Windsurf CEO and cofounder Varun Mohan is on a mission to keep his company “lean and light” by maintaining a minimal staff. In a recent interview on ‘Lenny’s Podcast,’ Mohan expressed his desire for Windsurf to be a “dehydrated entity,” only expanding its workforce when absolutely necessary.
The Concept of a ‘Dehydrated Entity’
Mohan likened each new hire to “a little bit of water,” suggesting that the company should only rehydrate by hiring more staff when it becomes essential. This approach isn’t about idolizing small teams for their own sake, but rather about being the smallest possible company that can still achieve its goals.
Windsurf’s AI Coding Tools
Windsurf, formerly known as Codeium, specializes in developing AI tools that allow developers to write code using natural language prompts. This puts the company at the forefront of what’s been termed “vibe coding” – a concept coined by OpenAI cofounder Andrej Karpathy. Karpathy describes “vibe coding” as giving AI prompts to write code, allowing developers to “fully give in to the vibes” and “forget the code even exists.”
Background and Funding
Founded in 2021 and based in Silicon Valley, Windsurf has secured over $200 million in venture capital funding, as reported by PitchBook. The company was valued at $1.25 billion in a deal led by General Catalyst last year, with additional backing from Greenoaks and Kleiner Perkins. This significant investment underscores the potential of Windsurf’s AI-driven approach to coding.
The Importance of Lean Teams
Mohan’s strategy is partly driven by the growing importance of revenue per employee as a metric for investors. This metric gained prominence after many tech companies experienced rapid growth during the pandemic. Maintaining lean teams is often preferred if it can achieve the same level of output.
Challenges of Over-Hiring
Mohan also highlighted that keeping the headcount low isn’t just a financial decision, but also a way to avoid unnecessary problems. He noted that hiring for teams that already have sufficient personnel can lead to “weird politics” and unnecessary distractions. When employees don’t have a clear need for their role, they might create work for themselves, potentially slowing the company down.
The Ideal Hiring Scenario
According to Mohan, hiring should only occur when “everyone’s just almost raising their hands and being like, ‘I’m dying, we need one more person.'” Currently, Windsurf has 170 employees and lists over 30 open roles on its website, including positions for software engineers and recruiters.
Mohan’s vision for Windsurf is to “crack actually being a fairly sizable company but still operate as if we’re a startup.” This approach aims to balance growth with the agility typically associated with smaller startups.
