Regarding challenges, while I think Foundation is pretty easy to setup + manage, it still takes some knowledge to debug any issues. The main point of being a reliable mining pool owner is being able to ensure uptime, as every second that your pool is down, your miners are losing money. If you can't guarantee that, it's very likely that your miners will choose to go elsewhere.
This is indeed a thing to consider before some company or individual take your software as part of their business. One problem I don't know if they might encounter is security once there are still bugs on the software. So far, your software being open source and easy to use is a huge contribution to the mining community. Also, the reason why some asks for what would be your 'mode of earning' in this contribution is that your software can make tons of money for someone who have enough hardware and money to make an infrastructure of servers. Hence why not at least highlight the fact that donation would help you a lot make this a firm software - it isn't necessary indeed but would adds up some return to your hardwork for 2 years.
If you ever aren't alone, I know you and your team will reach far in mining community with this contribution. Keep up the good work. There's a lot of things in mining that has to be innovate.