Before It Clicked 6 Pivots to $1.4b: PostHog Origin Story (and How They'd Do It In 2026)
Feb 4, 2026
James Hawkins, co-founder of PostHog and serial startup builder, tells the six pivots that led to a $1.4B valuation. He discusses switching to developer customers, rapid prototyping instead of perfect validation, launch tactics like Hacker News prep and stellar docs, the open-source to cloud revenue flip, and how AI raises today’s MVP bar.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
Build Fast, Validate With Real Users
- Do prioritize getting a real product into users' hands quickly rather than over-researching before building.
- Ship a working prototype in weeks so you can learn from real usage and feedback.
Pick Ambitious Problems That Attract
- Aim for ambitious, high-impact ideas instead of tiny, easy-to-win problems that don't excite customers.
- Big, inspiring products attract talent, customers, and fundraising more easily than boring small wins.
Change Stakeholders To Reduce Noise
- Do switch stakeholders if your chosen persona gives noisy signals or vague validation.
- Target blunt, technical users (developers) who will tell you exactly whether the product works.