Dev Propulsion Labs podcast

Your users are no longer just humans and your tools need to adapt to this change. This happened at @lingodotdev, where Max and his team built an MCP server to guide agents through its platform. @MaxPrilutskiy is the CEO and co-founder of Lingo.dev, an AI localization platform that helps engineering teams use LLMs to produce professional, brand-accurate translations. Lingo.dev was one of our clients at Evil Martians, and we were excited to finally get Max in the studio for this one. In this episode we cover: - How Lingo.dev started at a hackathon and earned the founders a spot at YC - Why talking to users before building your product is the smartest thing a technical founder can do - Why thousands of LLMs hitting your API changes how you design error messages, CLI outputs, and documentation - How Max's team used source code — not docs — as context for agents during a full platform rewrite - How they hire at Lingo.dev and operate with a lean team Link to the full episode below:

Watch the full interview with Max Prilutskiy: youtube.com/watch?v=1K0ONj…

You don't need an idea to start a company, you just need to ask the right questions. @MaxPrilutskiy walked into a hackathon with zero ideas, interviewed every team there, and walked out with the first prototype of what would become @lingodotdev. This is a former Evil Martians client and an AI localization platform that helps engineering teams use LLMs to produce professional, brand-accurate translations. In this episode we cover: - Max’s background - What he learned after selling his first startup that he couldn't apply to his second one - Why after 30 customer conversations, you stop guessing and start knowing exactly what to put on your landing page - What YC is actually good for - Why everyone at Lingo.dev has a CS degree - What it's actually like to be an early-stage founder in SF during the AI era Link to the complete episode below.

- Watch on YouTube: youtube.com/watch?v=1PP7B8… - Listen on Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/54Wdkf… - Listen on Apple Podcast: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ami…

Having @amirrustam on the podcast was a full-circle moment. He's now a partner at @Firestreakvc, but Amir started his career at Jet Propulsion Laboratory at NASA (the inspiration for our name). He's also the person who made many devtools succeed, including Lago, Daytona, ElectricSQL, and Lovable. In this episode, we discussed: - His early career - The importance of the product when looking for funding - How to build a pitch deck - What makes a force-of-nature founder - Vibe coding and agentic engineering - What makes a tool venture-scale ready Full episode links below.

This is the episode all early-stage devtool founders should listen to. We were very lucky to have @amirrustam as a guest in our podcast, Dev Propulsion Labs. He's a partner at @Firestreakvc with many devtools in his portfolio, including Daytona, ElectricSQL, and Lovable. Amir is also the person who coined the term "developer experience." In this episode, we discuss: - Amir's background and how he went from working at NASA and SpaceX to becoming an investor - The things he looks for in a founder - What makes a founder stand out from others - The importance of the product and revenue metrics at an early stage - How to write your pitch deck when asking for funding - The current market state and the growth of vibe coding and agentic engineering - What great developer experience looks like in 2026 Link to episode below.

You can now look like a Martian! We made our merch store public and it has amazing designs by Anton Lovchikov. Grab what you like. We ship internationally. Link below.

Adding an agentic layer to SaaS products is now almost mandatory. @anuraag_kgp, co-founder of @truefoundry, breaks down why the next layer of every SaaS product is agentic— and what it actually takes to ship it. In this @dpl_pod episode, we also talk about: - The 5 components of any production-ready agent - Why trust is the only exchange currency in enterprise sales - How to survive early stages by mixing mid-market and enterprise deals - The hardest roles to hire in an AI startup - Why voice agents are the next big wave Links below.

- Watch on YouTube: youtube.com/watch?v=N72OTh… - Listen on Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/6CX7zd… - Listen on Apple Podcast: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/anu… - Grab the transcript: evilmartians.com/events/anuraag…

The only quality that matters when hiring at an early-stage business is extreme ownership. To @anuraag_kgp, co-founder of @truefoundry, the way to build a successful company is with people who own their goals and go above and beyond to meet them. He explained how the Navy SEALs definition of ownership shapes every single hire at TrueFoundry. In this week's episode, we also talk about: - His background - Why every Fortune 1000 company can no longer avoid AI - The five components of an AI agent and improving the agentic experience - Why trust is the only exchange currency in enterprise sales - The future of AI agents (voice) Links below.

@vmelnikova_en Those appear to be direct quotes from some of the recent episodes 😉

But there's one problem: nobody tells you what it actually is, or how to get there.

PMF is... - when you go to sleep and things are bigger in the morning - when you can make seemingly fatal mistakes and yet the market pulls you to succeed - when deals fall through the cracks because there are too many This is how the very best devtools founders describe product-market fit.

No one could actually explain what PMF is or how to find it... until @inazarova conducted thesis-grade research on 30+ successful devtool companies. She built a PMF compass that tells you exactly what to do next based on where you are. If you have an early-stage devtool, AI, or cybersecurity startup: go to evilmartians.com, answer a few questions, and get your plan of action.

Spreadsheets weren't built for managing complex multi-entity financial structures. Neither was generic accounting software. SumIt is fixing that for family offices, and they've grown to $30B+ in managed assets. We helped build the Rails and Hotwire foundation that powers it. Here's what Fernando Ramirez, SumIt's co-founder and CTO, has to say about our collaboration:

Early-stage devtool founders think they've found product-market fit when they start to get real users. Truth is, signups, GitHub stars, and trial users mask the real question: are people coming back, and are they paying more over time? We work with ∼40 early-stage startups a year and studied 25+ successful devtool businesses. We've identified exactly what it takes to reach true product-market fit. We want to share this knowledge with you. It goes live March 23rd.

If you're a Rails engineer, you've probably seen or heard of @inazarova—but have you ever wondered about her background? Watch her interview with @michael_rispoli and learn how she went from engineer to investment banker to our CEO, how we monetize open source projects like AnyCable, and more: evilmartians.com/events/strictl…

PMF is bigger than the product. @zeeg said this on an episode of @dpl_pod and it stuck with us. You can build something really great and still see it fail. The product is just one piece of the puzzle, your GTM strategy, your audience, and your timing matters. That's exactly why we're working on something to give early-stage founders guidance, backed with real data. Will be live on March 23rd.

Say hello to Arthur (@arthur_objartel), one of our product designers who's obsessed with the craft. Arthur goes beyond designing beautiful UIs. He helps shape products, understands the trade-offs of his decisions, and simplifies engineers' work. He’s based in Warsaw, plays the drums, and loves a good coffee. See his work: evilmartians.com/martians/arthu…

More software is being written than ever. And nobody has run out of tasks yet. Stas Kelvich (@kelvich), co-founder of @neondatabase, joined us to talk about what happens after a $1 billion acquisition and the future of agentic coding. He also thinks there are more opportunities than ever, and you don't need a fancy title to seize them. Watch here: youtube.com/watch?v=fTekip…

Here's why devtools startups hire Evil Martians: we helped @boltdotnew scale from zero to $40M+ ARR in 5 months. Teleport and Tines reached unicorn status with Martians on their teams. And that's just the tip of the iceberg. evilmartians.com/chronicles/why…