About the Handbook

Open Core Ventures' comprehensive handbook for building an open core company.

The OCV Handbook is Open Core Ventures' source of truth for how we create new companies. It includes our recommendations and guidance for building and growing open core companies.

This is a public handbook. Providing public access to our internal knowledge base supports our mission to enable more people to become founders. The guidance shared in this handbook is continuously updated to reflect the current status of OCV operations and is subject to change.

Contribute to this handbook by submitting an issue.

Do not rely on this handbook for legal, investment, or tax advice. Do not add personal or confidential information.

Quick Links

Startup Manual

Advice for founders building open core companies.

Company Operations

Operational procedures and guides for OCV founders.

Catalyst

Guidance on starting a new open source project.

OCV Employees

Handbook for internal OCV policies and operations.

How to use the handbook

OCV founders, please consult the OCV handbook often. Use it as a first line of support. If something isn’t clear, ask for clarification.

The OCV team uses the handbook every day to provide shared context:

1. Discussions: Include a handbook link when adding discussion topics to agendas. Document any resulting decisions or changes.

2. Feedback: Include a handbook link when asking for guidance or feedback on an existing process, guideline, or startup advice.

3. Onboarding: The majority of founder onboarding is self-serve via handbook links. Share handbook links when following up on onboarding tasks.

4. Answering questions: Provide a short answer covering any situation-based nuance and a link to where the question is covered in the handbook. Add the answer if it isn’t already in the handbook.