Scaling DevTools

This is our 100th episode! 

And we're thrilled to welcome back fan favourite Ant Wilson - the cofounder and CTO of Supabase.

They discuss the evolution of Supabase, the importance of open source, and effective marketing strategies. 

Ant shares insights on community engagement, the significance of developer-centric branding, and the challenges of navigating the enterprise landscape. 

We also touch on the rise of AI and vector databases, emphasizing the power of open source in development. The conversation concludes with reflections on the journey and future aspirations.

Thank you to everyone who made it our 100th episode!

Takeaways

• Open source can significantly enhance hiring opportunities.
• Building a strong brand requires understanding your audience.
• Open source provides a competitive edge against incumbents.
• The importance of stability and security for enterprise clients.
• Time in the market builds trust with potential customers.

Links

• Supabase https://supabase.com/
• Ant Wilson's Twitter https://x.com/antwilson
• pgvector https://supabase.com/docs/guides/database/extensions/pgvector  
• Greg Richardson https://x.com/ggrdson
• Previous episode with Ant https://podcast.scalingdevtools.com/episodes/product-market-fit-is-one-pivot-away-with-ant-wilson-founder-of-supabase

Keywords

open source, developer tools, marketing strategies, community engagement, AI, vector databases, enterprise solutions, product development, tech podcast

Nick Gomez is the co-founder and CEO of InKeep. InKeep is an AI customer support tool focused on Developer Tools.

They discuss the importance of understanding developer needs, the role of AI in technical support, and how community engagement can enhance support efforts.

What we discuss

• AI support for developer tools is different from traditional B2B SaaS support.
• Developers often seek help through documentation and community forums.
• Scaling technical support requires understanding the developer's tech stack.
• Clear communication channels can improve support efficiency.
• AI solutions must prioritize quality to build trust with users.
• Community engagement can help crowdsource support efforts.
• Support teams should continuously improve documentation based on user inquiries.
• 24/7 support can be achieved through AI tools.
• Investing in customer relationships can lead to valuable insights and support.
• Innovative tools are changing the landscape of developer support.

Links:

• Nick Gomez's Twitter https://x.com/nickgomezc
• InKeep https://inkeep.com/ 

Keywords
AI support, developer tools, technical support, community engagement, customer investment, quality assurance, support team structure, 24/7 support, innovations in development

Adam Frankl has been VP at four Developer Tools unicorns, including JFrog, Neo4J and Sourcegraph.

Adam is the author of the Developer Facing Startup and recently launched the Developer Facing Startup Founders Academy: a program that helps founders launch and grow their developer tools.

In this conversation, Adam Frankl discusses the critical role of a Technical Advisory Board (TAB) in the success of developer-facing startups.

He emphasizes the importance of understanding developer needs, effective interviewing techniques, and the necessity of building credibility and community. Adam outlines a structured approach to gathering insights from developers.

He also highlights the significance of storytelling in marketing and the need for founders to engage deeply with their user base to discover and address their problems effectively.

Takeaways:

• A Technical Advisory Board is essential for startup success.
• Founders must prioritize understanding developer needs.
• Effective interviews should focus on the problem, not the product.
• Social proof is crucial for building credibility.
• Developers are influenced by their peers and community.
• The 'Dream Sequence' outlines the developer adoption process.
• Storytelling is key to engaging potential users.
• Founders should continuously engage with their user base.
• Identifying key personas is vital for targeted outreach.
• Developers are not leads; they require a different approach.

Links:

• Developer Facing Startup Founders Academy https://developer-facing-founders-network.mn.co/
• Adam Frankl's LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamfrankl/
• The Developer Facing Startup https://www.amazon.co.uk/Developer-Facing-Startup-market-developer-facing/dp/B0D4KJNSPP

Keywords:
Technical Advisory Board, Developer Startups, User Research, Developer Needs, Social Proof, Community Building, Founder Responsibilities, Developer Adoption, Interview Techniques, Startup Success

In this conversation, with Michael Grinich - founder and CEO of WorkOS. WorkOS helps you start selling to enterprise customers with just a few lines of code. 

We discuss the challenges and strategies of navigating tough conversations in a startup environment, the importance of understanding engineering leadership, and the role of empathy in user experience. 

The conversation covers the significance of conferences for startups, the necessity of articulating the 'why' behind a business, and the challenges faced by solo founders. The discussion also touches on decision-making processes, handling competition, and the future direction of WorkOS.

• If a conversation scares you, it's probably necessary.
• Engineering leaders focus on business goals, not just technology.
• Conferences can be a great way to connect with potential customers.
• Building relationships at events can lead to long-term success.
• Frameworks can be constraining; focus on user empathy instead.
• Understanding user needs is crucial for product development.
• Articulating the 'why' can enhance customer connection.
• Maintaining focus on your mission is key to success.
• Finding a deeper mission can drive your startup forward.
• The journey of building a startup is often unclear at the beginning.

