New website, Patreon page and Ladybug Tools LLC

Dear Ladybug Tools community, We have some major news to announce:

In short:

  • We have a new website. Check it out! Finally you can find all the available resources for Ladybug Tools in a single page!
  • We have new membership and partnership programs. Become a member to support us and get rewards!
  • We started a new company. Use our services to save time and level up your game in environmental design!
  • I’m leaving my full-time job at the end of this year to work full time on Ladybug Tools.

Now here is the full story,

We have been working on Ladybug Tools for roughly 5 years and we have been through several iterations, modifications and improvements. Over all this time, the development has been a side job for all of the people involved. Regardless, we managed to put together one integrated platform that brings several validated simulation engines and modeling techniques together.

Now that we have made it here, we want Ladybug Tools to continue for long time. In particular, we want to keep developing our software and improve our documentation, learning materials, cloud services, and user support. We have a long list of new features, improvements and even new plugins to address in the next couple of years.

I’m leaving my full-time job at the end of this year to work full time on Ladybug Tools. I hope that we do well enough that Chris can join me in the future. The question is whether we will be able to sustain ourselves without compromising open access to knowledge and tools.

After much research, brainstorming, and deliberation we came up with the following plan:

  1. Ladybug Tools LLC. We decided to start a small company, Ladybug Tools LLC and provide services off of the core software. We will teach workshops, provide consulting, sell early access to new tutorial videos, and operate a cloud computing service. We hope that the LLC will eventually provide enough income to fully support the software development. However, the challenge is to find and keep a balance between providing the services and developing the project. In other words, these services can end up being our new full time job next to the development, which again makes such development a side project!

  2. Membership/contributions. We decided to create a Patreon page and develop two partnership programs. The membership structure is similar to projects like processing and will allow us to collect contributions from individuals, offices and institutions.
    You can read more about the options for individual contributions on the right side of the Patreon page. For offices and educational institutions, you can visit our membership page for more details. In exchange for your membership, you will receive cool privileges and even special rights to the services of the LLC.

I have been thinking about how I would announce this news for some time now, and even though I have read reports like this that suggest otherwise, I DO believe in the power of communities. I believe most people care to help those who have helped them in the past.

I have had my moments of skepticism about whether we will be able to sustain ourselves without compromising open access to knowledge and tools but I also have moments of thinking this must work because, if it wasn’t working, we wouldn’t be where we are now! We have been there for those who have needed us and they will be here for us now when we need them!

You can count on us to try our best in this endeavor but, ultimately, you are our key to success. Here is what you can do to help:

  • Spread the word! The more people know about these new changes, the better chance we will have.
  • As an individual or a small business, please support us on the Patreon page if you can afford it.
  • Talk to your school to become an institutional partner. By using Ladybug Tools in lieu of expensive proprietary software, schools are already saving thousands of dollars. Even with an institutional partnership that gives your school access to the latest teaching resources, the monetary cost is far lower than what one would have to pay for proprietary software.
  • If your office is using Ladybug Tools extensively, encourage them to become an industry partner and benefit from the rewards.
  • If your office would like to get started with Ladybug Tools we are available to teach workshops.

It’s now in your hands to determine what will happen next and how the project will sustain. Simply put, “The power is yours!”

9 Likes

Such a good and dramatic news @mostapha (and @chris).
I’m one of the believers as you know. I’m sure of the success of this new direction.
Good luck to all of us … :slight_smile:
-A.

@mostapha,
Very happy to hear your decision. We all have heard from a lot of people, that in today’s world, one needs to create a job for oneself. You’re setting a clear example here I believe.

To me, this post really appeals to the heart.

Thank you @mostapha and @chris for all the time, energy and life you have put into developing this powerful toolkit. True leaders you both are.

Truly believe in this vision since day one. Will do my best to support this.

Thank you very much @mostapha, @chris, and @TheoA for this beautiful website! Now it is very easy to convey to other people what we do.

Wow! A big leap indeed! All the very best to the entire team!!!

Big step @mostapha and @chris! I’m glad to see this finally become official. You guys have already done so much for the industry with great results, I definitely think this new direction will also be a success. Good luck!