Lago, an open-source usage-based billing platform, is seeking Senior Ruby on Rails Engineers based in Latin America. They are building a developer-centric product to help SaaS companies manage complex billing models. Ideal candidates possess strong Ruby and Rails experience, enjoy collaborating with product teams, and are passionate about open-source software. This is a fully remote, LATAM-based position offering competitive compensation and benefits.
DeepSeek, a platform offering encoder APIs for developers, chose to open-source its core technology due to the inherent difficulty in building trust with users regarding data privacy and security when handling sensitive information like codebases and internal documentation. By open-sourcing, DeepSeek aims to foster transparency and allow users to self-host, ensuring complete control over their data. This approach mitigates concerns around vendor lock-in and allows the community to contribute to the project's development and security, ultimately building greater trust and fostering wider adoption.
Hacker News users discussed the open-sourcing of DeepSeek, primarily focusing on the challenges of monetizing open-source AI infrastructure. Many commenters were skeptical of Lago's business model, questioning how they could successfully build a proprietary offering on top of an open-source core, especially given the intense competition in the vector database space. Some suggested that open-sourcing DeepSeek was a necessary move due to the difficulty of attracting paying customers for a closed-source product. Others pointed out potential advantages, such as faster iteration and community contributions, but remained unconvinced of long-term viability. Several users expressed a desire for more technical details about DeepSeek's implementation and performance compared to existing solutions. The most compelling comments revolved around the inherent tension between open-sourcing and profitability in the current AI landscape.
Lago's blog post details how their billing platform now supports custom SQL expressions for defining billable metrics. This allows businesses with complex pricing models greater flexibility and control over how they charge customers. Instead of relying on predefined metrics, users can now write SQL queries directly within Lago to calculate charges based on virtually any data they collect, including custom events and attributes. This simplifies the implementation of usage-based billing scenarios like charging per API call with specific parameters, tiered pricing based on aggregate usage, or dynamic pricing based on real-time data. The post emphasizes how this feature reduces development time and empowers product and finance teams to manage billing logic without extensive engineering involvement.
Hacker News users discuss Lago's approach to flexible billing using custom SQL expressions. Some express concerns about the potential complexity and debugging challenges of using SQL for this purpose, suggesting simpler alternatives like formula-based systems. Others highlight the power and flexibility SQL offers for handling complex billing scenarios, especially for businesses with intricate pricing models. A few commenters question the performance implications of using SQL queries for real-time billing calculations and suggest pre-aggregation or caching strategies. There's also discussion around the trade-off between flexibility and auditability, with concerns about the potential difficulty in understanding and verifying SQL-based billing logic. Some users share their experiences with similar systems, emphasizing the importance of thorough testing and validation.
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https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43378329
Several Hacker News commenters express skepticism about Lago's open-source nature, pointing out that the core billing engine is not open source, only the APIs and customer portal. This sparked a discussion about the definition of "open source" and whether Lago's approach qualifies. Some users defend Lago, arguing that open-sourcing customer-facing components is still valuable. Others raise concerns about the potential for vendor lock-in if the core billing logic remains proprietary. The remote work aspect and Latam hiring focus also drew positive comments, with some users appreciating Lago's transparency about salary ranges. There's also a brief thread discussing alternative billing solutions.
The Hacker News post discussing Lago's hiring of Senior Ruby Engineers in Latin America generated several comments, mostly focusing on the open-source nature of Lago's billing platform and its implications for the business model.
One commenter questioned how Lago plans to monetize their open-source offering, expressing skepticism about the viability of simply offering hosting and support. They suggested the real revenue generation might come from enterprise features or consulting, drawing parallels with other open-source companies that adopt similar strategies. This sparked a discussion about the different open-source business models, with others chiming in about the potential for a successful open-core model where the core product is open-source but advanced features require a commercial license.
Another commenter, seemingly familiar with Lago, pointed out the potential for integration with other billing systems like Stripe, speculating that Lago might focus on providing a more flexible and customizable layer on top of existing payment gateways. They suggested this could be particularly attractive to businesses with complex billing needs that go beyond the standard subscription model.
Further discussion revolved around the choice of Ruby on Rails for the platform. One commenter expressed surprise at the continued use of Ruby in a performance-sensitive application like billing, prompting a response highlighting the maturity and stability of the Ruby ecosystem, along with its suitability for rapid development. This sparked a brief debate about the perceived performance limitations of Ruby compared to other languages, with proponents of Ruby arguing that its performance is often adequate for real-world applications and that developer productivity can be a more important factor.
The location of the hiring (Latam) also drew some comments, with users discussing the potential benefits and challenges of hiring remote teams in Latin America, including considerations around time zones, cultural differences, and the competitive landscape for talent in the region.
Finally, some comments focused on the specific requirements listed in the job posting, such as the emphasis on experience with high-volume transactional systems. These comments reflected a general interest in the technical challenges involved in building a robust and scalable billing platform.