S9E4: Guillermo Rauch, Co-Author of Next.js, is Revolutionizing Web Development with Vercel

Hey, The Room Podcast Family! In this exciting episode of the series, we dive headfirst into the open-source world of tech entrepreneurship with Guillermo Rauch, the visionary founder behind Vercel and Next.js. Guillermo takes us on his incredible journey, from growing up in Argentina to moving to Switzerland to becoming a driving force in shaping the future of web development. He shares the pivotal moments that led to the creation of Vercel, the platform that's revolutionizing front-end development on top of the react framework. Join us as we explore the tech landscape and gain insights into Guillermo’s journey from MooTools to Next.js to Vercel, many pieces of advice for founders in the open-source landscape about timing and fundraising, the future of open-source development alongside AI, and much more! For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter. Check out our guide to podcasting here!  4:29 - Where did Guillermo grow up and how did that shape his view of the world? 6:00 - Did Guillermo always think he was going to become a founder?  7:12 - What inspired the creation of MooTools? 9:13 - What was it like moving across the world to Switzerland and then to San Francisco after, especially during this “post .com boom”? 11:23 - What advice does Guillermo have for founders considering acquisition opportunities? 15:46 - How did Socket and Mongoose change the development landscape and what did Guillermo learn through co-authoring and contributing to those projects? 18:58 - What was Guillermo’s experience co-authoring Next.js? 22:26 - What was the “aha moment” that led to creating Vercel and the early Go-To-Market strategy with it?  27:56 - How was Guillermo’s transition from Next.js to Vercel and how do the two differ? 31:33 - How did Guillermo unlock his first enterprise customers and what advice does he have for founders who are also looking to make that leap?  35:05 - Who was the first person to say yes to investing in Vercel? 36:52 - What advice does Guillermo have for founders working in open source who are thinking of getting fundraising? 38:43 - What was a moment in Guillermo’s journey with Vercel when things just did not go as planned? 40:48 - What is Guillermo’s take on the future of AI and development and what's next on Vercel's roadmap in regards to AI? 46:25 - What is Guillermo excited about for this upcoming year? 47:22 - Who is a woman in Guillermo’s life that has had a profound impact on him and his career? WX Productions