DevTools Brew #63: Leading GitLab to $100M ARR: Insights from CEO, Sid Sijbrandij,
Hey folks, welcome to DevTools Brew Newsletter #63!
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 #63:
📈 Leading GitLab to $100M ARR: Insights from CEO, Sid Sijbrandij
📕 A startup’s guide to launching on Product Hunt
⭐ Star History Weekly Pick
Let's dive in!
📈 Leading GitLab to $100M ARR: Insights from CEO, Sid Sijbrandij
I’m excited today to share the key insights from Sid Sijbrandij, co-founder and CEO of GitLab, about his journey of building an all-in-one DevOps platform, with a fully remote company culture. You’ll learn GitLab's founding story, the company’s decision to go public, and the unique culture that has been integral to their success.
Let’s dive into the key insights from Sid’s journey in leading GitLab to $100M ARR👇
Key insights and lessons
Founding GitLab
2011: Birth of GitLab
GitLab began in October 2011 when Dmitriy Zaporozhets, needing an efficient tool for team collaboration, created GitLab from his home in Ukraine. Dmitriy’s house lacked running water, yet he prioritized solving the problem of inadequate collaboration tools over daily trips to the communal well.
2012: Launching GitLab.com
Sid Sijbrandij discovered GitLab in 2012 on Hacker News. He was impressed by the quality of the code and the fact that it was open source, allowing for community contributions. By the end of its first year, GitLab had more than 300 contributions.
Sid asked the Hacker News community if they were interested in using GitLab.com. Hundreds of users signed up for the beta. In November 2012, Dmitriy launched the first version of GitLab CI.
2013: Transition to full-time development
By 2013, large organizations using GitLab requested additional features, prompting Dmitriy to express his desire to work on GitLab full-time. Sid and Dmitriy teamed up to create GitLab Enterprise Edition, introducing features catering to larger organizations.
Sid made the initial commit to GitLab’s website repository, marking a significant step in their collaboration.
2014: Incorporation & growth
GitLab was officially incorporated as a limited liability corporation in 2014. The company maintained a consistent release schedule, launching a new version every month on the 22nd.
Throughout 2014, GitLab continued to expand its feature set and user base. In December, they applied to Y Combinator, setting the stage for accelerated growth.
2015: Y Combinator
At the start of 2015, almost the entire GitLab team relocated to Silicon Valley to participate in Y Combinator. This experience fundamentally changed their perspective on growth and execution, instilling a mindset of achieving more in shorter timeframes.
2016: Rapid growth and Series B Funding
By 2016, GitLab had over 1,000 contributors and was used by more than 100,000 organizations and millions of users. The team expanded to over 140 people.
In September 2016, GitLab announced their master plan and raised $20 million in a Series B round of financing, signaling their continued growth and ambitious vision for the future.
Unique company structure and culture
All-remote from day one: GitLab has always operated remotely, starting from when the founders and early team members were dispersed across different countries. This setup proved efficient and continues to define their operations.
Handbook-first approach: GitLab documents everything in a public handbook, which now contains over 5,000 pages. This ensures transparency and consistency and helps onboard new employees efficiently.
Transparency & iteration: The company's transparency extends to acknowledging their product's maturity and shortcomings, fostering a culture of continuous improvement. This openness is crucial for iterative development.
Embracing vulnerability: GitLab promotes a culture where team members can share both progress and setbacks without fear. This low level of shame supports innovation and improvement.
Defined values: GitLab’s values, summarized by the acronym CREDIT (Collaboration, Results, Efficiency, Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging, and Transparency), are deeply ingrained in their operations and decision-making processes.
DRI (Directly Responsible Individual): Decision-making is decentralized with clear accountability, enabling faster and more effective execution. This practice helps avoid bottlenecks and ensures that decisions are made efficiently.
Maintaining work-life balance: GitLab emphasizes the importance of work-life balance, demonstrated by initiatives like the "Family and Friends First, Work Second" policy. This underscores the company’s commitment to employee well-being and productivity.
Strategic growth and financial prudence
Deliberate growth: GitLab has focused on sustainable growth, reaching over $100 million in annual recurring revenue while being financially prudent. This approach has allowed them to scale effectively without overextending resources.
IPO vs. Acquisition: Sid and the team aim to take GitLab public to maintain independence and uphold their values, rather than pursuing a private sale. This decision aligns with their commitment to being good stewards of the open-source project and preserving their unique culture.
Market position
Competing with industry giants: GitLab competes with major players like GitHub by continuously innovating and expanding its feature set. The shift towards a single DevOps platform has positioned GitLab as a leader in the space.
Community & open source: The community-driven nature of GitLab remains a cornerstone of its success, with significant contributions coming from external developers. This model not only enhances the product but also fosters a robust user community.
Sid’s insights and philosophy
Work philosophy: Sid believes in the importance of results over hours worked. GitLab encourages a focus on achieving results rather than clocking long hours, promoting a healthy work-life balance.
Learning from psychology: Sid’s interest in psychology and mental models helps him understand human behavior and decision-making, which informs his leadership style and company policies.
