How Sentry's David Cramer Turned an Open Source Side Project into a $3B Business | S2Bonus2

David Cramer, co-founder and CPO of Sentry, joins host Dan Levine to share the unconventional journey of turning an Open Source side project into a $100 million ARR business now valued at over $3 billion. 

From his early days as a teenage gamer to becoming a key player in the Django community, David recounts how a simple error-logging tool evolved into an essential platform used by over 100,000 organizations worldwide.

In this conversation, David also discusses the Open Source Pledge. Recognizing the critical need to support Open Source maintainers, this timely initiative from Sentry and others aims to create a sustainable funding model for Open Source, encouraging companies to support the often invisible labor powering modern software development.

• 2:04 His path from Midwest fast food worker to self-taught programmer

• 07:09: The origins of Sentry as "djanjo-db-log" and its evolution through various tech companies

• 10:41: Why design was a priority for an Open Source project, even 15 years ago

• 11:34: The decision to bootstrap and accidentally start a business through Heroku add-ons

• 12:34: Balancing a day job at Dropbox with the growing demands of Sentry

• 15:18: The competitive drive that led to raising venture capital and expanding beyond Django

• 16:27: Sentry's mission to be used by every developer and its unique approach to building a business

• 17:34: How maintaining an Open Source ethos drove Sentry's growth

• 21:14 Spearheading the Open Source Pledge to address fair compensation for maintainers

Whether you're an aspiring founder, Open Source contributor, or just curious about the intersection of community-driven software and commercial success, this conversation offers valuable insights into building a developer-focused company with a foundation in Open Source.

Featured: David Cramer, CPO and Co-founder of Sentry; Dan Levine, Host

Learn more about Accel’s relationship with Sentry: 

• Why Accel is Supporting the Open Source Pledge

• Helping Developers See and Solve Quicker: Our Enduring Partnership with Sentry

• Our Series D in Sentry

• Our Series E in Sentry

• Our Continued Support of Sentry

• The Future of Open Source: Launching the Open100