Unraid's CEO on Independence, Community & the Road Ahead

Hey everyone,

It's been a big couple of years for us since our license change, and I've been wanting to take a moment to step back, look at how far we've come, and share with you how excited I am about Unraid's future!

Think of this letter as the short version of what I want to share with you all. I sat down with Ed for a full episode on The Uncast Show that gets into all of it, so once you've read this, I'd love for you to have a listen!

A little over two years ago we made a change to our licensing model, and I know change like that is never easy to sit with. But I want you to see what it made possible, because your support is what enabled us to set a really strong foundation for what's to come.

Since Spring of 2024, we've more than tripled our team and stood up three new departments:

• Quality, which formalizes and expands the testing rigor that's always been part of how we build, now with a dedicated team and repeatable processes behind it
• People and Culture, because we really believe that cared-for people build better things
• Partnerships, so we can work closely with the OEMs, MSPs, and technology partners who want to bring Unraid to more people

Every bit of what came in went right back into the product and into building a company that can be here for you for decades.

Since 2019 our user base has grown more than five times over, across more than 150 countries. And through all of that growth, what sits at the heart of Unraid — freedom — hasn't moved an inch: freedom to choose your own hardware, to grow at your own pace, to control your own data, and to run your server however you want. That's not just how the product works, it's how we run the company.

We have no venture capital, no private equity, no outside board, and no debt. That means we answer to you, to our team, and to our values, and not to anyone upstream looking for a number.

What I really believe, and what I get into on the episode, is that technology should be accessible, not intimidating. What comes next boils down to two things happening at once: lowering the floor and raising the ceiling.

Lowering the floor means welcoming people who used to find all of this too intimidating to even try. The folks who wanted what Unraid offers but felt like they'd need to be a developer to get in the door. We want them in, and we want that first step to feel easy.

Raising the ceiling means we never stop building for the people already here. The tinkerers, the power users, the ones who love going deep. More capability, more advanced features, more room to push. Opening the door wider doesn't cost you a single thing. It only adds.

That's the whole idea, and it's what makes me so excited about this next stretch.

In the episode I get into the parts a letter can't really hold: who I am and how I ended up running my dad's company; what I believe and where I'm taking this; the people behind Unraid and how many of them came up right through this community; and a thing or two we've learned along the way.

If you've ever wondered who's actually steering this ship, check out the full interview.

And this is only part one. In part two, Tom and Eli sit down with Ed to talk about where the product itself is headed next, and I'm not going to steal any of their thunder here. I'll just say I know you're going to be really excited, and when it lands, we're going to want your feedback more than ever.

Thank you for your trust, your honesty, and the years so many of you have spent building alongside us.

The next chapter of Unraid runs on the very same idea that started it all: freedom, ownership, and choice.

Cheers,
Tiffany Jones

CEO, Lime Technology Inc.