships, that's a really broad category of businesses.”
Josh Montgomery Oct 1, 2018 ▶ 12:53
Assertion Partly supported
Montgomery: Android Captures 90% Mobile Market Share Due to Open Source
“In mobile. Android's 90% of the market with 2.2 billion installs because it's open source.”
Josh Montgomery Oct 1, 2018 ▶ 14:31
Insight
Montgomery: Equity crowdfunding requires an existing community to succeed
“I think to be successful at raising money through a crowdfunding platform like this, you really do have to have a community around the company. I think going in there cold would be a mistake.”
Josh Montgomery Oct 1, 2018 ▶ 17:10
Insight
Montgomery: Perks-based crowdfunding fits hardware and games better than equity
“If you're building a hardware product or a video game, I think that perks based crowdfunding is probably a better fit because it does have a much, much broader audience.”
Josh Montgomery Oct 1, 2018 ▶ 17:32
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