This podcast episode features an interview with Max Stoiber, CEO of Stellate, a GraphQL edge platform acquired by Shopify. The conversation traces Stellate's journey from its inception, driven by the need for a GraphQL caching layer, to its eventual acquisition. Max discusses the challenges of market sizing in the developer tools space, highlighting the limited number of companies achieving billion-dollar ARR, and the difficulties of scaling a venture-backed startup in this niche. He emphasizes the importance of founder persistence and shares his experience of navigating an acquisition process, treating it as a complex enterprise sale. A key takeaway is the importance of proactively addressing potential risks early on, such as hiring a senior operations leader to mitigate co-founder conflict and organizational challenges.
