Founder Story: Alex Solomon of PagerDuty

Alex Solomon's journey from Amazon software engineer to co-founder of PagerDuty is a testament to the power of identifying and solving real-world problems. His experience with on-call rotations at Amazon sparked an idea that would revolutionize incident management for IT teams worldwide. Solomon's story is one of perseverance, self-awareness, and the courage to disrupt the status quo, ultimately leading to the creation of a $1.8 billion public company that transformed how businesses handle digital operations.

A Vision Born from Personal Experience

In 2006, Alex Solomon joined Amazon as a software engineer, stepping into a world of constant technological evolution. At the time, Amazon was undergoing a significant transformation, shifting from a monolithic code base to a microservices architecture. This change had far-reaching implications, not just for the company's technology stack, but for the very way engineers worked and managed their responsibilities.

Solomon found himself in the midst of this transformation, experiencing firsthand the challenges of the new system. As Amazon transitioned to smaller, more agile engineering teams, a new concept emerged – engineers were now responsible for writing, testing, deploying, and maintaining their own code. This meant being on call for any issues that arose, a duty that became known internally as "pager duty."

"The old way of sending the alert to everyone and having 100 people on a call bridge, that just doesn't work anymore," Solomon later reflected. "There's the issue of not having the right ownership. We have to be a lot more targeted to understand who owned what and which systems were being impacted."

This experience at Amazon planted the seed for what would become PagerDuty. Solomon recognized that while Amazon had built an internal system to manage these alerts and on-call rotations, other companies – from startups to medium-sized businesses – would eventually need similar solutions as they adopted DevOps practices and microservices architectures.

From Amazon Engineer to Startup Founder

In 2009, Solomon took the leap from corporate engineer to entrepreneur, co-founding PagerDuty alongside Andrew Miklas and Baskar Puvanathasan. The trio's vision was clear: to create a platform that would help IT teams manage incidents and on-call rotations more efficiently, inspired by the system Solomon had experienced at Amazon.

The early days of PagerDuty were marked by bootstrapping and determination. Solomon and his co-founders initially had modest goals:

"Our dream was when we get to $20,000 a month in recurring revenue, we know we've would have made it and we're going to be sitting on a beach drinking champagne and smoking cigars," Solomon recalled. "Obviously that time came and went and we kept on growing."

As the company grew, the founders realized they needed more support and guidance. They applied to Y Combinator, the renowned startup accelerator, but success didn't come easily. It took four attempts before PagerDuty was finally accepted into the program. This persistence would become a hallmark of Solomon's leadership style and PagerDuty's culture.

Building in the Face of Opposition

The journey from idea to successful company was far from smooth. After completing Y Combinator, PagerDuty faced numerous rejections from venture capitalists. The team persevered, refining their pitch and product until they were on the cusp of securing their Series A funding.

However, just as success seemed within reach, a crisis threatened to derail everything. One of PagerDuty's early hires, a brilliant but "overly negative" engineer, was causing discord within the small team of 19 people. This engineer, along with two others, threatened to quit and start their own company using an internal tool they had built at PagerDuty.

This incident became a pivotal moment for Solomon and PagerDuty. It highlighted the importance of culture and hiring the right people, even in the early stages of a startup. Solomon learned a valuable lesson about the dangers of hiring "brilliant jerks" – highly skilled individuals whose negative attitudes can poison team dynamics and threaten a company's success.

The Price of Innovation: Lessons in Leadership

The near-disaster with the disgruntled engineers led to a significant shift in PagerDuty's hiring philosophy. Solomon implemented what he calls a "no a--holes" hiring policy. This approach prioritized not just technical skills, but also cultural fit and positive attitudes.

"We hired one engineer that was really, really smart but also very negative," Solomon explained. "He actually ended up influencing two other engineers on the team. They basically ended up banding together."

This experience shaped Solomon's leadership philosophy, emphasizing the importance of building a team that is not only technically proficient but also aligned with the company's values and mission. It's a lesson he's carried throughout PagerDuty's growth, influencing everything from hiring practices to company culture.

The Unconventional Path: Stepping Down as CEO

In 2016, after seven years at the helm of PagerDuty, Solomon made an unusual decision for a startup founder – he stepped down as CEO, bringing in industry veteran Jennifer Tejada to lead the company. This move, which Solomon initiated himself, demonstrated a level of self-awareness rarely seen in the startup world.

Solomon's decision was driven by two main factors:

Recognizing the need for experienced leadership: As PagerDuty grew to over 200 employees and contemplated a potential IPO, Solomon realized the company needed leadership experience he didn't possess.
A desire to focus on product: Solomon wanted to get more involved in the product side of the business, leveraging his technical background and passion for innovation.

"The company had gotten to a pretty big scale…we were sitting at the 200 person mark at the time, and still growing very quickly. We were becoming quite a big company and even considering a possible IPO at some point. I have not done that level of scale before and thought, wow, I might need some help with this," Solomon explained.

This decision showcased Solomon's commitment to PagerDuty's success over his own ego – a quality that has undoubtedly contributed to the company's continued growth and success.

Innovation Philosophy

Throughout PagerDuty's journey, Solomon has maintained a clear philosophy on innovation and product development. He emphasizes the importance of solving real problems for customers, rather than chasing trends or building features for their own sake.

"We have to be a lot more targeted to understand who owned what and which systems were being impacted," Solomon said, explaining PagerDuty's approach to incident management.

This customer-centric approach has guided PagerDuty's product evolution, leading to the development of features like Intelligent Triage, which uses machine learning to analyze incidents and determine their potential impact.

Industry Impact

PagerDuty's impact on the IT operations and incident management industry has been significant. The company has grown from a small startup to a public company valued at $1.8 billion as of 2020. Some key impacts include:

Transforming incident response: PagerDuty has helped companies move away from the "call bridge" approach to more targeted, efficient incident management.
Enabling DevOps practices: By providing tools for efficient on-call rotations and incident response, PagerDuty has supported the widespread adoption of DevOps methodologies.
Setting new standards: PagerDuty's approach to incident management has become an industry standard, with over 10,000 customers including major companies like Slack, Lululemon, Comcast, and eHarmony.

Legacy and Future Vision

As PagerDuty continues to grow and evolve, Solomon's legacy as a founder who prioritized the company's success over his own role is secure. His decision to step down as CEO and focus on his strengths as CTO demonstrates a level of self-awareness that serves as a model for other entrepreneurs.

Looking to the future, Solomon remains committed to PagerDuty's mission of transforming digital operations management. The company continues to innovate, leveraging technologies like machine learning to provide even more value to its customers.

Closing Thoughts

Alex Solomon's journey from Amazon engineer to PagerDuty founder is a testament to the power of identifying and solving real-world problems. His experience with on-call rotations at Amazon sparked an idea that would revolutionize incident management for IT teams worldwide. But perhaps more importantly, Solomon's story demonstrates the value of self-awareness and adaptability in leadership.

By recognizing his own limitations and making the bold decision to step down as CEO, Solomon ensured that PagerDuty could continue to grow and thrive. His journey offers valuable lessons for entrepreneurs about the importance of putting the company's needs first, building a strong culture, and being willing to evolve as a leader.

As the digital landscape continues to evolve, Solomon's vision for PagerDuty – a world where technical teams can manage digital operations seamlessly and efficiently – remains as relevant as ever. His story serves as an inspiration for aspiring entrepreneurs and a reminder that true innovation often comes from solving the problems we encounter in our own lives and work.