This episode goes in-depth into the key operating aspects of building & scaling a US-India Enterprise Dev Tools Startup. 

We cover everything from the ground reality of how AI is impacting enterprise dev tools, why engineering founders should code less & sell more, thinking through ICPs, MVP best practices, GTM approaches, including outbound and events, the importance of founder-led sales, and finally, how pricing models are evolving with AI.

Joining me for this discussion is Sudheer Bandaru, Founder & CEO of Hivel. Hivel is a B2B SaaS solution that helps companies improve engineering productivity and release better software faster by providing interactive dashboards for visibility and actionable insights to enhance software delivery. Sudheer has been a long-time CTO and engineering leader, taking multiple startups from the garage to public listings.

TIME STAMPS:

(01:23) How will AI impact the way value gets created across functions

(05:47) The Hivel backstory: Making engineering teams high-velocity

(12:00) Why engineering founders should code less & sell more

(15:00) Thinking through your ICP

(18:45) MVP best practices

(21:14) Leveraging AI as an enterprise dev tools startup

(25:27) GTM approaches for enterprise dev tools

(28:05) Crafting a go-to-market funnel for a new category

(33:26) Structuring the sales org.

(36:59) Approaching org. design in the age of AI

(40:49) Ground reality of AI-first pricing models

Connect with Sudheer - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sbandaru/ and follow him on X - @sudheerbandaru_

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Check out "An Operator's Blog" (https://operator.blog/) for weekly posts on Startups, Investing, and Life.

I am a venture investor focused on the US-India corridor. Feel free to reach out on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/soumitrasharma5/) and follow me on X (@soumitra_sharma).