#123 CEO GitHub, Thomas Dohmke: Open-Source Values

In the middle of the Great Recession, Thomas Dohmke quit a stable job at a good company because “I wanted to build stuff again.” Specifically, he was inspired by the release of the first software development kit for iOS, and wanted to be part of the mobile revolution. Two companies later and halfway around the world, he is the CEO of software development powerhouse Github and on the precipice of another revolution — that of AI tools such as Github Copilot. Up to 40 percent of Copilot users’ code is already being autocompleted by AI, and Thomas predicts that number could get to 80 percent in the next five years. “We are heading into a world where developers are much more architecture and system designers,” he says.

In this episode, Thomas and Joubin discuss staying excited, A/B tests for life, triggering emails, “the toys you can’t have,” self-driving car sensors, the first iPhone SDK, app testing, US work visas, life-changing money, Xamarin, is Github a social network?, being ultra-transparent, ghost text, ChatGPT and Midjourney, generating passion, rehearsing forever, Mittelstand companies, and the zen of LEGO.

In this episode, we cover:

• Titles at Microsoft and working with CEO Satya Nadella (00:58)
• Being “85% happy” and the temptation to leave big companies for a startup (05:33)
• How Thomas went from early user to CEO of GitHub (09:22)
• Growing up in East Germany and the fall of the Berlin Wall (13:19)
• Why Thomas quit his job at the height of the financial crisis: “I wanna build stuff again” (22:28)
• Being acquired by Microsoft and coming to America (27:26)
• The startup mindset and “open-source” values (34:09)
• How Github’s “AI programmer,” Copilot, will change everything for developers (40:32)
• When will generative AI have its “iPhone moment?” (45:44)
• Exponential change and preparing your kids for the unknown future (50:57)
• Communicating in English, and whether Thomas’ family would ever go back to Germany (57:21)
• Tech culture in Europe vs. Silicon Valley and the pressure of “more” (01:01:19)
• The “LEGO room” in Thomas’ house (01:07:18)

Links:

• Connect with Thomas
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
• Connect with Joubin
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Email: grit@kleinerperkins.com
• Learn more about Kleiner Perkins
• This episode was edited by Eric Johnson from LightningPod.fm