Scaling DevTools

Maxim Fateev and Samar Abbas from Temporal join us to discuss how their durable execution platform ensures processes complete reliably at scale.We discuss:How Temporal gained enterprise adoption with companies like Airbnb, HashiCorp, and Snapchat.Why Temporal compensates salespeople based on customer consumption.Temporal’s role in Snapchat’s story processing and Taco Bell’s Taco Tuesday scalability.How Temporal earns enterprise trust through security, reliability, and scalability.The structure of Temporal’s sales team and their focus on long-term customer success.Exciting trends in AI and low-code/no-code development.This episode is brought to you by WorkOS. If you're thinking about selling to enterprise customers, WorkOS can help you add enterprise features like Single Sign On and audit logs. Links: Temporal Temporal GitHub

Nikita Shamgunov is the founder of Neon, an open-source serverless Postgres company. Before Neon, Nikita co-founded MemSQL, now SingleStore, which is valued at over a billion dollars. He has also worked as a VC at Khosla Ventures and held engineering roles at Meta and Microsoft. Nikita is known for his strategic thinking and transparency about his decision-making process.We discuss:The importance of storytelling and providing a clear narrative for your companyWhen to introduce a sales team and how to build a sales and marketing "machine"Pricing strategies, including pricing for storage and compute in the data and analytics spaceThe evolution of revenue models in DevTools: from selling seats and storage/compute to selling tokensLessons learned from hiring MongoDB’s VP of Engineering, focusing on improving reliability and building strong team management processesThe benefits of using a high-quality recruiting firm and avoiding the pitfalls of bad hiresBalancing competitiveness with respect for competitors to maintain credibility, particularly in the developer tools marketThe idea of “developing your taste” in product development, inspired by Guillermo Rauch from VercelHow modern dev tools can monetize through seats, storage/compute, or tokens, with tokens currently being the most profitableWhy Nikita advises DevTools founders to understand the business model framework and align it with their strategyThis episode is brought to you by WorkOS. If you're thinking about selling to enterprise customers, WorkOS can help you add enterprise features like Single Sign On and audit logs. Links:NeonSingleStore Khosla Ventures Fusion Talent 

David Placek, founder of Lexicon Branding and the creative mind behind names like Vercel and Azure, shares his expertise on naming startups. He discusses common pitfalls when choosing names that simply describe products. Placek emphasizes the psychological impact of sound symbolism and how names can enhance brand perception. He outlines a rigorous naming process and advises early-stage founders to clarify their market goals, ensuring their name reflects a strategic vision. A great name, he argues, is key to standing out and driving success.

Mitchell Hashimoto - famously the founder of HashiCorp (creators of Terraform, Vault etc.) joins the show to discuss his latest open-source project, Ghostty, a modern terminal emulator. We discuss:Designing dev tools with a focus on human experience.Taking on large technical projects and breaking them down into achievable steps.Open source sustainability and the role of financial support.The impossible goal of building a perfect human experience with software.Passion and hiring—why obsession with a topic often leads to the best hires.Using AI as a developer and why Mitchell considers AI tooling essential.The motivation behind Ghostty and the idea of "technical philanthropy."The vision for libghostty as a reusable terminal core for other applications.This episode is brought to you by WorkOS. If you're thinking about selling to enterprise customers, WorkOS can help you add enterprise features like Single Sign On and audit logs. https://workos.com/Links:Ghostty (https://ghostty.org/)Mitchell Hashimoto on Twitter (https://twitter.com/mitchellh)Mitchell’s blog (https://mitchellh.com/)

Guillermo Rauch, the founder of Vercel and creator of Next.js, dives into the revolutionary product v0, which simplifies project creation by combining design and code. He discusses the importance of hiring versatile talent and why communication is crucial in tech. He believes AI will enhance rather than replace developer jobs and shares insights on the balance between product expansion and quality. Guillermo also highlights the exciting potential of new tools like Languine and the future of integrations in software development.

Jacob Eiting, CEO of RevenueCat, shares his insights into simplifying mobile in-app subscriptions. He discusses their recent acquisition of Dipsea and its benefits, revealing how they dogfood their own tools. The conversation dives into the unique challenges of mobile monetization versus traditional SaaS. Eiting emphasizes the importance of transparency in marketing and how charisma plays a vital role in a founder's success. Plus, he shares innovative marketing strategies like t-shirt giveaways that engage developers and boost growth.

Taylor Otwell is the creator of the Laravel framework. Taylor has created numerous paid products that have generated millions, such as:Laravel Forge (server provisioning/management)Laravel Vapor (serverless Laravel hosting with AWS)Laravel Envoyer (zero downtime PHP deployments)Laravel Nova (Laravel admin panel)In this interview, Taylor shares why he is now building Laravel Cloud - an infrastructure platform for Laravel apps and why Laravel Cloud needed VC funding.We also cover:The different challenges of bootstrapped and VC funded startupsHow the Laravel ecosystem became so entrepreneurial Building products for the average joe developerThe role of taste and craft in developer toolsWhat Taylor and Adam Wathan learned from each other Fear and Taylor's comparison with  Alex Honnold This episode is brought to you by WorkOS. If you're thinking about selling to enterprise customers, WorkOS can help you add enterprise features like Single Sign On and audit logs. Links: Laravel  Taylor Otwell Laravel Cloud Open jobs at Laravel Adam Wathan Chapters:00:00 The Journey of Laravel's Creator02:48 Transitioning from Bootstrap to VC Funding06:10 Building Laravel Cloud: A New Challenge09:04 The Shift in Company Structure and Culture11:50 Maintaining Quality and Usability in Development15:09 Community Impact and Collaboration17:56 Craftsmanship and Design Philosophy20:45 Navigating Growth and Market Needs23:54 Advice for Aspiring DevTool Founders26:48 Future Directions and Innovations in LaravelThank you to Michael Grinich for making this happen. Thank you to Ostap Brehin for introducing me to Laravel. Thank you to Hank Taylor for helping me prep.  

Join Adam Frankl, a specialist in developer-facing startups, as he shares key insights from 120 interviews with developers. He stresses the necessity of understanding developers' challenges through direct communication. Frankl also emphasizes experimenting with marketing strategies, enhancing documentation, and focusing on unique product differentiation. Discover how overcoming fears in outreach and prioritizing effective presentation can significantly impact a DevTools project's success, all while highlighting the value of authentic engagement with the developer community.

Søren Bramer Schmidt, co-founder and CEO of Prisma, discusses his journey in building a vibrant developer community. He highlights how intentional partnerships with educators and influencers fueled Prisma's growth. The conversation dives into the evolution of Prisma from Graphcool to a powerful ORM and the introduction of Prisma Postgres, showcasing community-driven development. Søren also explores innovative, usage-based pricing models and how emotional engagement with users shapes product decisions in a rapidly changing landscape.

In this discussion, Keith Casey, also known as Danger, shares insights from his impressive background in DevRel, having worked at companies like Twilio and Okta. He explores the evolution of Developer Relations, emphasizing a shift from technical focus to strategic marketing. Keith delves into the financial implications of DevRel, the necessity for accountability, and the importance of aligning with organizational goals. He also examines the shift from traditional SDKs to innovative tools through generative AI, highlighting solutions for enhancing developer productivity.