Scaling DevTools Podcast
Hosted by Scaling DevTools
Interviews with founders and leaders about the business of building and selling tools for software developers.
This is a business podcast for the niche-within-a-niche of developer-first startups. Host Jack Bridger interviews founders and leaders about the operational details of their go-to-market strategy, from post-acquisition integration and open-source growth to community building and finding early customers. The conversations are less about the technology itself and more about the strategy required to build a durable software business around it.
“Unlike general entrepreneurship or tech podcasts, Scaling DevTools is hyper-focused on the business challenges unique to the DevTools space. It bypasses abstract advice in favor of concrete case studies from guests who have successfully navigated product-market fit, pricing, and community growth for a notoriously skeptical audience.”
Who hosts this show
Scaling DevTools is a podcast hosted by Jack Bridger that investigates what it takes to grow developer tools startups. The show focuses on developer marketing, DevRel, sales, and go-to-market strategies for a technical audience. Sponsored by WorkOS, it features interviews with founders and key figures from companies like Vercel, Oh My Zsh, and FusionAuth.
Credentials & credits
- Host of Scaling DevTools Podcast
- Developer Experience at Layercode
- Founder of Bitreach
- Creator of StreamPot (acquired) and Sled
Other ventures
- Layercode
- Bitreach
- StreamPot
- Sled
What kind of podcast
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Region
- uk
When new episodes drop
- 01He built Oh My Zsh for 8 coworkers, then it blew upJun 24, 2026 · 46 min
- 02The future of AI engineering (& DevTools) with SwyxJun 16, 2026 · 54 min
- 03Acquiring a startup - what to do AFTER the deal closesJun 10, 2026 · 41 min
- 04Finding startup ideas in GitHub issuesMay 28, 2026 · 45 min
- 05Cloudflare devs @ AI Engineers Europe (Sunil Pai, Matt Carey & Thomas Ankcorn)May 27, 2026 · 17 min
- 06Moving past single player AI - with Maggie AppletonMay 19, 2026 · 18 min
- 07AI broke your infraMay 18, 2026 · 11 min
- 08Real world AI EngineeringMay 7, 2026 · 28 min
Notable episodes
- 01He built Oh My Zsh for 8 coworkers, then it blew up
A classic 'accidental success' story, this episode details the organic, word-of-mouth growth of one of the world's most popular open-source developer tools.
- 02Acquiring a startup - what to do AFTER the deal closes
A rare and practical step-by-step breakdown of the post-acquisition integration process, covering customer communication, pricing, and roadmap creation.
- 03The future of AI engineering (& DevTools) with Swyx
Recorded live at a conference, this episode provides a candid look at the evolving AI developer community and includes an exclusive announcement about a new conference.
What you'll be asked on this show
Host Jack Bridger's interview style is direct and builder-focused. He often opens with a broad, context-setting question like, "Can you tell us a little bit about what this acquisition was?" to establish the narrative. From there, he lets the guest lead, allowing for long, uninterrupted stories before probing with follow-ups that target the 'how' and 'why' behind strategic decisions. He is known for asking candid, almost confrontational questions like "What's your least favorite thing about...?" to elicit unvarnished opinions. This approach, combined with his focus on operational details like post-acquisition roadmaps or the 'build vs. buy' calculus, makes his interviews feel like a practical business case study.
The show is a single-host interview format, though occasionally features a co-host like Louis Knight-Webb. Host Jack Bridger maintains a direct, conversational style, often starting with broad context before drilling into specifics. He allows guests to tell long, uninterrupted stories and sometimes uses a guest-prepared document to guide the discussion.
Questions Scaling DevTools keeps coming back to
10 cataloguedIf you're going on this show as a guest, expect some version of each of these. Each note explains when Scaling DevTools reaches for it.
origin
1- Q.01
“Can you set the scene for us and explain what this project or event was?”
Often used as an opening question to establish the context for the entire conversation.
process
4- Q.01
“What's the very first thing you do on day one after a major event like an acquisition?”