Links:

• WorkOS https://workos.com/
• Michael's Twitter https://x.com/grinich 
• ELC https://sfelc.com/ 
• Crossing the Enterprise Chasm Podcast https://workos.com/podcast
• Start With Why https://simonsinek.com/books/start-with-why/
• AWS reinvent https://reinvent.awsevents.com/ 

In this episode, we're joined by returning guest Colin Sidoti - the cofounder and CEO of Clerk.

Clerk is a comprehensive user management platform. 

What we cover:
- The origin story and South Park Commons
- Clerk's dramatic growth since the first episode - what changed? What did they do right?
- 7% growth per week
- Tiny details that improve the developer experience
- How to you know if a change is better - watching people's faces as they try it
- The difficulties of bringing new joiners up to speed in a very high context environment
- Obsessions of founders
- Zuckerberg's obsession and South Park Commons talk
- Nick Parsons appreciation: why it's hard to hire good developer marketing people
- The uniqueness of marketing developer tools
- Buying a van and parking it outside YC
- Local marketing campaigns in San Francisco

Links:
- Clerk https://clerk.com/
- Colin's Twitter https://x.com/tweetsbycolin
- Nick Parsons' Twitter https://x.com/nickparsons
- Jakob's tweet https://x.com/jakeplusev/status/1827791946380877828
- Malte Ubl's blog https://www.industrialempathy.com/
- Zuck's talk at South Park Commons https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=02fBBoZa9l4

David is the CEO of Arcjet. Arcjet is a tool that helps developers protect their apps once they go into production. It offers Bot detection, rate limiting, email validation, attack protection, data redaction.

David is also the creator of the console.dev newsletter and podcast. It's where thousands of developers discover developer tools. 

In this episode we discuss how David thinks about creating content. Why he believes go-to-market is more difficult than product and how he works on creating great developer experience. 

Links:
- Arcjet https://arcjet.com/
- David Mytton - https://davidmytton.blog/
- Console https://console.dev/

AI DevTools hackathon this weekend in SF:
- Event page https://lu.ma/devtools-hackathon
- More info https://www.devtoolshackathon.com/

Vlad Matsiiako is the CEO and co-founder of Infisical. Infisical is an Open Source Secret Management tool.

What we discuss:
- The story of Infisical
- How the team has made Infisical easy to adopt
- How being open source helps you with trust at the beginning stages
- How do enterprises adopt Infisical
- How do developers at enterprises discover tools like Infisical
- The different mini-games at various stages of a startup (Dalton Caldwell)
 
Links

• Vlad - https://www.linkedin.com/in/vmatsiiako/
• Infisical - https://infisical.com/

Andrew Lisowski is the cohost of devtools.fm. 

In this episode we talk about why Andrew started devtools.fm and what he's learned along the way. 

• Life as an open source maintainer.
• How the JavaScript ecosystem is different to other developer ecosystems.
• The importance of dogfooding.
• The power of DHH.
• Why obsessing over one problem eventually leads to great results
• Should DevTools start podcasts and how?

Links:

• devtools.fm - https://www.devtools.fm/
• Andrew's Twitter - https://x.com/HipsterSmoothie
• devtools.fm Twitter - https://x.com/DevtoolsFM
• Interview with DHH https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEZNbM4MUdo
• Interview with Evan You https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycuYlzuBqcA
• Interview with Richard Harris https://www.devtools.fm/episode/15

Robby (Amanda Robson) is the co-host of Open Source Startup Podcast (with Tim Chen).

In this episode we discuss:

• There are many ways to open source success
• When open source is a good strategy and when it isn't
• Why open source projects usually need time to brew
• How to know if your project is venture scale
• Why Robby believes in the Open Source model
• Robby is working on a highly mysterious new thing 👀

Links:
- Robby's Twitter/X https://x.com/amanda_robs?lang=en
- Open Source Startup Podcast https://oss-startup-podcast.launchnotes.io/
- Interview with Paul from Supabase https://oss-startup-podcast.launchnotes.io/announcements/episode-43-building-supabase-the-open-source-firebase-alternative
- Interview with Leyland from Mobile Dev https://oss-startup-podcast.launchnotes.io/announcements/episode-63-mobile-dev-s-new-mobile-testing-framework-maestro 
- mobile dev https://www.mobile.dev/
- Tim's Twitter/X https://x.com/tnachen

Hamzah Chaudhary is the cofounder of Lightdash, an open source, self-serve BI tool.

In this episode, Hamzah shares:

• Their initial plan to build a consultancy and how it morphed into a product to solve their customer's needs
• How open source works as a strategy
• Bringing software engineering tools to the BI domain
• How they reach their users
• How they partner with bigger organizations

Links:

• Lightdash https://www.lightdash.com/
• Lightdash GitHub https://github.com/lightdash/lightdash
• Hamzah's Twitter https://x.com/hamzahc1