Handing off your codebase to a new developer often stifles company productivity as the new developer may not be familiar with the ins and outs of what the previous developers did. Looking to avoid issues like this, CodeStream has built the platform for developers to discuss, review, and understand code, creating a knowledge-sharing environment, all within your development environment. Discussions are saved alongside the codebase, explaining how the code works. Codestream is already being used by companies like Zenefits and Deloitte as well as universities including Carnegie Mellon..
AlleyWatch interviewed Cofounder and COO Claudio Pinkus about the necessity of CodeStream’s service, and its most recent fundraising round. CodeStream has now raised a total of $8.8M
Who were your investors and how much did you raise?
The round was led by PJC and Brightstone, with participation by S28 Capital and YCombinator. It was a $5.5M Series Seed.
Tell us about the product or service that CodeStream offers.
CodeStream helps development teams discuss, review, and understand code faster and easier than any available alternatives. Developers can also efficiently pay down existing tech debt and avoid accruing new debt. CodeStream customers report that their code review time has been reduced by as much as 50%, while code quality improves. Further, all the discussions that explain how it all works are saved alongside the code itself, and become contextually accessible documentation that is linked to the code blocks it refers to. Over time, CodeStream automatically builds a knowledge base for your codebase.
What inspired you to start CodeStream?
CodeStream is a scratch-your-own-itch story. This is the 4th startup by the same founding team that has been working on products based real-time communication technologies, primarily chat. CodeStream grew out of the realization that software development teams did not have access to some of the best communication tools in ways that were specifically tailored to their needs.
How is CodeStream different?
CodeStream is unique in that no other tool allows you to communicate about code within your favorite Integrated Development Environment (IDE) and save those discussions alongside the code for anyone on your team to use and reference. CodeStream is also unique in that it allows developers to review any part of the code at any time, not just the code that changed in a particular pull-request. From a business perspective, besides reducing the amount of time and effort required for code reviews, CodeStream allows companies to capture and retain knowledge that typically walks out the door with the departure of key developers. Developer turnover is a big problem for companies around the world because handing off a codebase to a new developer is a big hit on productivity and slows the company down.
What market does CodeStream target and how big is it?
CodeStream is serving the development teams all over the world. It’s estimated that there are about 25 million professional developers and the number will double in the next 10 years. Companies such as Microsoft and Atlassian are examples of highly successful solutions for developers that also generate growing revenue and big market caps.
What’s your business model?
We are a Saas company. We offer a free 30-day trial and we are free to use for teams of 5 people or less, as well as educational and open source projects. We charge $10 per user per month for our business customers with 6 users or more, and there are additional features and services that can increase that price for enterprise customers.
Who do you consider to be your main competitors?
We offer unique functionality, so in that regard, we have no competitors. Still, we compete for budget with companies such as Atlassian and Microsoft.
What was the funding process like?
Painless and pleasant. We had a lot of interest and were able to move quickly with folks we like and trust.
What are the biggest challenges that you faced while raising capital?
We did not face any significant challenges. Participating in Y Combinator definitely helped, and other investors were already familiar with us from prior companies.
What factors about your business led your investors to write the check?
We are solving a clearly defined problem with a huge market. We have a long track record of success. Solutions for developers are becoming more fundable than they were a few years ago.
We are solving a clearly defined problem with a huge market. We have a long track record of success. Solutions for developers are becoming more fundable than they were a few years ago.
What are the milestones you plan to achieve in the next six months?
CodeStream will be adopted by large enterprise customers in addition to the many small and mid-size companies that use CodeStream today.
What advice can you offer companies in New York that do not have a fresh injection of capital in the bank?
Apply to Y Combinator!
Where do you see the company going now over the near term?
We are providing additional integrations that will make CodeStream even more powerful. CodeStream will increasingly become the most comprehensive source of truth for information about your code that explains how it all works.
What’s your favorite restaurant in the city?
Gramercy Tavern.
