Amazing, Just witnessed an ever before huge conference, at ever before huge venue, branding, contents, marketing and ever active sponsor desks, outpouring network from all ends at recently concluded Frappeverse 2023. As I heard about the Frappeverse first, it just strikes to my mind that all partners are supposed to have their own space stations to take customers on a tour of ever expanding verse here on. Not literally but on that level of robust, stable, secure, perfect, future ready and profound experience altogether.
Being part of the community and witnessing conferences and events from its inception and consistently probably makes us think it or take it this way. Specifically “unconferences”.
From ERPNext conference to Frappeverse, it’s reflections on a personal level.
First thing first, core values and culture.
For me Frappe is an ever changing entity, and to that matter always has to factor in, tomorrow will not be the same for them and so to any one of us. Hence anything in planning at our level always has a bigger buffer to address tomorrow and that dynamics always has been and will be. Change is positive here as it leads to innovation. Be it for company, culture, engagements and offerings.
One thing is constant in this entire changing world of the Frappe ecosystem is values and fundamentals. It is deep-deep rooted. If you can observe closely deep inside, you can see it in everything with the same consistency.
Now, Frappe has introduced different teams in the last couple of years, while in the initial years it was one with different roles. Hence, conflict was natural and the controversies were happening unintentionally. Now, we expect controversy to be a set agenda at such events, conferences specifically but it doesn’t come up that way.
Correcting the first bad step takes a lot of bad mouth, but where it ends is an unsaid Rule Book or Guideline to be particular. It is an inspiration from core values, nothing else how I see it.
Do we see, all the presentations ended this Frappeverse or earlier version with either an entry on Marketplace or Github link for community to use and enjoy? Nobody enquired or asked about it, which was an usual ask earlier. It’s a culture effect that made an impact at the ecosystem level.
You may have to worry about the dynamics but ” {Finally, It } Make Sense”, as quoted by Mr. Mina.
Engaging but balanced.
With a bigger team, and having multiple faces, it has become ecosystem and partner friendly over time. Engagements and encounters have changed drastically, as the Core Team [Engineering] and People Centric Team [Sales, Marketing, CSM, School] is different. It may look soft, lenient, business first approach on one end, which is required but core values are intact. People centric teams conduct it differently, but checks and balances are there and probably very strict or to put it rightly very much particular. This is perceived as per time to time Frappe team interactions.
This need not be confused with diluting the values, as that’s a foundation on which this entire structure is standing tall, unwavering and confident as always.
But with more mix of people, culture widens up or drowns, here it is flourishing keeping a clear cut differentiation on whats required and what’s not without compromising on the values. A Well Balanced.
Frappe School and now BWH is taking it to new heights and even more engaging. In general [to my experience] OpenSource software explorations to full potential is like lost in no where, because major missing pieces is where to start and how to achieve. These initiatives putting up things in place, giving a much needed clue.
Legacy
We have seen years where co-founding members worked on bottlenecks and cleared places for new generations. They lead the entire Organisation with even better force and with the same principles as no compromise at core values. Legacy is created, transformed and running successfully where legends are still around. What else could be the better definition of the legacy.
Which boosts confidence that we are a better place and hand, and we are part of a movement to make history.
All this for good and as we witnessed a never before kind of conference, mesmerising Day 1 and 2, but composition, simplicity and adherence to cores still at its best.
Growth as Partner
Frappe is growing not just them but with ecosystem.
So to say, as community members or now as partners we have grown in that shadow, we were not aware or sure what to expect and what to do about it for many years. There was a void gap from the level Frappe was thinking as a Product Company and the level we were thinking as service providers. Objectives, goals were completely different just that it was aligned with Frappe and ERPNext as common areas of interest.
We have been through failures, learning and encounters as crossing the lines so closely that we always know whatever you may be but if not aligned with principles then you have no place to stand. It was easy to fall apart and go away, but taking that challenge to stand again, be realigned was a great learning. Fostering that internally was always a challenge for us, as however charged you see yourself post these events, you need to take off day-to-day things at hand. So, it was done slowly and gradually trying not to break things beyond repair, with compromises. Leads to overall growth at the end.
Community First
We have received much feedback and are honest and brutal sometimes from Rushabh and Umair. Sometimes which were to address we and customers as a community member, even compromising business value to Frappe. This ensures and underlines all the above points from time to time. Community is and always has been the center of the ecosystem next to the core values.
