Kevin Zhang’s Post

We are proud to announce that we have secured $5M in fresh funding led by Upfront Ventures, following a successful $2M pre-seed round. This investment will enable us to further our mission of simplifying development environments and empower developers to focus on what truly matters – building great software. The "works on my machine" problem has plagued developers for far too long. According to an IEEE journal paper, devs lose a staggering 56% of their productive time due to inefficient dev environments. ⏰ Launched in March this year, Daytona's open-source project amassed over 2K GitHub stars in just 48 hours, consistently trending on the platform. This impressive momentum has continued, and the project has now exceeded 6,7K stars. 🌟 With a single command, `daytona create`, developers can set up a full dev environment, either remotely or locally. ☁️ This funding round, led by Upfront (Kevin Zhang, Peter Zakin, Mark Suster, Seksom Suriyapa, Aditi Maliwal, Nick Kim) and with participation from 500 Emerging Europe (Enis Hulli, Esat Acar, Arın Özkula, Tunya Irkad), is a testament to the strength of our mission and the belief in our ability to deliver. 🙌 As our CEO Ivan Burazin puts it, "Setting up a dev environment can feel like starting a car in the 1900s. With Daytona, it's like starting a car in 2024: any driver can just push a button and go!" 🚗 The ultimate goal? To enable a new cohort of creative people to become developers by removing unnecessary complexities and lowering the barrier to entry. 🚪 This is just the beginning. 🚀 A huge shoutout to our all-star angels who believed in us! 🙏 We’re humbled by the support from these seasoned founders and operators in the sector, such as: Abhinav Asthana, Charity Majors, Christian (Chris) Bach, Paul Copplestone, Prashanth Chandrasekar, Luke Kanies, Cassidy Williams, Milin Desai, Moataz Soliman, Shawn swyx W, Zach Lloyd, Aaron Kimball, Alan Sumina, Amir Shevat, Andrew Rollins, Ben Lang, Borja Burgos, Brian Douglas, Bukky Adebayo, Damir Sabol, David Apple, Derek Kleinow, Domagoj Vuksa, Edi Sinovčić, Ekene Eze, Eugene Yan, Feross Aboukhadijeh, Fredrik Björk, Grace Francisco, Ian Livingstone, Ilya Lyamkin, Izet Zdralovic & Jurica Cerovec, Jacob Smith & Zachary Smith, Jason Berry, Jernej Strasner, Jesse Miller, Jon 'Natty' Natkins, Jose Vargas, Kareem Kouddous,   Luka Abrus, Luka Sučić, Marin Tvrdić, Martin M., Merci Victoria Grace, Michael 🌫 Rybintsev, Nikolay Rodionov, Oliver de Albuquerque, Pierre-Louis Theron, Sead Ahmetovic, Surabhi Gupta, Tomislav Car, Traycho Ivanov, Zach Holman. Special gratitude goes to the incredible Daytona team. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/dV-p7KJE #DeveloperTools #OpenSource #DevExperience

Huge congratulations to groundcover, an Angular Ventures portfolio company, for being chosen as one The Generalist's The Future 50: one of the 50 of the world’s highest-potential startups! Congrats to the co-founders, Shahar Azulay and Yechezkel Rabinovich, and the rest of the groundcover team! Here's why they were chosen: "Technologies like Kubernetes and the ubiquity of microservice architectures have changed how software is built. That has introduced plenty of efficiencies but has also added complexities. That makes it an apposite time for a new APM player to emerge .  1. Personal pain. CEO Shahar Azulay and CTO Yechezkel Rabinovich met in the R&D division of the Israeli Prime Minister’s office. While there, they encountered the shortcomings of traditional APM tools, planting the seed for their later entrepreneurial efforts. 2. Saving developers’ time. The complexity of modern software architecture makes it difficult for engineers to find and fix bugs. Indeed, one source estimates that it takes 64% of developers more than an hour to address issues. Groundcover simplifies the process, saving engineers valuable time. 3. Speed of implementation. One investor suggested it took just “five minutes” to get up and running with Groundcover. That may be a slight exaggeration, but it does highlight one of the company’s major strengths. While legacy systems can prove tricky to implement and unwieldy to maneuver, Groundcover makes things easy. 4. Breaking the “cost-depth trade-off.” Azulay argues that traditional APM tools force customers to choose between cheap, surface-level observability and expensive, in-depth analysis. That’s the case because developers traditionally either scour all available data or conduct random samples. Groundcover’s system directs developers toward the most actionable data, allowing them to find relevant information faster and more economically." Check out more winners of The Generalist's The Future 50 via the link in comments

Navigating the funding landscape as an early-stage startup can be quite the challenge. Many founders who've overcome this challenge will let you know, it's rarely smooth sailing and those yet to face this crucial stage of growth are most likely still figuring out the ropes with the amount of opportunities available in the ecosystem. One funding avenue that's been garnering attention amongst startups here in Ireland is Enterprise Ireland's Pre-Seed Start Fund (PSSF). At a glance, you'll receive a 50-100k investment, direct support from an Enterprise Ireland Development Advisor, 10 sessions with EI mentors and access to EI's Market Research Centre. (All in all, a lot more than just cash!) That's all I'll tell you about PSSF today but fortunately, we've got something special lined up for you in Republic of Work. On April 23rd at 1pm we'll be re-launching the Lunch & Learn sessions with our first topic being 'The Pathway to Pre-Seed Start Funding', where we'll be joined by Becky Popova of Everywhere English and Nick Condon of MCS-TECH who've both received PSSF. We'll also be welcoming Dan Murphy to the conversation who is a Senior Consultant with AxisBIC, who will share his experience of supporting founders in the application process. If you're an early-stage founder who doesn't know all there is to know about PSSF, join us in Republic of Work on April 23rd at 1pm. Save your spot here: https://lnkd.in/dp7KrnFf Feel free to drop me a message if you have any further questions.

