DevTools Brew #24: Building the World’s Largest All-Remote Companies: Insights from GitLab's CEO, A Playbook for Getting More GitHub Stars, From Close Source to Open Source With Speedb CEO...
Dear friends, welcome to DevTools Brew #24!
If you're new here, my name is Morgan Perry, co-founder of Qovery, and every Saturday I share a roundup of the stories, strategies, and insights behind the successful devtool companies.
Note: I'll be wrapping up the summer with a short break 🏖️, which means the next edition will be hitting your inbox in early September.
In this Issue #24:
📈 Building the World’s Largest All-Remote Companies: Insights from GitLab's CEO
💻 A Playbook for Getting More GitHub Stars
⭐ Star History Weekly Pick
🎙️ From Close Source to Open Source With Speedb CEO
I hope you will enjoy this new edition.
Let's dive in!
📈 Building the World’s Largest All-Remote Companies: Insights from GitLab's CEO
In the rapidly evolving work landscape, remote setups' success has become a subject of intense discussion. GitLab, one of the top "hero companies" in the tech industry, offers invaluable insights into building and managing one of the largest all-remote organizations globally. Sid Sijbrandij, GitLab's CEO, shared the journey of transforming a collaborative software-development application into a thriving all-remote company.
Let's delve into the key highlights from Sid's account 👇
Key Highlights
The Unplanned Emergence of All-Remote Work
GitLab's inception as an enterprise business around an open-source software tool was driven by geographical separation between founders.
The realization that productivity thrived without co-location led to adopting an all-remote approach.
GitLab's modest beginnings in different countries laid the foundation for a globally dispersed team.
Remote Work: The Early Adoption Advantage
GitLab's expansion into the US challenged conventional norms, with the company opting for an all-remote model.
Swiftly, it became evident that physical proximity wasn't requisite for exceptional collaboration.
GitLab's commitment to remote work has led to a diverse, 2,000-strong team spanning 60+ countries.
Cultivating Virtual Collaboration Best Practices
GitLab embraced virtual collaboration long before the pandemic, establishing best practices.
Prioritizing output measurement over input tracking fuels GitLab's remote work success.
Alignment on norms and values, thorough documentation, and self-management bolster collaboration.
Output Over Input: Measure What Matters
GitLab's platform is integral to collaborative work, tracking coding, testing, and performance.
A focus on outcomes and results drives GitLab's productivity ethos.
Customized metrics align with different departments' objectives, promoting efficiency.
Cultural Alignment: Norms and Values
Corporate culture finds its roots in norms and values.
GitLab's handbook reflects the company's values and practices, fostering a shared culture.
Transparency is a cornerstone; access to documentation aids knowledge transfer and problem-solving.
Openness and Collaboration
GitLab's open-source nature fuels its affinity for remote work.
External collaborators and team members work on equal footing in the online workplace.
Transparency and accountability attract stakeholders, building trust and loyalty.
The Quest for Short Toes: Embracing Feedback
GitLab's culture encourages constructive feedback and iteration.
Openness to suggestions results in faster and improved outcomes.
Short, efficient team meetings encourage collaboration and brainstorming.
Nurturing Self-Management and Collaboration
Self-management is vital for remote teams, fostering autonomy and engagement.
Regular team meetings, open-door policies, and informal communication ensure connectivity.
In-person meetings and shared experiences strengthen team bonds.
Hybrid vs. All-Remote
GitLab dismisses hybrid models, advocating for fully remote or fully in-person setups.
GitLab contends that successful remote work scales beyond a single room.
The company's growth and productivity underscore the viability of the all-remote approach.
Empowering the Future of Work
GitLab's all-remote experience pioneers the future of knowledge work.
Remote work offers flexibility and enhanced productivity if managed thoughtfully.
GitLab encourages organizations to embrace remote work while adhering to proven principles.
