FounderQuest

The guys are taking a few weeks off from podcasting to enjoy the fleeting Pacific northwest summer. They'll be back in late August or early September, fully rested and ready with hot takes to warm you as summer turns to fall. 

The guys talk about their experiences with offers to acquire Honeybadger and go over some common structures of acquisition deals (hint - most don’t involve walking a wheelbarrow of money out of your office and never returning). They also chat about things that you should think about if you are presented with an offer to sell your company. Links : GitHub Dependabot Pull Panda Gemnasium Tableau Sale...

This week the guys talk about their office equipment and remote workspaces which range from working in a winery to building a standalone office in a backyard. They also go full old cranky developer mode on the new office paradigms and warn the youths of back issues stemming from working on couches and bean bags. Don't get them started on open floor plans or unassigned desks! Learn what has, and ha...

The guys answer a listener question about how to ensure customers are happy with your product and how to be proactive in finding out if they aren't. This can be especially difficult if your customers tend to be a little bit introverted...*cough* developers *cough*. Plus Ben reveals the number one reason customers leave Honeybadger! Full Transcript: Starr:              00:00          Yeah. I totall...

Do you know what the 3rd-party scripts on your website are up to? In this week’s episode of FounderQuest, the guys talk about CSP (Content Security Policy) and how it can enhance security in the browser. They also weigh adding it as a feature of Honeybadger vs. a standalone product. CSP - learn it, live it, love it, on this week's FounderQuest. Full transcript: Josh:               00:00          A...

Running a lifestyle business is awesome, contrary to what the VC's say. Figure out your life goals and fit your business to achieve them rather than worrying about 10x-ing. The guys also talk about why developers seem to experience higher rates of burnout than other professions and share their own prevention and coping solutions. Let's FounderQuest! Links: The 'Badger Life Blog Post: https://joshu...

The guys talk dissect the "If you're not growing you're dying" aphorism and debate if it has merits or if it should be discarded into the dustbin of history. Do entrepreneurs need to have a winner take all mindset or is it acceptable to be a minor player in a large market? Let's get philosophical on this episode of FounderQuest! Full transcript: Josh:               00:00          I just... I think...

The guys chat about the early days of Ruby and Rails and discuss how the developer community has changed from a more individual hacking pursuit to more of a team sport. Ben also talks about his experiences at the very first RailsConf and teaches young whippersnappers about Why The Lucky Stiff, Shoes, Caboose, and Chunky Bacon. Lastly, is BadgerConf morphing from running joke to a reality? Tune in...

The guys talk about strategies for creating systems, documentation, and automation to separate yourself from your business so you can hire employees, get it ready for sale, or even take some time off. Balancing good customer service while being efficient with your time is also discussed along with reasons Honeybadger doesn't use automation for customer service. Full Transcript: Starr:             ...

Two part special! In part one, the guys chat about decision making in a siloed company structure and the challenges of making sure everyone is on the same page. That's not all! More details about the secret Honeybadger conclaves are leaked, dirty laundry is aired about the logo scandal that shook the company to its core, and America's favorite Honeybadger is revealed! Full Transcript: Ben:       ...

Hey guys ladle out some secret sauce for successfully marketing and selling to software developers. Also discussed is their Facebook ad boycott, why you should never call a developer, Coke vs. Pepsi, and leveraging Princess Bride to weed out sales emails. Links: Art of Product Podcast website Ben Orenstein on Twitter CloudForcast website Nathan Barry on Twitter Brennan Dunn on Twitter Railskits we...

The guys discuss gorilla conference marketing and how they promoted Honeybadger back when they could barely afford to attend the conference, let alone a sponsorship. Also discussed is turning Honeybadger's unprofessionalism into a marketing strength, dealing with swag logistics, and why you should never wear a blazer to a dev conference. Full transcription: Josh:               00:01          Tatum...

The gents look back with some hindsight on the debates around private equity, VC vs. bootstrapping Honeybadger, and how funding decisions may have affected recent layoffs at NPM and Travis CI. Our recent Twitter ad performance for FounderQuest is also discussed as well as Nintendo graphics and food trucks. Join us! Full Transcript: Josh:               We did it. We forgot to send him headphones, S...

The guys dish about their experiences at MicroConf. Ben talks about entrepreneurial ADD, Josh explains why the "good old days" at Honeybadger are now, and Starr challenges younger developers to a coding battle royale. There is also a preview of Badgercon (pending wildlife insurance procurement). Full Transcription: Ben:                ... and now Ikea, they're coming out with a blind that's going...

We originally sat down to discuss distractions and Yak Shaving. What emerged was more like group therapy for a team struggling to cope with a spate of JS dependency upgrades. We also discuss purchasing an ice cream truck. Buckle up! Full Transcription: Starr:              So, I learned something amazing. Just before coming on here I learned something amazing. Okay, Beto O'Rourke, the presidential...

Faced with a punishing week of distractions, the crew discusses their own techniques for remaining personally productive. Full Transcript: Starr:              I'm sick of being discriminated against because of my name. It's like they have a better for a name but- Josh:               At least I have to pay 60 bucks for just a domain. Ben:                Change your name. Announcer:          So do t...

This week Josh, Ben and Starr talk technical debt and how to cope with it. They also discuss "suits" vs "hackers" is a trope as old as tech itself. Suits want to make money and cut costs. Hackers want to build cool things the right way. Full Transcript: Ben:                If I start selling my kidneys, I'll let you know. Starr:              Okay, that's cool. Do I get a friends and family discoun...

Looking at the major events in our lives, we can often trace them back to turning points -- decisions big and small that had outsized effects. In this episode the dudes reflect on some of their major decisions, good and bad. Full Transcript: Starr:              So I was like, "Okay, we've got no heat now. We're just going to have to slaughter the horses and crawl inside of them or- Josh:         ...

How we attracted top quality software developer candidates without offering Facebook, Amazon, or Google salary levels. We talk about how to write the job description and reveal the feedback we received from candidates. Full Transcript: Starr:              I was in my car. So there was no- Josh:               There was no, it like it wasn't that creepy. Announcer:          Hands off that dial. Busi...

In their first episode, Starr, Josh and Ben talk about the company hack-week where they built a small proof-of-concept product with Elixir and Phoenix. Full Transcript: Josh:               Okay so you guys tell me if this too stupid but Starr:              Well if you have to ask Ben:                I like how this is starting. Starr:              Sold. Announcer:          They're just three amigo...