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Jetbrains founders turn billionaires without VC help

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Re: Jetbrains founders turn billionaires without VC help

#361

Post by vanpythonista »

The_rationalist wrote: post #357
jordanab wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I disagree. I use it daily as my tool to manage data in MySQL, Postgress, Sql server and Db2 databases, and it's probably one of my favorite JetBrains tools. As a Linux user there aren't that many good options available, and I am very grateful that they added this product to their line.

Why/when use datagrip instead of just the database view from intellij idea?

The Database plugin from IntelliJ and Datagrip is essentially the same. My guess is people like to have separate tools based on their purpose and Datagrip serves that need.

Re: Jetbrains founders turn billionaires without VC help

#362

Post by nbzso »

baron_harkonnen wrote: post #164

I don't think it's a coincidence that Jetbrains has created a beloved product without the help of VC money. The longer I work in tech the more I see VC money as poison to good products. Because VC funded startups are forced to grow fast or die a lot of good, profitable, user focused ideas are trashed because they won't lead to rapid enough expansion. Virtually every VC startup I've worked closely with or learned abou…

I will go further on VC funded companies. The Culture of Success is simple: If you are a founder, you have to be Perfect Fit, you have to design your idea around what VC's want to hear and this is working model. One of the reasons that I never work with or for startups. Founders are rarely competent to select the right people, in most cases they lack experience in HR or Product Design, etc. Bootstrapping is a detector for true products, you scale on a merit of real customer base not on some Valuable Idea for VC investment.

Re: Jetbrains founders turn billionaires without VC help

#363

Post by chmod775 »

rory wrote: post #352
allendoerfer wrote: post #323

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Norways GDP per capita is higher than Californias.

Disposable income seems like the more relevant number here, and in that California is higher ~(48k vs 38k USD, although numbers are a bit stale). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disposable_household_and_per_c...

It's not more relevant, because disposable income ignores things Norwegians get 'free' (because it is already deducted).

Part of that 'deduction' pays for heavy tax-breaks and subsidies for electric cars in Norway.

But then GDP is also an abhorrent metric to use for basically anything.

If you use either GDP or 'disposable income' as a proxy metric to compare anything between countries, you should seriously re-evaluate what you're doing.

Re: Jetbrains founders turn billionaires without VC help

#364

Post by dumbfoundded »

OJFord wrote: post #167
elliekelly wrote: post #155

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It reads that they raised no external funding whatsoever? It sounds strange now but I suspect for most of history this was true of businesses large and small. I wonder when external funding became "the rule" for successful companies rather than the exception?

Bank loans used to be more significant and commonplace though. And probably historically it would be (even) more likely to be significantly self-funded as opposed to being all but unfunded and 'bootstrapping', that's my impression anyway.

Bank loans are still used for many more conventional small businesses.

Re: Jetbrains founders turn billionaires without VC help

#365

Post by [deleted] »

jansan wrote: post #72
manojlds wrote: post #3

Ok so everyone knows and loves JetBrains. What's their worst product so far?

I always disliked the name IntelliJ IDEA by JetBrains. It has a product name, a comany name, and something else that until today (15 years after I used it for the first time) is still unclear to me. I mean wouldn't IntelliJ not have been enough? Or IntelliJ IDEA by IntelliJ? It is a fantastic product, but the name?

[deleted]

Re: Jetbrains founders turn billionaires without VC help

#366

Post by spullara »

I'm surprised that I don't see more of the HN typical anti-Java stance where the wisdom on here is that you can't build UI applications in Java. Here is a $7B company built entirely with Java Swing providing (IMHO) the best developer tools across almost all languages. Recently, JetBrains gave me an unlimited lifetime license for all their software because I have been a loyal customer for 17 years - very generous. And yes, I would have loved to invest in them anytime along the way but their low burn rate being headquartered in eastern europe makes that pretty unnecessary. They have probably been profitable from the beginning.

Another thing missing from the discussion is whether they are sharing equity (or profits) with their employees. That is also a hallmark of VC funded businesses and one that is often not present in bootstrapped companies. Generally all the economics are consumed by the owners.

Re: Jetbrains founders turn billionaires without VC help

#367

Post by TheOtherHobbes »

LukeShu wrote: post #278
vonmoltke wrote: post #187

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Because VC funded startups are forced to grow fast or die a lot of good, profitable, user focused ideas are trashed because they won't lead to rapid enough expansion. I have noticed that, to some people, "VC startup" is almost considered redundant. That is, if your company is not seeking outside investors, not seeking rapid growth, not seeking an "exit", then it isn't a real "startup". So, in addition to what you m…

> if your company is … not seeking rapid growth, … then it isn't a real "startup" Isn't that the definition of a "startup"? If you're not seeking/expecting rapid growth, isn't it just a "small business". There's nothing wrong with that, not everything has to be a "startup". (Wiktionary tells me "A new company or organization or business venture designed for rapid growth", but Merriam-Webster Collegiate 11th ed tells…

Just because it's the official definition of a start-up doesn't mean it's a good definition.

There's been a steady stream of bootstrapped companies providing legally and morally uncontroversial, high quality products to satisfied customers, and growing steadily until they become much bigger than "small businesses".

IMO there's something deranged about the need to operate on the basis of explosive growth from day zero. Not only does it create pointless stress and drama, but it isn't even a particularly reliable way to grow a business - never mind an uncontroversial one with satisfied customers.

Re: Jetbrains founders turn billionaires without VC help

#368

Post by wolco2 »

powvans wrote: post #221
malux85 wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agreed - JetBrains is one of those companies where their products speak for themselves, and I happily pay every year. Absolutely money well spent.

Yes! My JetBrains Ultimate renews every November and I get a little giddy in anticipation of paying them for another year. It’s just such an amazing value. JetBrains is so good it’s like finding money on the sidewalk.

JetBrains has a great product but if you are really serious about "giddy in anticipation of paying them for another year" why not buy another subscription every few months? Plan a party and invite the neighbours.

Re: Jetbrains founders turn billionaires without VC help

#369

Post by dumbfoundded »

tomc1985 wrote: post #284
drchopchop wrote: post #226

Earlier quoted context omitted.

From first-hand experience, however, bootstrapped companies often don't have a ton of cash in the bank. They can quickly fail if there's an adverse event (COVID, for example). You can also get crushed by well-funded competitors who can innovate faster than you due to larger team sizes, salaries, etc.

> You can also get crushed by well-funded competitors who can innovate faster than you due to larger team sizes, salaries, etc. Which is why VCs are evil and need to be crushed. Ironic, I know, posting this here

VCs are a slightly less evil version of PE IMO. Don't get me wrong, they're still evil. Anyone who makes money from money should really question their place in the world.

Re: Jetbrains founders turn billionaires without VC help

#370

Post by silexia »

everybodyknows wrote: post #216
silexia wrote: post #190

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have seen this firsthand. I was a finance major fifteen years ago and for the last ten years I have run a completely bootstrapped agency. If you have to live off your own revenues, it means you don't do any premature scaling... You have to focus on the needs of your customers to reach the next level. VC backed companies have to reach the VC exit goals which means they are forced to scale immediately even if things…

Care to tell us more about your experience with Vistage?

Very expensive. It's only worth it if you have over 50k a month in profit. At that level it is good for a year or two of training and then it gets repetitive.
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