--- title: "Building with Joy: How Jam's CEO Dani Grant Turned Failed Iterations into a Developer-Loved Product — Stacklist Blog" url: https://stacklist.com/card/3dc5dedf-de4c-4cd8-93a7-2e41902deb36 stack: https://stacklist.com/c/business/stack/23da5a32-1463-40df-80e9-2f47f44f88c1 summary: "Jam's CEO Dani Grant shares how the company evolved through 18 months and seven failed iterations to become a developer-focused product used by over 150,000 users. The article highlights the importance of patient capital, persistent iteration, remote culture building, and understanding market needs for successful product development." tags: "product-development, startup-journey, developer-tools, jam, product-market-fit, company-culture, saas" key_entities: "Dani Grant (person), Jam (organization), Stacklist (organization), Notion (technology), Figma (technology), Vercel (technology), Netlify (technology), Poland (location), product-market-fit (concept), remote-culture (concept)" classification: "analysis" content_hash: "sha256:1ebc1b445ee9047cba1f3543b768999a36df6e7ba90196eaf0619f5708efc864" acp_version: "0.2" token_counts_approximate: 1733 visibility: public agent_accessible: true status: "final" --- # Building with Joy: How Jam's CEO Dani Grant Turned Failed Iterations into a Developer-Loved Product — Stacklist Blog Stacklist Team October 31, 2024· [Company Updates](https://stacklist.com/blog/category/company-updates) ## Building with Joy: How Jam's CEO Dani Grant Turned Failed Iterations into a Developer-Loved Product In a candid and insightful conversation, Jam's co-founder and CEO Dani Grant shared the remarkable journey of building a developer-focused product that's now used by over 150,000 users. Dani Grant - Co-founder & CEO of Jam - YouTube Tap to unmute [Dani Grant - Co-founder & CEO of Jam](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5AZu3ykyGeI) [Zero to Umm...](https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/channel/UC0yoSCMcbRpXmv5lUMddGnQ) ![thumbnail-image](https://yt3.ggpht.com/P0zNRBnUpwIXtkqFGemzr4rJNpIwI9OkgCeXUE21q5s7-K5gxtCbbqUdkVBiCqVCv1x9hOv9lA=s68-c-k-c0x00ffffff-no-rj) Zero to Umm...42 subscribers [Watch on](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5AZu3ykyGeI) In a candid and insightful conversation, Jam's co-founder and CEO Dani Grant shared the remarkable journey of building a developer-focused product that's now used by over 150,000 users. From multiple failed iterations to finding product-market fit, here's how Jam evolved into a tool that's changing how teams handle software development and bug reporting. **The Power of Patient Capital and Persistent Iteration** One of the most striking revelations from Grant's journey was how Jam went through 18 months of iteration before finding its groove. "We launched seven different variations of this product that failed," Grant shared. What made this extended period of experimentation possible was having investors who understood the nature of building innovative products. "Our investors were very patient with us... if they had told us to give up, Jam would not exist." This experience aligns with a broader pattern in successful SaaS companies. Grant referenced data showing that companies like Notion took three years to find product-market fit, while Figma took five years. This highlights an important lesson for founders: sometimes the path to success requires multiple iterations and the courage to keep pushing through periods of uncertainty. **Building a Global Remote Culture Through Authenticity** Despite having team members spread across multiple time zones, Jam has managed to build a strong company culture. Rather than relying on forced virtual happy hours, Grant emphasizes that culture is built through daily interactions and work practices. The company maintains a Slack channel called "what's cooking" where team members share works in progress, fostering an environment of excitement and positive reinforcement. **The Journey from Contractors to Core Team** An interesting aspect of Jam's growth story is how they built their initial team. Rather than making immediate full-time hires, they worked extensively with contractors, particularly through a development agency in Poland. This approach allowed them to find people who truly aligned with their values and work style before bringing them on as permanent team members. Today, some of their earliest contractors have become key players in the company, including one who now leads Jam's AI initiatives. **Product Evolution and Market Expansion** Jam's evolution as a product offers valuable lessons in listening to market needs and adapting accordingly. The company recently expanded beyond their core internal bug reporting tool to launch a customer support-focused version, recognizing that end users and customers report the most bugs. This strategic expansion shows how understanding user patterns can lead to natural product evolution. **The Human Element in Technology** A recurring theme throughout the conversation was the importance of maintaining humanity in technology. Grant shared a touching story about how their team culture influences product decisions, including how engineers chose Vercel over Netlify partly because they followed and trusted the engineers who built it on Twitter. This human connection in technology decisions highlights how personal relationships and trust still play crucial roles in B2B software adoption. **Looking to the Future** As Jam continues to grow, their vision remains focused on accelerating software development and improving the bug reporting process across all platforms. Grant emphasized that their ultimate goal is to help their customers serve their own customers better: "We exist to help our customers do more for their customers and to do it in less time." ### Key Takeaways: 1. Patient capital and persistent iteration are crucial for finding product-market fit 2. Remote company culture is built through authentic daily interactions, not forced activities 3. Starting with contractors before making full-time hires can help build a stronger core team 4. Product evolution should be guided by genuine user needs and patterns 5. Maintaining human connections in technology products creates deeper trust and adoption **Conclusion** Jam's journey from multiple failed iterations to a widely-adopted developer tool demonstrates the importance of persistence, adaptability, and maintaining human connections in building successful technology products. As they continue to expand their product offerings and grow their team, their focus on authentic relationships and solving real user problems provides a valuable blueprint for other technology startups. Learn more about Jam here: - **Jam Website:** [https://jam.dev](https://jam.dev/) - **Instagram:** [https://www.instagram.com/jamdotdev](https://www.instagram.com/jamdotdev) - **LinkedIn:** [https://www.linkedin.com/company/jamdotdev](https://www.linkedin.com/company/jamdotdev) ## More articles [When should a startup startcaring about AI search?Before the website\ \ October 1, 2026 · AI Discovery When should a startup start caring about AI search? Before the website A new company starts with zero online presence. Here's why publishing a Day-One Library: tools, partners, and honest comparisons; beats building a website first.](https://stacklist.com/blog/when-should-a-startup-start-caring-about-ai-search-before-the-website) [Is AI-search optimizationjust new SEO? What carriesover, what breaks\ \ September 29, 2026 · AI Discovery Is AI-search optimization just new SEO? What carries over, what breaks AI search didn't replace SEO, it changed the scoring unit. 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