DevTools Brew #62: Building Linear: Insights from CEO Karri Saarinen
Hey folks, welcome to DevTools Brew Newsletter #62!
If you're new here, my name is Morgan Perry, co-founder of Qovery.
Every Saturday, I share the stories, strategies, and insights behind the most successful devtool companies. Subscribe to receive weekly stories :)
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In this Issue #62:
📈 Building Linear: Insights from CEO Karri Saarinen
📕 Creating Effective Value Propositions for Developer Tools
⭐ Star History Weekly Pick
Let's dive in!
📈 Building Linear: Insights from CEO Karri Saarinen
I’m excited today to share the journey and lessons from a founder and a company that I truly find outstanding: Linear and its CEO and co-founder Karri Saarinen. Karri’s impressive background includes being the founding designer at Coinbase and principal designer at Airbnb. Linear, the fastest-growing issue-tracking tool loved by product teams, has a unique approach focusing on craft, quality, and opinionated software.
Let’s dive into the key insights from Karri’s journey in building Linear👇
Key insights and lessons
The founding story: experience & networks
Background in startups: Karri’s experience as Head of Design at Coinbase and Principal Designer at Airbnb provided a solid foundation for understanding the needs and pain points in project management tools.
Strong networks: Co-founders Jori Lallo and Tuomas Artman brought engineering leadership experience from Uber and a robust network in the tech industry, contributing to Linear's credibility and early success.
Importance of high-level design from the start
Cultural influence: Finland’s history and culture emphasize affordable, durable, and functional design, which deeply influences Linear's aesthetic. This focus on simplicity and quality is a cornerstone of Linear’s product philosophy.
High bar for design: As new paradigms evolve, the necessity for well-designed products increases. Initial iterations might not need perfect design, but as the space matures, high-level design becomes crucial for user consideration. Linear emphasized quality design from the beginning, understanding that user experience is a key differentiator.
Design as a basic requirement: Karri highlights that today, even from the start, products need to have a high level of design for people to take them seriously.
Unique company structure and culture
Project-based teams: Unlike traditional cross-functional teams, Linear assembles teams around specific projects and disbands them upon completion. This allows for focused efforts and flexibility.
Minimal product management: With only one product manager, Linear allows designers and engineers to take ownership of their work, promoting a deep sense of responsibility and craftsmanship. This structure emphasizes direct ownership and accountability in the development process.
Operationalizing quality and thoughtfulness
Iterative development: Linear prioritizes rapid iteration, deploying new features internally, and selecting customers early to gather feedback. This approach helps refine and perfect features before a full release.
Embracing craft: Every team member is expected to care deeply about the product’s quality. Karri discusses the balance between pushing out features quickly and ensuring they are polished and user-friendly.
Inspiration from Finnish design: Linear’s design philosophy is influenced by Finnish brands like Iittala and Artek, known for their high-quality, functional products. The founders aim to bring the same level of craftsmanship to software development tools.
Inspiring better software: By setting a high standard for developer tools, Linear aims to inspire other software products to achieve similar levels of quality and craftsmanship.
Building opinionated software
Focused solutions: Linear provides strong defaults and opinions on workflows, reducing user decision fatigue and allowing them to focus on productive work. Karri believes productivity software should guide users rather than offering too much flexibility.
Avoiding flexibility pitfalls: Overly flexible software can lead to inefficiencies. Linear’s opinionated stance ensures a streamlined, efficient user experience. This approach helps users avoid the pitfalls of having too many choices and encourages best practices.
Critique of customization: Over-customization can hinder productivity. Linear’s approach limits customization to maintain simplicity and efficiency, contrasting with tools that offer endless configuration options.
Rebuttal to agile: Linear challenges traditional Agile methodologies, which it views as outdated. The founders believe that many top tech companies have moved beyond Agile, focusing instead on efficient, opinionated workflows.
The Linear method of product development
Consistent cycles: Linear uses automated cycles to manage work, akin to sprints but with a continuous, automated schedule to maintain focus and momentum. This method helps teams prioritize and stay on track.
User-centric approach: While avoiding strict metrics, Linear prioritizes user feedback and real-world use to guide product improvements. Karri emphasizes the importance of understanding user problems and focusing on solving them rather than just hitting numerical goals.
Strategic growth and impact
Organic growth: Linear started with a small, passionate user base and has grown steadily, maintaining a focus on high-quality design and user satisfaction. Early adopters, including friends from the startup world, helped spread the word.
Resonance with enterprises: Linear’s approach has resonated with larger organizations, leading to adoption by enterprise-level companies. The tool’s focus on design and efficiency makes it appealing even in environments dominated by traditional tools.
Adoption by top companies: Trusted by over 1,000 companies, including Cohere, Runway, and Ramp, Linear focuses on delivering a high-quality user experience that resonates with top-tier tech companies.
Scaling with a focus on quality
Measured growth: Linear’s approach to growth has been deliberate, prioritizing quality over rapid expansion. Karri highlights the importance of focusing on the right customer segments and expanding methodically.
Retention and trust: The company aims to retain customers by continuously delivering a reliable, high-quality product, fostering long-term trust and loyalty. Linear has achieved profitability and maintained a net negative lifetime burn rate, reflecting its careful and effective scaling strategy.
Financial prudence and profitability
Efficient spending: Linear has spent less than $40,000 on marketing and has more cash in the bank than it has raised in venture capital, highlighting its efficient operations.
Early profitability: Unlike many peers, Linear has been profitable since 2021, demonstrating a sustainable business model.
