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Varun Mohan

1 episode

Episodes

Building a magical AI code editor used by over 1m developers in 4 months: Inside Windsurf

Apr 20, 20251h 14m

Guest: Varun Mohan - Co-founder and CEO of Windsurf. Varun is an experienced entrepreneur who pivoted from building GPU infrastructure to creating Windsurf, a leading AI coding tool with over 1 million users in just four months. Key Takeaways: Iterative Innovation: Continuously cannibalize your own product every 6-12 months to stay ahead, making the existing product look outdated. Lean Hiring Philosophy: Only hire when the team is "dehydrated" and truly needs additional resources, ensuring focus and prioritization. AI's Role in Coding: AI will write over 90% of code, shifting engineers' roles towards problem-solving and strategic decisions. Enterprise Sales Early On: Investing in enterprise sales can be crucial for scaling, especially when dealing with large companies that require secure and personalized solutions. Empower Non-Engineers: Tools like Windsurf enable non-technical team members to build and customize applications, reducing dependency on engineering teams. Topics Covered: AI in coding, product innovation, hiring strategies, enterprise sales, future of engineering, Windsurf demo, competitive differentiation, agency in work.

Notable Quotes

โ€œOne of the goals that I tell everyone at our company is we should be cannibalizing the existing state of our product every six to 12 months.โ€

Product development strategy

โ€œGet your hands dirty with all of these products. There will be a tremendous amount of alpha for anyone that is able to take maximum advantage of these tools.โ€

Advice for engineers and product builders

โ€œYou need to be irrationally optimistic and uncompromisingly realistic.โ€

Startup mindset