If you’ve ever been frustrated by buggy monitoring tools or wondered how to balance AI with fundamental coding skills, this episode of SaaS That App: Building B2B Web Applications joins host Aaron Marchbanks to share how he and his team turned a scrappy side project into one of the most beloved error monitoring services for developers. Along the way, he unpacks lessons in pricing strategy, hiring for remote teams, customer support philosophies, and the evolving role of AI in development.
From Frustration to Foundation
Honeybadger wasn’t born out of a revolutionary new idea. Instead, it emerged from developer frustration. Ben and his co-founder were using Airbrake for error tracking, but the service was unreliable, poorly supported, and essentially left to stagnate. One bad day was enough: “We can do better and we deserve better tools,” Ben recalls.
They started small, nights and weekends, with duct-tape code that worked just well enough for their own needs. By launching with something that solved their problem first, Honeybadger was able to quickly attract early adopters who felt the same pain. The key wasn’t perfection; it was building a tool they wanted to use every day.
Why Usage-Based Wins
Early on, Honeybadger’s pricing model was based on the number of projects rather than error volume. It sounded great for customers, but in practice, it wasn’t sustainable. Developers would blow past limits, and Honeybadger would eat the cost.
The team eventually pivoted to usage-based billing, but with a twist. Unlike competitors who stifle error reporting during traffic spikes, Honeybadger built in buffers and grace. Developers could exceed their limits without losing visibility into what was going wrong. If someone reached out after a bad month, Ben’s team often lifted the quota cap with no fuss.
That philosophy of supporting developers on their worst day, not punishing them, has been core to Honeybadger’s success. It turned what could’ve been a transactional service into a trusted partner.
Beyond Error Tracking
Error tracking was just the beginning. Over time, Honeybadger evolved into a full monitoring suite, adding uptime checks, cron monitoring, and application performance insights. The goal? Reduce tool overload.
Instead of forcing developers to juggle half a dozen dashboards, Honeybadger became the place where devs could see everything that mattered about app health in one view. For many teams, it’s the perfect “lite” alternative to heavy hitters like Datadog or New Relic, focused on clarity, not chart overload.
The lesson? Grow by building adjacent tools that solve real customer needs without bloating your core experience.
Remote Teams and Hiring for Fit
Honeybadger has been fully remote since day one, long before it was trendy. That experience has given Ben strong opinions on hiring for remote roles.
The biggest red flag? A candidate who’s only ever worked in office environments. Remote work requires discipline, communication skills, and external social connections to avoid burnout. Ben’s team looks for evidence that candidates thrive independently.
He also highlights the importance of writing skills. With so much communication happening asynchronously, clear written communication often matters more than raw technical prowess.
For founders scaling their team, the takeaway is clear: don’t just assess technical chops. Look at work history, independence, and cultural fit, especially in a remote-first world.
AI, Developer Skills, and Avoiding Easy Mode
Like most SaaS founders, Ben is experimenting with AI. Honeybadger has integrated features that let developers question errors directly from their editor. But he’s cautious. Sensitive customer data limits what can be sent to third-party AI models, and there’s a bigger concern: skill atrophy.
As he puts it: “Are we creating developers who manage AI agents instead of solving problems themselves?”
Ben’s solution is to balance AI use with hard mode reps. Sometimes he intentionally writes code by hand, comparing his work against the AI output afterward. It keeps his problem-solving muscles sharp.
The broader founder lesson: don’t let productivity gains come at the expense of craft. Whether you’re coding, selling, or leading, some things can’t be outsourced without losing long-term capability.
Final Thoughts
Ben’s journey with Honeybadger is a masterclass in building tools that actually help developers. From customer-first pricing to thoughtful remote hiring, from balancing AI with fundamentals to respecting compliance needs, Ben’s lesson is clear: success comes from empathy.
Empathy for developers having a rough day. Empathy for founders trying to bring an idea to life. Empathy for customers navigating privacy and performance concerns.
And when you anchor your SaaS business in empathy, scaling and thriving become natural byproducts.
Ben’s Background
Ben Curtis is the Co-founder of Honeybadger, a leading application monitoring service, and the President of Tesly, where he helps business owners develop custom web and mobile applications. With over two decades of experience in technology entrepreneurship, Ben has established himself as an expert in transforming ideas into successful tech products, including founding Catch the Best, a recruitment process optimization platform. As a self-taught developer with a business background, he combines technical expertise with practical business acumen to help entrepreneurs navigate the challenges of building and scaling tech-enabled businesses.
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