Should dbt Labs prioritize expanding dbt Cloud's enterprise features or focus on improving the open-source dbt Core experience for individual users?

Introduction

The trade-off we're examining today is whether dbt Labs should prioritize expanding dbt Cloud's enterprise features or focus on improving the open-source dbt Core experience for individual users. This decision is crucial for dbt Labs' product strategy and will significantly impact their user base, market position, and long-term growth. I'll analyze this trade-off by examining the product ecosystem, stakeholder impacts, potential outcomes, and key metrics before proposing an experiment and decision framework.

Step 1

Clarifying Questions (3 minutes)

• Context: I'm thinking about dbt Labs' current market position. Could you share more about our market share in the data transformation space and our main competitors?

Why it matters: Helps understand competitive pressures and growth opportunities Expected answer: Significant market share, facing competition from emerging players Impact on approach: Would influence whether to focus on enterprise expansion or community growth

• Business Context: Based on our revenue model, I assume dbt Cloud is our primary revenue driver. What percentage of our revenue comes from enterprise customers versus individual users?

Why it matters: Clarifies the financial impact of focusing on either segment Expected answer: Majority revenue from enterprise, but growing individual user base Impact on approach: Would help balance short-term revenue needs with long-term growth potential

• User Impact: I'm curious about our user adoption trends. What's the current split between dbt Core and dbt Cloud users, and how has this changed over the past year?

Why it matters: Indicates user preferences and potential growth areas Expected answer: Growing adoption of dbt Cloud, but still a significant dbt Core user base Impact on approach: Would inform which user segment to prioritize for feature development

• Technical: Considering our current architecture, how much effort would be required to significantly enhance dbt Core's features compared to expanding dbt Cloud's enterprise capabilities?

Why it matters: Assesses feasibility and resource requirements for each option Expected answer: Enhancing dbt Core might require more effort due to its open-source nature Impact on approach: Would influence the timeline and resource allocation for each option

• Timeline: Given our current roadmap, what's the urgency for making this decision? Are there any upcoming market events or customer commitments driving this trade-off?

Why it matters: Helps prioritize the decision within our overall strategy Expected answer: Moderate urgency, with potential impact on Q4 goals Impact on approach: Would affect the speed of implementation and experimentation timeline