This episode carries Nicolas Dessaigne's own address, with nobody on the show putting
questions to them. It still counts as said, and it is kept out of every score on their page.
Nicolas Dessaigne, co-founder of Algolia and YC partner, discusses go-to-market strategies for developer tools.
“You should show, not tell. Just do demonstrations. I think that's the best sales approach you can do for DevTool.”
quote is from the automated transcript, cleaned for reading:
filler sounds and stutters are removed, nothing is rephrased. names can be misheard
(the analysis reads context, assessments check outside sources). how →
More from Nicolas Dessaigne
Opinion
No developer tool company is happy with a traditional marketing CMO
“To be honest, even at later stage, I don't know a single DevTool company that is happy with their CMO when they have a traditional marketing background.”
Nicolas DessaigneNov 26, 2024▶ 29:01How To Start A Dev Tools Company | Startup School · Y Combinator
Insight
Charging for support incentivizes open-source startups to build overly complex products
“And finally, some open source companies charge for support and services, but I would actually discourage you to follow that monetization path because your incentive becomes to build the most complex product possible so you can charge for support and services. …”
Nicolas DessaigneNov 26, 2024▶ 19:37How To Start A Dev Tools Company | Startup School · Y Combinator
Insight
Dev tool founders should reach $1M ARR before hiring their first salesperson
“As a rule of thumb, I would wait to get to about one million AR before hiring your first salesperson.”
Nicolas DessaigneNov 26, 2024▶ 21:56How To Start A Dev Tools Company | Startup School · Y Combinator
AssertionNot checkable as stated
Algolia scaled to $10M ARR without ever using a sales deck
“At Algolia, we didn't have a sales deck before we got to ten million ARR.”
Nicolas DessaigneNov 26, 2024▶ 23:26How To Start A Dev Tools Company | Startup School · Y Combinator
Insight
Extreme technical difficulty makes startup ideas better by deterring competitors
“If something is really hard,
On the technical side, I mean, I think that's an even better idea.
Like nobody else is going to try, right?
If it's hard, like the bar is so high, nobody tries, and nobody does it.
If you have the courage to actually do it, if you …”
Nicolas DessaigneOct 21, 2025▶ 26:32Startup Advice: AI GTM, Pivoting & How To Hire · Y Combinator
Insight
Dessaigne: Do Not Hire Sales or Marketing Before Product-Market Fit
“Don't have a hire for sales or marketing until product market fit.”
Nicolas DessaigneFeb 12, 2025▶ 3:12The Right (And Wrong) Way To Spend Money At Your Startup · Y Combinator
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