Achievements
- Co-founded Haystack, a Y Combinator W21 company revolutionizing delivery analytics for dev teams
- Built tools that integrate with GitHub and Jira used by major companies including Microsoft, Visa, and The Economist
- Scaled startups from zero to over 100 million users, showcasing strong growth expertise
- Worked at CloudFlare, gaining deep experience in scaling tech and security
- Appears on podcasts discussing engineering metrics, boosting industry knowledge sharing
- Founded Haystack in SF, aiming to improve developer productivity and reduce burnout
About Kan Yilmaz
Yo, peep this story about Kan Yilmaz, the dude’s a straight-up tech beast. He jumped into the startup scene with some serious hustle, and now he’s crushing it as a co-founder of Haystack, a YC W21 company that’s changing how software teams handle delivery analytics.
So, Kan’s got this mad background in scaling tech, having worked at CloudFlare, you know, that big CDN and security company, and he’s no stranger to the grind. He’s been around the block with startups, helping them grow from zero to over 100 million users. That’s no small feat. It shows this guy’s got the kind of chops that can handle the messy, gritty stuff of building something huge.
In 2019 (some say 2020), he teamed up with Julian Colina to start Haystack in SF. The idea? Help engineering teams get their act together, find bottlenecks, boost productivity, and stop burnout before it kills morale. They built tools that plug right into developer platforms like GitHub and Jira. Major companies trust this thing, Microsoft, Visa, The Economist, Indiegogo, GoDaddy, all using Haystack to keep their dev teams firing on all cylinders. That’s the real deal.
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Talk to herWhat’s wild is how Kan’s process screams passion for making engineering better, smarter, less bullshit. He’s not just in it for the tech, he genuinely wants to solve real problems, improve how teams work, and reduce that burnout culture that’s all too common in startups and big corps alike. Plus, he’s been on podcasts talking about these metrics and productivity hacks, so he’s out here sharing the knowledge, not just building in a bubble.
He’s got a personal site too, thellimist.com, where he probably drops some insights or just shares his vibe. But honestly, what matters most is the story behind him. Kan’s the guy who’s been through the grind at big companies, saw what was broken, and then jumped into building something that actually fixes it. That’s what drives him, making software teams better, faster, happier. No Cap.
So yeah, Kan Yilmaz is just that dude, tech entrepreneur, builder, and believer in fixing the broken parts of how we build software. If you ask me, he’s the kind of founder who’s not just chasing the future trend, but genuinely trying to make a difference in how millions of developers work every day.

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