# Ben Curtis - Honeybadger, Breakwater Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqV1deLikGg Recap page: https://rapidrecap.app/video/XqV1deLikGg Generated: 2026-03-09T00:04:13.305+00:00 --- ## Quick Overview Ben Curtis, co-founder of Honeybadger, explains that the company's origin was driven by a desire to build better developer tools and services than what was available, specifically citing the complexity of error reporting in the early web (pre-2005) and the need for a product that developers would pay for and that offered superior customer service compared to existing options like Airbrake. **Key Points:** - Ben Curtis co-founded Honeybadger, initially starting the project because he felt existing developer tools, like error monitoring, were inadequate compared to what was needed. - The early development was heavily influenced by pre-web technologies like TRS-80 and BBS scenes, leading to a desire to build something new rather than relying on existing frameworks like Ruby on Rails or Node.js for error handling. - A key motivator for Honeybadger was the realization that developers needed better visibility into application health, which led to creating an observability tool with its own query language (like BadgerQL) instead of relying on existing solutions. - The founders decided against taking venture capital early on, preferring to bootstrap so they could maintain control over the product development and customer support experience, which they viewed as superior to competitors. - Curtis notes that the initial development was challenging due to the lack of mature tooling, requiring them to build much of the infrastructure themselves, including Docker container support for self-hosting options. - The product philosophy centers on being highly reliable and offering excellent customer service, which they see as a differentiator in a market where many tools are complex or difficult to self-host. - Curtis advises fellow indie hackers to focus on building things they genuinely enjoy, even if they don't immediately see a clear path to massive revenue, as enjoyment sustains long-term effort. ![Screenshot at 00:11: The podcast intro graphic for 'devtools FM' appears, defining the show as 'A podcast about developer tools and the people who make them,' setting the stage for an interview about creating developer tooling.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/XqV1deLikGg/00-00-11.jpg) **Context:** This is an interview segment from the DevTools.FM podcast, featuring Ben Curtis, co-founder of Honeybadger, an application performance monitoring service. The discussion centers around the origin story of Honeybadger, the technical and business decisions made by the founders, and their philosophy on building developer tools, contrasting their approach with the broader industry trends of the time, such as the rise of Ruby on Rails and early error monitoring tools. ## Detailed Analysis Ben Curtis, co-founder of Honeybadger, recounts the early days of the product, noting his long-standing interest in playing with tech since he was about eight years old, starting with the TRS-80. He mentions early influences from the IRC/Usenet/BBS scene, where he enjoyed building things. This background led him to feel that existing developer tools, particularly for error monitoring, were not meeting the needs of the time, especially as the web matured with technologies like Ruby on Rails and Node.js becoming popular. He felt developers deserved better than what was available, leading him and his co-founder, Star, to build Honeybadger. A key decision was to bootstrap the company rather than seek venture capital, allowing them to maintain control over the product and customer support, which they felt they could deliver better than competitors like Airbrake. Curtis highlights that the product's core value proposition was providing developers with visibility into their application health, including error tracking and analytics, which they implemented using their own query language, BadgerQL. He contrasts this with competitors who often focused on selling their own hosting or abstracting complexity away, sometimes making it hard for developers to see the underlying issues. Curtis emphasizes that their focus was always on providing a reliable product and excellent customer service, even if it meant slower initial growth. He also mentions that the growth was difficult initially because they were bootstrapping and didn't have the network or resources of VC-backed companies. He reflects that the early days were rough, but the core mission—building tools that solve real developer pain points—has remained consistent. ### Origin of Honeybadger - Driven by a desire to build better developer tools than those available pre-2005, avoiding the complexity of early web error reporting and the constraints of existing frameworks like Rails. ### Bootstrapping Philosophy - Founders chose to bootstrap rather than accept VC funding to maintain control over product direction and prioritize customer service over rapid, potentially unsustainable growth. ### Product Focus - Honeybadger was designed to give developers deep visibility into application health, including error tracking and analytics, using their own specialized query language (BadgerQL). ### Early Challenges - The initial period involved significant manual effort, such as setting up custom Docker containers and managing deployments without extensive automation, before features like self-hosting were streamlined. ### Customer Service Ethos - Curtis emphasizes that providing excellent, personal customer service to developers who encounter issues is a core differentiator and a non-negotiable part of the product. ### AI Integration - The rise of AI tools like GitHub Copilot presents a new challenge where developers might rely too heavily on AI-generated code, potentially creating issues that Honeybadger needs to track, forcing a shift in focus toward observability of AI-generated code. ![Screenshot at 00:11: The podcast intro graphic for 'devtools FM' appears, defining the show as 'A podcast about developer tools and the people who make them,' setting the stage for an interview about creating developer tooling.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/XqV1deLikGg/00-00-11.jpg) ![Screenshot at 00:23: Andrew Lisowski \(Co-host\) introduces Justin Bennett \(Co-host\) to welcome the guest.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/XqV1deLikGg/00-00-23.jpg) ![Screenshot at 00:48: Ben Curtis \(Honeybadger\) is introduced, confirming his role as a co-founder of Honeybadger and Rails Kit.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/XqV1deLikGg/00-00-48.jpg) ![Screenshot at 03:20: Justin Bennett leans back, gesturing expansively, asking Ben Curtis about his involvement with Rails and the early days of web development.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/XqV1deLikGg/00-03-20.jpg)