# How Sentry's David Cramer Turned an Open Source Side Project into a $3B Business **Guest:** David Cramer **Role:** Co-founder and CPO of Sentry **Host:** Daniel Levine **Season:** Season 2 **Episode:** 16 > 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. --- ## About this episode 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](https://opensourcepledge.com/). 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](https://www.accel.com/news?name=/noteworthies/why-accel-is-supporting-the-open-source-pledge&modal=true#all) - [Helping Developers See and Solve Quicker: Our Enduring Partnership with Sentry](https://www.accel.com/explore?name=%2Fnoteworthies%2Fhelping-developers-see-and-solve-quicker-our-enduring-partnership-with-sentry&modal=true) - [Our Series D in Sentry](https://www.accel.com/news?name=/noteworthies/our-series-d-in-sentry&modal=true#all) - [Our Series E in Sentry](https://www.accel.com/news?name=/noteworthies/helping-developers-see-and-solve-quicker-our-enduring-partnership-with-sentry&modal=true#all) - [Our Continued Support of Sentry](https://www.accel.com/news?name=%2Fnoteworthies%2Four-continued-support-of-sentry&modal=true) - [The Future of Open Source: Launching the Open100](https://www.accel.com/news?name=/noteworthies/the-future-of-open-source-launching-the-open100&modal=true) ‍ ‍**Explore more episodes from this season:**‍ S2E1 | [Klaviyo’s Andrew Bialecki on proving a tech startup can be built anywhere](https://www.accel.com/podcast-episodes/klaviyo-andrew-bialecki) S2E2 | [Webflow’s Vlad Magdalin on the biggest lessons learned from bootstrapping and raising capital](https://www.accel.com/podcast-episodes/webflow-vlad-magdalin) S2E3 | [Syrup’s James Theuerkauf on building an AI-powered product that cuts through the noise](https://www.accel.com/podcast-episodes/syrup-james-theuerkauf) S2E4 | [Sysdig’s Suresh Vasudevan on embracing a “challenger mindset”](https://www.accel.com/podcast-episodes/sysdig-suresh-vasudevan) S2E5 | [CrowdStrike’s George Kurtz on building a generational company](https://www.accel.com/podcast-episodes/crowdstrike-george-kurtz) S2E6 | [Accel’s Amit Kumar and Ivan Zhou on being an effective startup partner when things don’t go according to plan](https://www.accel.com/podcast-episodes/accel-amit-kumar-ivan-zhou) S2E7 | [Remote’s Marcelo Lebre on the future of the global workforce](https://www.accel.com/podcast-episodes/remote-marcelo-lebre) S2E8 | [Gamma’s Jon Noronha on how early-stage startups can challenge industry incumbents](https://www.accel.com/podcast-episodes/gamma-jon-noronha) S2E9 | [Monte Carlo’s Barr Moses on creating a playbook for a product that’s never been built before](https://www.accel.com/podcast-episodes/montecarlo-barr-moses) S2E10 | [ConductorOne’s Alex Bovee on the critical ingredients of a high-growth startup](https://www.accel.com/podcast-episodes/conductorone-alex-bovee) S2E11 | [Netskope’s Sanjay Beri on building an iconic company through controlled innovation](https://www.accel.com/podcast-episodes/netskope-sanjay-beri) S2E12 | [Chainalysis’ Jackie Burns Koven on building trust in new technologies](https://www.accel.com/podcast-episodes/chainalysis-jackie-burns-koven) S2E13 | [Wonder’s Marc Lore on blending vision and execution](https://www.accel.com/podcast-episodes/wonder-marc-lore)‍ S2E14 | [1Password’s CEO Jeff Shiner on on balancing B2B and B2C customers in a rapidly evolving tech landscape](https://www.accel.com/podcast-episodes/1password-jeff-shiner) S2 Bonus Episode 1| [How Linear’s Karri Saarinen is Redefining What Scale Looks Like](https://www.accel.com/podcast-episodes/how-linears-karri-saarinen-is-redefining-what-scale-looks-like) --- [View episode](https://accel.com/podcast-episodes/how-sentrys-david-cramer-turned-an-open-source-side-project-into-a-3b-business) [View all content](https://accel.com/sitemap.md)