A nuclear physicist's "hobby project" now authenticates half the internet and generates millions in revenue. Here's how he monetized what everyone said was impossible.
Listen to the full conversation on Software Leaders Uncensored as InkBridge Networks CEO Alan DeKok shares his unconventional path from hobby project to enterprise powerhouse.
What started as a hobby project in 1999 has become one of the most successful examples of open source monetization in enterprise software. Alan DeKok, originally trained as a nuclear physicist, created FreeRADIUS as a solution to market gaps in network authentication - never imagining it would evolve into a business serving Fortune 500 companies like AT&T, Goldman Sachs, and Orange.
In this candid conversation on Software Leaders Uncensored, Alan reveals the hard lessons, strategic decisions, and business acumen that transformed a piece of software given away for free into a profitable consulting empire.
Hear Alan's complete story, including:
- His thoughts on staying ahead of competition
- Managing remote teams across multiple countries
- Why he believes most AI applications in network security consulting are "largely nonsense"
The conversation reveals practical strategies for development companies looking to drive innovation while maintaining profitability.
The unconventional path to open source monetization
Alan's approach to open source monetization defies typical startup playbooks. Rather than seeking venture capital or following traditional business models, he built expertise first, then monetized that knowledge. "I don't know that I'd recommend everyone doing this," Alan admits. "Writing a product and giving it away - it's not a good business model."
However, Alan discovered that when your solution addresses complex, specialized problems that organizations can't solve themselves, expertise becomes the real product.
“The solution that people need is complicated enough and unusual and rare enough that they can't do it themselves. So what do they do? They ask an expert." – Alan DeKok
The monetization timeline was gradual but deliberate. Alan started making money within three to four years, initially through small consulting projects. By 2008, nearly a decade after starting FreeRADIUS, he launched InkBridge Networks as a full-time business. The key was combining technical skill with business processes that prioritized cash flow and customer value.
Business acumen over technical brilliance
One of Alan's most powerful insights challenges the typical engineer mindset. "A lot of engineering people like doing engineering. They pay less attention to cash flow. They want to solve problems," he explains. Alan had to train his engineers to think differently about customer requests.
Alan trained his engineers to respond strategically when customers presented interesting technical challenges. Rather than immediately agreeing to work on fascinating problems for free, the team learned to politely explain that prioritizing the request would require compensation. This approach (making customers understand that good work costs money) became fundamental to sustainable growth.
Alan's philosophy extends to knowing when to say no: "If you say yes to everything, you have no value." This business discipline, rare in technical organizations, allowed InkBridge Networks to maintain software quality while building profitable relationships with enterprise clients.
The AI impact on software development:
A contrarian perspective
Alan offers a nuanced view of artificial intelligence's role in software development that contradicts mainstream enthusiasm. While acknowledging AI's capabilities, he warns about its limitations, particularly for software design and complex problem-solving.
"AI is pretty good as a junior programmer, but what I see happening is AI does a lot of the obvious things and makes a lot of mistakes," Alan observes. Senior developers can leverage AI effectively because they possess the experience to identify and correct AI-generated errors. However, junior developers often accept AI output without understanding its flaws.
This creates a concerning skills gap: "That learning experience of breaking things and understanding why they're broken is something that I think the junior people will be missing." Alan predicts AI will widen the divide between junior and senior developers, making it harder for newcomers to develop critical thinking skills essential for robust software applications.
Building enterprise relationships through specialized expertise
InkBridge Networks’ success demonstrates how specialized knowledge creates sustainable competitive advantages. Alan became not just a software developer, but a standards author, writing approximately 25% of all RADIUS specifications. This authority allows him to resolve complex technical disputes with major vendors.
"It's certainly fun being on customer calls with myself, a national ISP, and a big equipment vendor, and the person from the big equipment vendor is saying, 'Your crappy open-source product doesn't work with our beautiful billion-dollar equipment,'" Alan recounts. "Could you pull up the standard that we're trying to implement? Whose name is at the top? What's my name? So, if I say your product is wrong, I'm pretty sure your product is wrong."
This expertise translates into tangible business value. When clients face problems with major vendor equipment, Alan bypasses traditional support channels: "I don't call tier one, tier two, tier three support. I call my contacts in their engineering division who are up here, not down here."
Selected excerpts from the conversation
On the monetization timeline and early challenges
Steve Taplin: "How long did it take you to monetize that open source software?"
Alan DeKok: "I started making money off on it within about three to four years. Little bits here and there. The initial thing was one of the standards bodies I went to. I had one of the people from the big companies laughing at me. ‘We're making the standard so complicated that you stupid open-source people won't be able to implement it.’ And I laugh back. Well, that's terrible because he was charging $100,000 for his product and his customers are coming to me and going for $20, could you add that feature? Sure."
On business discipline and customer relationships
Alan DeKok: "My take - and I've had to train my engineers on this, right? Customer comes to you with a good problem, ‘Great. It's fascinating. I'd love to work on that. But if only there was some way for me to prioritize that.’ And if you have that focus on business, it's a lot easier to make money... I like you, you're a good person, we've worked together, but I'm really sorry, for business reasons, I have to bill you. You're happy to pay. We're happy to have a good relationship, and I can afford to have an office and pay my people."
On AI's impact on software development
Alan DeKok: "AI is pretty good as a junior programmer, but what I see happening is AI does a lot of the obvious things and makes a lot of mistakes. And the senior person then comes in and goes, 'Oh, you forgot about this. You forgot about this. You forgot about this.' So that kind of AI generation is useful to a senior programmer. I don't have to type 2,000 lines of code for something. The AI generates it and I just go through and fix it for all the corner cases I've learned from experience. The junior people look at this and go, 'Wow, that's exactly what I would have done.' And they push it out and it doesn't work and it breaks and now they're lost."
Transform your network security approach with proven expertise
Alan's journey from open-source projects to enterprise success demonstrates that sustainable software quality and user experiences depend on deep technical expertise combined with sound business processes. At InkBridge Networks, this philosophy drives everything from software design decisions to client relationships.
Need help?
If your organization is evaluating network security consulting solutions, InkBridge's 25-year track record with FreeRADIUS offers proven reliability.
Ready to discuss your network authentication challenges? Connect with the team that wrote the standards, built the software, and continues to drive innovation in enterprise network security.
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