Lots of very concentrated advice to successfully create a #community around your #startup, plus how to cultivate the #leadership skills you'll need to run your own operation: Founders can create #softwaredefined #movements by breaking out #software from #company from #movement, and holding fast to their hypothesis while being willing to let the community take ownership of the movement itself. Founders can become better leaders when they learn #storytelling, #empathy, #systemsthinking, and #authentic #communication. Don't take my word for it--this is what the founders of Heroku, LaunchDarkly, Tailscale, System Initiative, and many others told us. Here's how they would advice the founders of tomorrow, in their own words.

Another interesting blog post about a lifestyle #startup: https://lnkd.in/eAWtwyxh, refreshing read with the relentless focus on what is important to him (optimizing for quality of life over growth). Includes a hidden gem with a description of "hobbit software" (https://lnkd.in/e2YGBXGr).

Welcome to the Seedcamp Nation, Stackfix! SMBs worldwide struggle to choose the right software solutions to help them operate and grow. With $1 trillion spent annually on business software and an unprecedented proliferation of new AI-driven solutions, buyers need a trustable marketplace for evaluating and comparing software products. We are excited to partner with Stackfix, the ultimate AI-powered software comparison platform that helps businesses find and buy the right software, fast. Founded in 2023 by Paddy Stobbs (previously Co-Founder of Jukedeck, acquired by TikTok) and Camin McCluskey (ex-Skyscanner), the London-based company is tackling the challenges of software buying head-on. Stackfix leverages AI to continuously test and compare software. By collecting real-time data on pricing, features, and performance, the platform empowers small businesses globally to compare products accurately, get personalised advice, and speed-up software buying. Businesses across North America and Europe - such as ElevenLabs and our portfolio company Synthesia - have already used Stackfix in private beta, spending over $500,000 via the platform and adopting it as a core part of their purchasing processes. We are excited to partner with Paddy and Camin from Day One and participate in Stackfix's $3 million Seed funding round alongside Chalfen Ventures, helloworld, and prominent angel investors such as Paul Forster (Founder of Indeed.com), Mehdi Ghissassi (Head of Product at DeepMind), Matt Clifford (Chair of Entrepreneur First and ARIA), Alice Bentinck (Co-Founder of Entrepreneur First), and Charles ▫️ Delingpole (Founder of ComplyAdvantage). Read on: https://sdca.mp/Stackfix

Many companies, especially early-stage startups, struggle with software development because they jump straight into coding without a clear plan. This often leads to wasted time and money. We help businesses avoid this by ensuring every part of their software is carefully designed before development begins, so they can save resources and create better results. #productdesign #productdevelopment #impactstartups

How Code Marketplaces Are Revolutionizing Software Development for Startups For startups, every dollar counts. The option to purchase prebuilt code components means startups can deliver MVPs faster, conserve resources, and get to market sooner. PieceX is a game-changer here, offering vetted, high-quality code for startups on a budget. Why It Matters:** Speed-to-market is critical, and prebuilt code minimizes the need to hire extensive development teams or dedicate excessive time to custom builds. A SaaS startup recently launched their application 30% faster than planned by leveraging prebuilt solutions on PieceX, giving them a competitive edge and an earlier revenue stream. #DevelopersCommunity #CodingLife #SoftwareDevelopment #OpenSourceBusiness

After months of hard work, Alex, a young entrepreneur, finally launched his MVP. The feedback was great, early users loved the concept, and he started to see traction. But as his user base grew, so did the challenges. The MVP—while perfect for testing his idea—wasn’t scalable. Every day, new issues popped up: slow performance, lack of advanced features, and limitations with user management. He knew it was time to take his product to the next level. But how? The leap from MVP to a fully functional, custom-built platform felt daunting. Many young entrepreneurs, after building an MVP, face the uncertainty of whether to continue with off-the-shelf solutions or make the jump to custom software development. The fear of high costs, long timelines, and complicated tech jargon makes it hard to decide. This is where our Startup Ecosystem steps in again. At TheCodeWork, we understand that taking your product beyond the MVP stage requires more than just adding new features—it requires thoughtful planning, scalability, and seamless integration with your business model. Our custom software development solutions are designed to take startups like Alex’s to the next level. Through our Startup Ecosystem, we help you transition smoothly from MVP to a scalable, customized solution. We work closely with you to understand your growth goals and ensure that your software evolves with your business. Whether you need to scale user capacity, introduce advanced features, or optimize performance, we’ll build a platform tailored to your startup’s needs, using the latest technologies and agile processes to keep you competitive. Don't let the complexities of custom software development hold you back. Ready to scale beyond your MVP? Contact us today and let our Startup Ecosystem guide you through the process of building a scalable, future-proof platform: https://lnkd.in/gRdVf2gJ #CustomSoftwareDevelopment #StartupEcosystem #ScaleYourStartup #EntrepreneurJourney #TheCodeWork #FromMVPToSuccess

Best Coding Languages for Tech Startups In the dynamic landscape of tech startups, selecting the right coding languages can significantly impact the success and scalability of your venture. With a plethora of options available, it’s essential to choose languages that align with your project’s requirements, team expertise, and long-term goals. https://lnkd.in/g9-nA-Wk | From Analytics Insight #TechStartUps