The Changelog: Software Development, Open Source The story of Heroku (Interview)
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Nov 4, 2022 
Adam Wiggins, co-founder and former CTO of Heroku, shares his journey through the tech landscape, touching on the company's origins and the unique developer experience it offered. He delves into the serendipitous moments that influenced Heroku's success, the evolution from a simple Ruby editor to a powerful deployment platform, and the complexities of acquisition discussions with Salesforce. Adam also reflects on his personal growth post-Heroku, moving to Berlin, and hints at exciting future projects with Muse.
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Heroku's Initial In-Browser Editor
- Heroku initially launched with an in-browser editor, aiming to be a complete, deployed-as-you-code platform.
- This approach, while novel, didn't gain traction as developers preferred their existing local environments.
Pivot to Platform
- Heroku's initial in-browser editor aimed to simplify deployment, but users preferred existing tools.
- This pivot towards a platform that integrated with local environments proved successful.
End-User Programming Vision
- The initial vision for Heroku was "end-user programming," inspired by tools like spreadsheets and FileMaker Pro.
- The goal was to empower anyone to build sophisticated software, regardless of technical expertise.