RL061 Caris Chan

Radio Liferay

It took me long enough to bring her on: She's followed Liferay's history for longer than some of the other founders: Caris Chan. And yes, that name means that she's Brian Chan's wife. During my last visit in Liferay HQ, I took the opportunity and asked her about her view on Liferay's history - about 15 years for the company and 20 years for the software project.

Here are some of the topics that we talked about:

• The history of Liferay as a product: How and why Brian started Liferay, and the first offer to buy the product.
• Caris' role from history to the present
• Early expansion and how Caris' pessimism balances Brian's optimism
• How Open Source opens doors that you didn't know where there (Shoutout to Bala)
• The reason for a lack of an exit strategy among the owners - why Liferay stays privately held without venture capital
• 10% of Liferay's profits go to Liferay Foundation - as smart investments in the world
• How does a company that strives to stay private get into the acquisition business, acquiring two companies?