Here are some thoughts about Mandrakesoft's initial purpose (2001)...

 1/ I think software is better if it is open because experimented users can improve it more easily and fix bugs. Why? The code is available freely, you can modify it and redistribute it.

 2/ I think selling "free" software is an industry opportunity to go very fast on the software market and to become of the major actors. Why? We don't play the same rules as biggests current players. We play rules they don't understand and won't never adopt because these rules are not part of their culture.

  3/ I think that "open-enterprises", decentralized all around the planet, with new organization processes that benefit from the use of Internet are more efficient and then more profitable.

 4/ I think it's better to build projects and employ people depending on what they love to do instead of hiring people depending on what our projects are. In short: enterprises should look like its employees and benefit more from their calpabilities than it currently happens in the common industry.

 5/ I think Free Software must be available to all, not only to computers specialists.

As a result:

 1/ We have to strongly support Free Software and try to lay down this "philosophy" in other industries.

 2/3/4/ We have to build our organization as a new model of enterprise that should be more profitable economically and better for humans who work inside it.

 5/ We have to provide Free Software that is easy to use and friendly, to everybody.