The founders of Port made a strategic decision to create a developer portal, serving as a centralized hub for developers to access comprehensive information related to their development projects. This decision was timely, as companies had started recognizing the necessity of such a tool, partly driven by Spotify Backstage, an open-source project introduced by the music streaming service several years ago.
This overarching market trend, combined with the provision of a managed service for easier implementation, has significantly propelled the startup’s message and fostered its growth. Investors have also recognized the potential, evident in the company’s successful fundraising journey, which included an $18 million Series A round just 10 months after securing a $7 million seed round.
Port assists DevOps teams in streamlining their development projects through a centralized portal, housing various components such as APIs, documentation, microservices, developer tools, CI/CD pipelines, and more, all conveniently accessible in one location. The product includes a set of project templates for rapid initiation, allowing customers to tailor the base template to suit their specific team requirements, according to Zohar Einy, the co-founder and CEO of the company. Customizability is essential, given that different companies operate differently, but speed to value is equally crucial, hence the inclusion of templates to expedite the process.
Einy explains that this approach, partly influenced by the Backstage project, has given rise to a new concept known as the platform team, which acts as an intermediary between developers and operations, overseeing the platform’s management. Members of this team assume a blend of roles, comprehending the needs of both developers and operations, while also performing a quasi-product manager role to coordinate the two teams effectively.
Therefore, individuals within the platform team must grasp the requirements of both teams, the underlying infrastructure, and the intricacies of how everything operates and connects. Einy emphasizes the need for them to think like product managers since they must understand what developers need to enhance efficiency, reduce pain points, and automate tasks using Port.
Consequently, this innovative approach has generated significant traction for the startup, which offers a free version of its product for up to 15 users. Einy notes that thousands of organizations have adopted Port and integrated it into their infrastructure. While not all of them translate into paying customers, the company has witnessed substantial registrations and a significant number of organizations using Port. They intend to employ the “land and expand” strategy to convert more of these users into revenue-generating customers. Port positions itself as a hosted alternative to Backstage, enabling the platform team to focus on aiding developers and operations in their tasks instead of developing the necessary tooling.
At present, the company boasts a workforce of 35 employees and plans to hire an additional 25 to 30 employees in the coming year if their growth trajectory continues. Regarding diversity, Einy highlights that half of the management team comprises women, and they remain committed to fostering diversity as they expand their workforce.
The latest investment of $18 million was led by Team8, with participation from seed investor TLV Partners and various notable industry angels.