Raising capital: strategic and influential investors
Series B Success: Linear raised $35 million in a Series B funding round led by Accel, with participation from Sequoia and notable angels like Stripe CEO Patrick Collison and Figma CEO Dylan Field.
Utilizing investor insights: The founders leverage insights from seasoned investors and operators to continuously improve Linear’s product and strategy.
Innovative hiring practices
Paid work trials: Candidates at Linear undergo paid work trials, providing a realistic preview of working at the company and ensuring a good fit for both parties. This approach allows both Linear and the candidate to evaluate mutual fit in a practical setting.
Broad skill sets: Linear hires individuals who bring more than their specific skill set, looking for those with product sensibility and a broader perspective. Karri values candidates who show a deep understanding of the product and can articulate their reasoning and opinions.
Transition to San Diego: maintaining growth outside Silicon Valley
Distributed team: Linear operates as a fully distributed company, with founders living in different parts of the U.S. and Finland. This setup has not hindered their ability to raise capital or grow the company.
Quality of life: Saarinen moved to Del Mar, San Diego, seeking a better quality of life. Despite initial concerns, he found that being outside Silicon Valley did not impede business operations.
Building a tech ecosystem in San Diego
Silicon sands initiative: Saarinen is part of the growing tech community in San Diego. Events like the Silicon Sands founder mixer, sponsored by Slack Fund and Salesforce Ventures, highlight the region’s burgeoning startup ecosystem.
Migration of founders: San Diego is becoming a hub for tech founders seeking a better lifestyle, attracting talent and investment from traditional tech cities like San Francisco.
Karri Saarinen’s journey with Linear demonstrates how a focus on design, user experience, and financial efficiency can build a successful startup, even outside traditional tech hubs. His insights on leveraging networks, maintaining profitability, and adapting to new environments provide valuable lessons for devtools founders 🤩
—> To explore more, watch the full interview here - published initially on the Lenny Podcast.
📕 Creating Effective Value Propositions for Developer Tools
If you're into dev tools space and want to master developer marketing, I recommend you follow Jakub Czakon, creator of the dev marketing newsletter. Today I'm sharing Jakub’s insights on crafting value propositions for developer tools. Here's a comprehensive guide to help you create compelling value propositions 👇
Key Takeaways:
1. The basics of value proposition
Definition: A value proposition is a short statement that communicates why buyers should choose your product. It goes beyond a product description, offering a specific solution and promising value to the customer.
Components: Typically, a value proposition includes a headline, subheadline, and supporting visual.
2. Importance of clarity and specificity
Avoid generic statements: Phrases like "Build better software, faster" are overused and fail to communicate specific value.
Focus on features: Depending on your developer persona and market stage, highlighting specific features can be more effective than broad benefits.
3. Tailoring the value proposition
Know your audience: Understand your developer persona, their pain points, values, and the jobs they need your product to accomplish.
Market stage consideration: Your messaging should adapt to the market maturity and tech adoption stage. For early adopters, focus on features; for the early majority, emphasize benefits.
4. Testing and measuring effectiveness
Message testing: Use qualitative and quantitative research methods to evaluate the clarity, relevance, value, and differentiation of your value proposition.
Tools for testing: Utilize tools like UserTesting or Wynter for qualitative insights and run A/B tests on your website to gauge engagement.
5. Different approaches to value propositions
“X alternative” approach: Position your tool as an alternative to a well-known market leader (e.g., "Open-source Firebase alternative").
“What -> benefits/features” approach: Clearly define what your tool does and its specific features or benefits.
“X for developers” approach: Highlight how your tool, typically used in other domains, is tailored specifically for developers.
“Slogan -> Features” approach: Use a memorable slogan paired with detailed features in the subheadline.
“Benefits -> more benefits” approach: Focus entirely on the benefits, especially for new or non-obvious categories.
“What -> Brag -> Features” approach: Highlight what your tool is, boast about significant adoption, and detail its features.
6. Concret examples
Supabase: “Open-source Firebase alternative” – Clearly positions itself against a market leader with a differentiator.
Prisma: “Node.js and TypeScript ORM” – Defines the tool and its key features.
TailwindCSS: “Utility-first CSS framework packed with flex, pt-4, text-center…” – Highlights the main features succinctly.
Mux: “Video infrastructure for developers” – Tailors a common service specifically for developers.
Segment: “Customer Data Platform, trusted by 25,000+ businesses” – Combines a clear definition with a strong adoption claim.
7. Steps to create your value proposition
Step 0: Positioning: Understand your persona, values, pains, and the benefits your product offers.
Step 1: Market/Product analysis: Assess your technology’s market maturity, competitive landscape, product maturity, and adoption.
Step 2: Testing current messaging: Evaluate your current value proposition through user tests and competitor analysis.
Step 3: Choose an approach: Select the value proposition framework that best fits your market position and product.
Step 4: Test your value proposition: Use message testing and social media ads to validate your new value proposition.
Step 5: Implementation: Publish your value proposition and give it time to resonate in the market.
Creating an effective value proposition is crucial, especially when targeting developers. They have a keen ability to scan through pages and swiftly capture the necessary information.
If you have any thoughts or questions, feel free to share them in the comments. Shout out to Jakub for this insightful and valuable content.
⭐ Star History Weekly Pick
The Star History Weekly Pick is:
Namviek: “OS project manager for small teams.”
⭐️ 1.7k stars reached
It’s already over! If you have any comments or feedback, you can reach out to me on LinkedIn or Twitter.
Thanks for reading,
Morgan