Matt Mullenweg is the co-founder of WordPress, the open source platform powering a staggering 43% of the internet. He also serves as CEO of Automattic—the parent company of brands like WordPress.com, WooCommerce, and Tumblr—which is worth over $7 billion, with over 1,700 employees across 90 countries. In this episode, he discusses some of the most controversial topics surrounding WordPress, Automattic, and the broader open source community. — What you’ll learn: • Matt’s response to public criticism • Why products like Meta’s Llama are “fake open source” • How his team is turning around Tumblr after acquiring it for just $3 million (after Yahoo bought it for $1.1 billion) • Why he mortgaged his home to fund San Francisco’s iconic Bay Lights project • Matt’s philosophy: “Don’t just build a product; build a movement” • Why open source matters: “If the Founding Fathers were around today, they’d be open source advocates” — Brought to you by: • WorkOS—Modern identity platform for B2B SaaS, free up to 1 million MAUs • Vanta—Automate compliance. Simplify security. • Loom—The easiest screen recorder you’ll ever use — Find the transcript at: lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-crea… — Where to find Matt Mullenweg: • X: x.com/photomatt • LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/mattm • Instagram: instagram.com/photomatt • Website: ma.tt — Where to find Lenny: • Newsletter: lennysnewsletter.com • X: • LinkedIn: — In this episode, we cover: — Referenced: • WordPress: • Automattic: • CNET: • Akismet: • Jetpack: • Toni Schneider on LinkedIn: • WooCommerce: • Beeper: • Day One: • Simplenote: • Pocket Casts: • Creative Commons: • Audrey Capital: • Stripe: • SpaceX: • Calm: • August: • Daylight Computer: • Keys Jazz Bistro: • Joomla: • Drupal: • Shopify: • Wix: • Squarespace: • Tumblr: • Gravatar: • The Bay Lights: • The Bay Lights 360: • Ben Davis on LinkedIn: • Kinder High School for the Performing and Visual Arts: • Jack Dorsey: We’re Losing our Free Will to Algorithms: • Marc Andreessen: • Bill Gurley on LinkedIn: • An inside look at X’s Community Notes | Keith Coleman (VP of Product) and Jay Baxter (ML Lead): • Llama: • WordCamp US & Ecosystem Thinking: • As Wall Street Chases Profits, Fire Departments Have Paid the Price: • WordCamp Asia: • Justin Baldoni Hit with Defamation Suit as PR Teams Turn on Each Other over Blake Lively’s ‘It Ends with Us’ Smear Campaign Allegations: • How WordPress Hot Nacho Scandal Shapes WP Engine Dispute: • Gutenberg: • ClassicPress: • Behind the founder: Marc Benioff: • Mary Hubbard on LinkedIn: • Brian Chesky’s new playbook: • Founder mode: • Cow.com: • David Karp on X: • Marissa Mayer on LinkedIn: • Alibaba: • WP Engine Tracker: • Kumbh Mela: — Recommended book: • Maintenance: Of Everything (in progress): — Production and marketing by . For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com. — Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.