Ian Landsman

Yeah, so I think it's really exciting. I mean, I run the official Laravel job board. Taylor Otwell, the creator of Laravel, worked at Userscape with me for three years. That's my company's name is Userscape.

Yeah, so I think it's really exciting. I mean, I run the official Laravel job board. Taylor Otwell, the creator of Laravel, worked at Userscape with me for three years. That's my company's name is Userscape.

Yeah, so he... Did he work on HelpSpot? Yeah, yeah. And some other new stuff. In one of my distraction periods, he worked on some new stuff. He worked on HelpSpot. But yeah, I actually found him. He was working at a shipping company. And I found Laravel. And I was like, wow, this is awesome. I want to have a framework to work on new versions of HelpSpot with, as well as other ideas.

Yeah, so he... Did he work on HelpSpot? Yeah, yeah. And some other new stuff. In one of my distraction periods, he worked on some new stuff. He worked on HelpSpot. But yeah, I actually found him. He was working at a shipping company. And I found Laravel. And I was like, wow, this is awesome. I want to have a framework to work on new versions of HelpSpot with, as well as other ideas.

And I didn't like any other PHP frameworks, even up to then, which is like 2010 or something like that. So I reached out to him. I was looking to hire a developer anyway. I ended up hiring him. He worked the first three or four months at Userscape, just brainstorming.

And I didn't like any other PHP frameworks, even up to then, which is like 2010 or something like that. So I reached out to him. I was looking to hire a developer anyway. I ended up hiring him. He worked the first three or four months at Userscape, just brainstorming.

building out Laravel actually, like in some of the, in some of the more like enterprise-y things it didn't have already, like caching and some other things. And then, and then, yeah, we did like the conferences together and stuff. And then ultimately he built Forge, which is kind of the main revenue producer at Laravel. It's like a hosting platform or manager and,

building out Laravel actually, like in some of the, in some of the more like enterprise-y things it didn't have already, like caching and some other things. And then, and then, yeah, we did like the conferences together and stuff. And then ultimately he built Forge, which is kind of the main revenue producer at Laravel. It's like a hosting platform or manager and,

Then that started making a lot of money and I was like, okay, you should go run that. And so he did. And then, but we've stayed, you know, close friends and I'm definitely friends with a lot of people in the Laravel community. So yeah, I think, you know, kind of the thing is he turned that into a bootstrapped and very profitable business.

Then that started making a lot of money and I was like, okay, you should go run that. And so he did. And then, but we've stayed, you know, close friends and I'm definitely friends with a lot of people in the Laravel community. So yeah, I think, you know, kind of the thing is he turned that into a bootstrapped and very profitable business.

And, you know, it's again, kind of hit that point where like he had some bigger ambitions basically to launch like this thing called Laravel Cloud, which is going to be,

And, you know, it's again, kind of hit that point where like he had some bigger ambitions basically to launch like this thing called Laravel Cloud, which is going to be,

heroku but for php and laravel basically um it's kind of like the shorthand but that kind of thing obviously requires just even if you have a very profitable business it's like ultimately you're going to need you know a lot of very expensive engineers and lots of servers and security people and all this stuff that starts to get into like you know if i'm paying i'm making up numbers here i have no idea

heroku but for php and laravel basically um it's kind of like the shorthand but that kind of thing obviously requires just even if you have a very profitable business it's like ultimately you're going to need you know a lot of very expensive engineers and lots of servers and security people and all this stuff that starts to get into like you know if i'm paying i'm making up numbers here i have no idea

deal with their paying, but if you're paying a security guy $800,000 a year, let's say, or whatever, like that starts to get a lot of money, right? So kind of to chase those ambitions, that's, that's what he's done. So I think so far, so good. Like you said, it's only been a couple months since they raised.

deal with their paying, but if you're paying a security guy $800,000 a year, let's say, or whatever, like that starts to get a lot of money, right? So kind of to chase those ambitions, that's, that's what he's done. So I think so far, so good. Like you said, it's only been a couple months since they raised.

Yeah, so I think this is a topical one, right? So, you know, I think customer service is more directly in the crosshairs of even current AI capabilities to some degree. Like obviously you can make the case for like, well, every job is going to be affected or whatever, you know, who knows? But I think this is one where it's like, it's a cost center.

Yeah, so I think this is a topical one, right? So, you know, I think customer service is more directly in the crosshairs of even current AI capabilities to some degree. Like obviously you can make the case for like, well, every job is going to be affected or whatever, you know, who knows? But I think this is one where it's like, it's a cost center.

A lot of companies look at it as, and they're like, okay, if AI can do a reasonable job, maybe we're willing to make changes there. So yeah, I just think it's a big unknown, right? I think so far it hasn't been really disruptive enough at all, but that doesn't mean it won't be.

A lot of companies look at it as, and they're like, okay, if AI can do a reasonable job, maybe we're willing to make changes there. So yeah, I just think it's a big unknown, right? I think so far it hasn't been really disruptive enough at all, but that doesn't mean it won't be.