This question seeks to understand the immediate, practical first steps in a complex process.
- Q.02
“How do you make the 'build vs. buy' decision?”
A classic strategic question to uncover the guest's decision-making framework.
- Q.03
“As the project grew, how did you decide what to build for developer experience?”
Probes into the product philosophy and prioritization process for a technical audience.
- Q.04
“How did cultural or logistical challenges, like language, factor into your decision?”
Drills down into the often-overlooked 'soft' challenges of a business decision.
industry
1- Q.01
“How has the community around your project changed over the years?”
This question explores the evolution of the user base and market dynamics.
advice
2- Q.01
“Should an engineering co-founder look for a sales expert or a marketing expert?”
Asks for specific, actionable advice for founders building a team.
- Q.02
“Is solving a small, internal problem the best way to start a project?”
This question seeks to generalize a lesson from a specific origin story.
personal
1- Q.01
“What's your least favorite thing about your own event or project?”
An opening gambit designed to get a candid, non-obvious answer right away.
money
1- Q.01
“Are the only real customers for dev tools now AI labs and enterprise?”
Tests a specific market hypothesis to get the guest's take on current industry trends.
Signature segments
- · Live interviews from conferences
- · Founder origin stories
- · Post-acquisition breakdowns
- · Go-to-market strategy deep dives
Topics covered repeatedly
Who gets booked here
Guests are typically founders, CEOs, or senior directors from successful developer tool companies, both bootstrapped and VC-funded. The show books practitioners who can speak candidly about their journey, including the creators of foundational open-source projects and leaders at high-growth startups.
- Robby Russellon He built Oh My Zsh for 8 coworkers, then it blew up
- swyx (Shawn Wang)on The future of AI engineering (& DevTools) with Swyx
- Dan Mooreon Acquiring a startup - what to do AFTER the deal closes
- Joel Griffithon Finding startup ideas in GitHub issues
- Maggie Appletonon Moving past single player AI - with Maggie Appleton
- Louis Knight-Webbon The future of AI engineering (& DevTools) with Swyx
Where to find this show
Audience & reach
The podcast is sponsored by WorkOS, an enterprise-readiness platform for B2B SaaS companies. The sponsorship is a natural fit, as the podcast's audience of DevTool founders are the exact target customer for WorkOS's services, a point often highlighted in host-read ads.
Subscriber and view counts are pulled live from YouTube and re-verified on a 30-day cycle. Listener estimates for the RSS feed aren't published here unless they're host-verified.
Pitch Scaling DevTools
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People also ask
- Who is the host of Scaling DevTools?
- The podcast is hosted by Jack Bridger, who also works in developer experience and has founded several DevTool-related ventures.
- What is the podcast about?
- It's a business podcast that interviews founders and leaders about how to build, market, and sell developer tools.
- What is the format of the show?
- It's an interview-based show where host Jack Bridger has a one-on-one conversation with a guest from the DevTools industry.
- Is the podcast still active?
- Yes, the podcast releases episodes regularly, with the most recent episodes published in June 2026.
- Who is Louis Knight-Webb?
- Louis Knight-Webb is a frequent guest and occasional co-host, and is the co-founder of Vibe Kanban and Bloop.ai.
Built from the show's public RSS feed, YouTube, the host's own websites, and the cited sources below. Computed and AI-extracted fields are labelled. Facts only — no private info, no fabrication, no transcripts republished.
Sources & how this page was built
This page is AI-assisted, grounded in the public sources cited below, and host-verifiable. We publish facts only; we do not republish transcripts. If anything here is wrong, the host can claim and correct the page above.Model: gemini-2.5-pro · high confidence
- [01]Scaling DevTools Official Websitescalingdevtools.com
- [02]Scaling DevTools on Apple Podcastspodcasts.apple.com
- [03]Scaling DevTools Podcast on YouTubeyoutube.com
- [04]Jack Bridger's Personal Sitejackbridger.com
- [05]A RedMonk Conversation with Jack Bridgerredmonk.com
- [06]Scaling DevTools - Podnewspodnews.net
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