From Magician to Founder: The Buildkite Story

2025-09-08
From Magician to Founder: The Buildkite Story

This interview features Keith Pitt, co-founder of Buildkite, a successful devtools company. He shares his journey from side project to exit, highlighting challenges faced along the way, including early bootstrapping, securing funding, managing a growing team, and evolving product philosophy. Pitt emphasizes cash flow management, the perils of high initial valuations, and the importance of maintaining a long-term vision when dealing with VCs. His story culminates in Buildkite's sale and the launch of Unreasonable Magic, a new venture focused on enhancing the programmer experience with AI coding tools, focusing on fulfilling work rather than just productivity.

Startup