Can you share a few details about Axolo as a company and its journey to this point?
Axolo started with a different concept called Chaos, which I co-founded with Arthur. Chaos was designed to help companies manage their SaaS spending. We gained early traction and were accepted into YCombinator with this idea. However, we soon realized that while we were generating revenue, we struggled with retention, which ultimately led us to pause and reconsider our direction. During this pivot phase, we spoke with other YC founders for inspiration. One of them shared a game they had developed within their company. The game rewarded employees with random emojis (like collecting Pokémon) for completing tasks like timely pull request reviews on GitHub. This game significantly improved their pull request review times, which resonated with me as I had faced similar challenges while working at various startups. Intrigued by the potential, we initially built a similar game. However, it didn’t gain much traction. While working on the game, we developed a feature that created a dedicated Slack channel for each pull request. This feature, however, caught on quickly with companies. Realizing its potential, we decided to focus on this aspect, and through constant feedback and iteration, we expanded its capabilities to help teams streamline their code review process. This evolution led to the birth of Axolo as it stands today. Now, more than 300 companies use Axolo daily, and we’re proud to say that we’ve grown into a profitable business.What specific features do you offer?
Axolo is designed to help engineers collaborate more effectively by facilitating seamless discussions and code reviews within Slack. By bringing conversations around pull requests directly into Slack, we enhance the collaboration process for engineers and developers. Our feature set focuses on automating and streamlining interactions between GitHub and Slack, including: • 1 channel per pull request: Automatically creates a dedicated Slack channel for each pull request, ensuring focused discussions and quicker resolutions. • 2-way synchronization between Slack and GitHub: Keeps Slack and GitHub in sync, so actions and comments in one platform are reflected in the other, reducing the need to switch contexts. • Reminders for delayed pull requests: Sends automatic reminders for pull requests that are lagging, helping teams stay on top of their review process. • Daily standups around pull requests: Facilitates daily standups that focus on pull requests, ensuring that critical tasks are prioritized and discussed.What is the technology stack behind Axolo?
Axolo is built on a robust technology stack designed for performance and scalability. Our backend is powered by a Node.js server, which handles the core application logic and real-time communication. For our admin dashboard, we use React, enabling a dynamic and responsive user interface that allows users to manage their settings and view insights seamlessly.What kind of customization options does Axolo offer for teams with specific workflows?
Through our work with enterprise customers, we’ve encountered the complexities that come with managing repositories and organizations at scale. Some of our clients host their own GitHub or GitLab instances, while others manage teams of over 10,000 engineers within a single company. To address these unique challenges, Axolo offers extensive customization options that allow each team to tailor the tool to their specific needs. Our platform enables teams to configure their own settings and automate workflows within Slack. Whether it’s customizing notifications, setting up specific rules for different repositories, or creating unique automation sequences, Axolo is flexible enough to adapt to the diverse and intricate workflows of large organizations.What are the differences between Axolo for Developers, Managers, and Enterprises?
Axolo for Developers: Developers use Axolo to streamline their code review process directly within Slack. They receive real-time alerts for relevant actions such as CI/CD updates, pull request review requests, and code comments. This integration helps developers stay on top of their tasks without needing to switch between platforms. Axolo for Managers: Managers typically take charge of setting up Axolo, defining rules, and customizing workflows. They configure how Slack channel titles appear, set up reminders, and manage team channels with the appropriate permissions. This level of control allows managers to ensure that the tool aligns with their team’s specific needs and processes. Axolo for Enterprises: Enterprises face unique challenges due to their scale and complexity. We’ve developed a comprehensive suite of tools and features specifically for large organizations. These tools enable enterprises to seamlessly integrate Axolo across their vast teams, ensuring that engineers benefit from Axolo’s streamlined workflows and automation, regardless of the size or structure of the organization.Is there anything else about your work that you’d like to share that we haven’t covered?
At the core, Axolo is all about building a tool that people genuinely find useful in their daily work. From the start, our focus has been on creating something that developers and teams can rely on to make their lives a little easier. We’re proud that Axolo has become an everyday part of so many teams’ workflows, helping them stay organized and connected without adding unnecessary complexity. We’ve always kept our approach simple: listen to our users and build what they need. Whether it’s a small feature request or a big new idea, we’re committed to continuously improving Axolo based on real feedback. At the end of the day, we want to create something that people enjoy using because it truly helps them in their day-to-day work.To learn more about Axolo, you can visit axolo.co