The journey of GitLab from a geographically distributed startup to a global all-remote powerhouse serves as an inspiring blueprint for organizations seeking to revolutionize their approach to remote work. As the landscape continues to evolve, the lessons from GitLab's success resonate as guiding lights toward a more efficient, flexible, and impactful future of work.
—> To explore more, read the full article “GitLab’s CEO on Building One of the World’s Largest All-Remote Companies” published by Harvard Business Review.
💻 A Playbook for Getting More GitHub Stars
You’ve built an awesome open-source tool, but how do you bring it into the limelight?
The Livecycle team (shout out to Matan - CEO - and Zevi - Head of Product Marketing) shared their journey of launching Preevy and propelling it to more than 1.5k GitHub stars.
Let's delve into the key highlights of their playbook 👇
Key Highlights
The Power of GitHub Stars
Understanding the significance of GitHub stars for project credibility and visibility.
Exploring how stars can drive motivation and engagement among team members.
Phase 1: Artificial Growth to 100 Stars
Crafting personalized messages for friends, family, and colleagues to secure initial stars.
Engaging coworkers and utilizing shared office spaces to generate early support.
Showcasing the project at conferences to tap into the developer community.
Phase 2: Organic Growth Beyond 100 Stars:
Embracing content creation as a potent growth tool.
Crafting blog posts that showcase the tool and its benefits, indirectly or directly.
Curating listicles and articles that resonate with the open-source community.
Strategies for Content Creation and Distribution
Exploring the art of creating engaging and informative blog posts.
Leveraging dev-centric blogging platforms like Dev.to, Hashnode, and Hackernoon.
Utilizing social media, Reddit, and external blogging platforms to distribute content effectively.
Leveraging GitHub Lists and Topics
Recognizing the potential of GitHub's "Awesome Lists" for project discoverability.
Submitting projects to relevant GitHub "Topics" to reach broader audiences.
Harnessing Influencer Marketing:
Identifying influencers in the industry and building strategic relationships.
Collaborating with influencers for co-created content, reviews, and social media shout-outs.
Podcasts, Paid Ads, and More
Tapping into the power of podcasts, webinars, and guest blogs for wider exposure.
Running paid ad campaigns on platforms like Ethical Ads, Reddit, and Twitter.
Personalized Retargeting Experiment
Unveiling a unique GitHub retargeting strategy to connect with potential stargazers.
Leveraging connections from other commonly starred repositories.
The Art of Celebration
Understanding the strategic importance of celebrating milestones.
Utilizing GIFs, posts, and giveaways to create excitement and engagement.
Future Possibilities:
Exploring innovative ideas for continued growth, from translation to Product Hunt launches.
Your Path to GitHub Glory Starts Here 🚀
—> Check out the full article on Devto.
⭐ Star History Weekly Pick
The Star History Weekly Pick is:
Infisical: “An open-source, end-to-end encrypted platform for secret management: sync secrets across your team/infrastructure and prevent secret leaks.”
⭐️ 8.7k stars reached
🎙️ From Close Source to Open Source With Speedb CEO
Adi Gelvan, Co-founder and CEO of Speedb, joined Emily Omier to share his experience in moving Speedb from a closed source proprietary company to open source with an enterprise offering.
From pros and cons, pushback from team members, and mistakes along the way, listen to hear how Adi and his team handled those challenges and more.
Highlights:
Adi introduces himself and Speedb (0:47)
Why Speedb decided to switch to open source and the changes they made to do it (2:28)
Adi reviews the pros and cons of open source for Speedb (8:34)
How Adi and his team handled the pushback on the decision to move to open source (12:43)
Adi’s top two mistakes in making the transition to open source (15:04)
Surprises Adi encountered in switching to an open source strategy (16:38)
Adi shares his advice for someone thinking about switching from closed source to open source (19:22)
—> Full episode here
It’s already over! If you have any comments or feedback, you can reach out to me on LinkedIn or Twitter.
Note: I'll be wrapping up the summer with a short break 🏖️, which means the next edition will be hitting your inbox in early September.
Thanks for reading,
Morgan
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