To single out a specific point Jisse mentions: One company (agency) taking money from another company (merchant) doesn't equal conflict of interest imho, at least not by default. The interest for both companies is to create a solution that sells products (through a Magento webshop). Also: does a company (or individual for that matter) need to have the mindset to help the community grow to be a member? I think different parties could be perfectly capable to cooperate, benefiting both from the collaboration, without having the same mindset. Like with organizing Meet Magento in The Netherlands for example: The organizer (Dutchento) wants the community to grow, but I don't believe that the sponsors and/or participants necessarily have that mindset, sponsors are there to promote their own services and merchants are there to meet suppliers, gain knowledge and network. As Dutchento we believe that growing the community will have long-term benefits for everyone, but that doesn't necessarily make that the goal/mindset of all participants.
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