Transparency as a Public Company: Sid aims to make GitLab one of the most transparent public companies. While acknowledging the challenges and scrutiny that come with being public, he believes that maintaining high transparency will benefit the company in the long run.
Investor relations & decision making: Decisions about the company’s future, including the choice between IPO and acquisition, are made jointly with investors. Sid emphasizes that maintaining GitLab’s culture and values is a priority in these decisions.
Sid Sijbrandij’s insights on building a remote-first company, fostering a transparent culture, and strategically scaling a business offer great lessons for any devtool founders/operators aiming to make a lasting impact in the industry.
—> To explore more, listen to the full interview here - published initially on Changelog.
📕 A startup’s guide to launching on Product Hunt
If you're into the dev tools space, launching on Product Hunt can be a powerful way to gain early adopters and validate your product. However, you have only one shot every six months, so getting it right is crucial. This playbook, based on insights from top hunters and makers, will guide you through the essential steps for a successful launch👇
Key Takeaways:
Understanding Product Hunt
PH dynamics: Product Hunt is like Reddit for product launches, with a supportive community. Products with high-quality upvotes and comments rise to the top, generating significant website traffic.
Launch impact: Successful launches can drive thousands of unique visitors and generate hundreds to thousands of leads. Top products get featured in the Product Hunt digest, amplifying visibility.
Why Product Hunt matters
Early adopters: The PH community consists of early adopters who love trying and sharing new products. This helps in product validation and gaining initial traction.
High-quality PR event: Think of Product Hunt as a PR event rather than a growth strategy. It’s about building initial momentum and attracting early users.
The Product Hunt playbook
Setting realistic goals: aim for conversion over popularity
Focus on KPIs: Prioritize business metrics such as website visits, signups, and trial conversions over simply aiming for the top spot on Product Hunt. These are the metrics that drive real growth.
Template for metrics: Use a template to define and track the specific metrics you aim to optimize during your Product Hunt launch.
Audience warm-up: Start 30 days before launch
Build Anticipation: Inform your community about the upcoming launch to build excitement.
Account creation: Encourage your network to create Product Hunt accounts at least 30 days before the launch to ensure their votes are counted.
Engage high-value users: Focus on active Product Hunt users with significant followings, as their support can be crucial.
Global strategy: Leverage different time zones to maintain a steady flow of votes throughout the day.
Maker network: Engage with the Product Hunt community well before your launch to build relationships and encourage reciprocal support.
Strategic launch day planning: consider time zones and logistics
Time-zone advantage: Spread your votes throughout the day by planning major pushes at 12:01 a.m. PT, 7 a.m. PT, and 2 p.m. PT.
Email drips: Segment your email list and schedule multiple email blasts to engage your network at the right times.
Social channels: Stagger your social media posts to ensure continuous engagement.
Local influencers: Identify key influencers in different time zones and secure their support early.
Detailed war plan: Have a clear plan for launch-day tasks and assign responsibilities to team members.
Choosing the right day
Mondays and Fridays: Lower competition but good engagement, ideal for higher ranks.
Tuesdays to Thursdays: Higher traffic but fierce competition, best for maximizing exposure.
Weekends: Best chance to rank #1 with lower traffic, ideal for brand awareness and social proof.
The Product Hunt Algorithm: play by the rules
Key factors: Upvotes, engagement, upvoter quality, and product quality all influence your ranking.
Avoid pitfalls: Beware of simultaneous votes from the same location, secretive upvoting rings, and bots, as these can trigger spam filters or deranking.
Reporting spam: Use the reporting function to mark suspicious comments from new users as spam to help maintain platform integrity.
Focus on Key Elements
Tagline: Create a compelling and clear tagline that evokes curiosity and encourages clicks.
High-quality images: Use high-resolution visuals with embedded captions to communicate your product’s value proposition effectively.
Video: A simple product walkthrough video is often more relatable and effective than highly polished teasers.
Maker’s comment: Tell your origin story, highlight what makes your product unique, and include a clear CTA with a discount code if available.
Beyond upvotes: comments and reviews matter
Positive feedback: Genuine, positive reviews can significantly increase conversion rates from your Product Hunt page to your website.
Engagement: High-quality engagement in the form of comments can boost your product’s visibility and attract more clicks from the Product Hunt homepage.
4 common myths on Product Hunt
Myth: A big hunter guarantees success
Reality: While having a well-known hunter can help, their followers no longer receive notifications about new hunts. Focus on meaningful engagement instead.
Myth: launch parties are effective
Reality: Simultaneous votes from the same location can trigger spam filters. Spread your engagement throughout the day.
Myth: bots and fake accounts can Boost votes
Reality: Using bots or fake accounts can backfire, leading to deranking or shadow bans.
Myth: launching on any day is fine
Reality: Choosing the right day based on your goals is crucial for maximizing impact.
—> To explore more on this playbook, read the full content here - published initially on Lenny’s Newsletter.
⭐ Star History Weekly Pick
The Star History Weekly Pick is:
Huly: “All-in-One Project Management Platform (alternative to Linear, Jira, Slack, Notion, Motion”
⭐️ 5k 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