69 articles exploring how companies use their own products
Zwift isn't just a platform for cyclists and runners; it's a world built and refined by its own passionate employee 'Watopians.' By actively using and testing their virtual training grounds, workouts, and social features, the Zwift team ensures the platform evolves authentically, driven by the very experiences they aim to deliver to millions globally.
WHOOP isn't just a wearable for athletes and health-conscious individuals; it's a deeply ingrained part of the company's own culture and product development. By having its employees, from founder Will Ahmed to engineers and data scientists, live with and rigorously test the WHOOP strap and platform, the company continuously refines its cutting-edge physiological monitoring and personalized coaching.
WhatsApp's journey to becoming a global communication giant has been profoundly influenced by its own team using the app daily. From its foundational principles of simplicity and privacy to the development of new features, the practice of 'eating your own dogfood' at WhatsApp (and now Meta) plays a crucial role in refining the platform for its billions of users.
Wahoo Fitness doesn't just create innovative hardware and software for cyclists and endurance athletes; its own team of 'Wahooligans,' driven by a passion for performance, are the first and most critical users. This deep internal immersion in their own ecosystem—from KICKR trainers to ELEMNT computers and the Wahoo X platform—is fundamental to how they build better athletes, starting with themselves.
Supersapiens isn't just selling a continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) system for athletes; its team, rooted in athletic experience and led by a founder with decades of personal CGM use, actively lives with the technology. This deep internal usage is fundamental to refining their product, ensuring it meets the real-world demands of endurance athletes seeking to optimize their performance.
Strava isn't just a platform for athletes; it's largely built and refined by them. The company's deeply ingrained culture of employees actively using their own product fuels innovation, shapes features, and ensures that the user experience resonates authentically with its global community.
Replit isn't just providing a revolutionary online IDE and collaborative coding platform; its own teams are deeply immersed in using it daily. From building internal tools to leveraging Replit AI for their own development, this 'Replit on Replit' approach is fundamental to how they innovate, refine their product, and empower millions of creators worldwide.
Rent the Runway didn't just disrupt fashion; it built a complex technological and logistical marvel to power its 'Closet in the Cloud.' Its own operational, data, and engineering teams are the primary, intensive users of these proprietary systems, constantly refining the engine that makes fashion rental at scale a reality.
Rakuten isn't just a collection of diverse businesses; it's a living laboratory where its own technologies, especially in AI and cloud-native telecom, are rigorously used and refined by its employees. This 'Rakuten on Rakuten' approach, from internal AI assistants to building a mobile network from scratch, is fundamental to its innovation and its offerings to the world.
The Premier League doesn't just showcase world-class football; it's a high-stakes proving ground for cutting-edge technology. From VAR and data analytics to its global broadcast and digital platforms, the League's own operational teams are critical first users, driving innovation and reliability in the systems that deliver the spectacle to millions.
Sony Interactive Entertainment doesn't just build PlayStation for the world; its own teams, from chip designers to elite game developers at PlayStation Studios, are the first and most demanding users. This deep internal usage and feedback loop is critical in forging the cutting-edge hardware, intuitive software, and compelling experiences that define each PlayStation generation.
The PGA TOUR isn't just a premier golf organization; it's a sophisticated technological operation. By being the first and most demanding user of its own complex data, scoring, and broadcast systems, often co-developed with leading tech partners, the TOUR constantly refines the technologies that deliver world-class golf to a global audience.
Okta doesn't just sell identity and access management; it lives it. By deploying its own solutions internally—a practice often dubbed 'Okta on Okta'—the company rigorously tests, refines, and validates its platform in a real-world, enterprise-grade environment. This commitment to being Customer Zero is fundamental to its innovation and security-first culture.
Nintendo's magic isn't just for its players; it's a core part of its creation process. By having its own game development legends and teams act as the first, most demanding users of new hardware and tools, Nintendo 'plays its own game' to refine the unique experiences that have captivated generations.
For a company named Lovable, creating products that users genuinely adore is more than a mission—it's a daily practice. By immersively using their own suite of UX design, feedback, and sentiment analysis tools, Lovable's team ensures their platform for crafting delightful user experiences is, itself, truly lovable.
LangChain isn't just providing the open-source framework and tools for the LLM revolution; its own team of developers are quintessential users, 'dogfooding' their own libraries, LangSmith, and LangServe to build, debug, and deploy. This deep internal immersion is critical to shaping the very tools that are empowering a generation of AI developers.
Klarna isn't just implementing AI; it's rebuilding its core around it. By championing the internal development and widespread employee use of AI-powered tools for everything from customer service to daily operations, Klarna is 'dogfooding' its way to becoming a uniquely efficient, AI-driven financial technology leader, with lessons that shape both its internal practices and external offerings.
Grafana Labs doesn't just create world-leading open source observability tools; they run their entire Grafana Cloud service on them. This deep, intrinsic practice of 'dogfooding' their own stack—Grafana, Loki, Mimir, and Tempo—is fundamental to their innovation, reliability, and understanding of real-world user needs.
GitLab isn't just a comprehensive DevSecOps platform for its customers; it's the very foundation upon which GitLab itself is built, operated, and scaled. This deep, pervasive practice of 'dogfooding'—or 'GitLab on GitLab'—is fundamental to its product development, remote-first culture, and its mission to empower everyone to contribute.
GitHub isn't just where the world builds software; it's where GitHub itself is built. By rigorously using its own platform—from Issues and Actions to Codespaces and Copilot—GitHub's own engineering teams act as 'customer zero,' ensuring their tools are powerful, intuitive, and truly developer-first.
Garmin's dominance in the running watch market isn't just built on cutting-edge technology; it's deeply rooted in a culture where employees are avid users of their own products. This internal feedback loop, from casual joggers to elite employee-athletes, plays a crucial role in refining features, ensuring accuracy, and pushing the boundaries of what a running watch can do.
Formula 1 isn't just a high-octane sport; it's a high-tech tour de force that relies on cutting-edge technology for everything from race control to global broadcasts and fan engagement. The F1 organization itself is a primary user of these complex systems, constantly pushing their limits in the crucible of live race weekends, a practice that fuels innovation and refines the spectacle for millions.
For Basecamp (formerly 37signals), 'eating their own dogfood' isn't just a strategy—it's the company's entire operational and product development philosophy. By running every aspect of their business on Basecamp, they ensure their project management and team communication software is a direct reflection of their own well-honed, real-world needs.
Atlassian doesn't just sell Jira as a leading platform for project management and team collaboration; they are its own most comprehensive and critical user. This deep-rooted 'dogfooding' culture, where Atlassians across all departments use Jira and their full suite of tools daily, is fundamental to shaping products that empower millions of teams worldwide.
Airtable isn't just a platform for creating collaborative apps; it's the operational backbone for Airtable itself. By 'dogfooding' their own low-code/no-code environment for everything from project management to AI-driven workflows, Airtable employees are the first and most critical users, ensuring the tools they build truly empower anyone to create.
1Password isn't just a leading password manager for individuals and businesses; it's a critical tool used extensively by its own team. This deep internal reliance, a true 'dogfooding' philosophy, ensures that every feature, security measure, and user experience is rigorously tested and refined in a real-world, security-first environment, ultimately benefiting all users.
Automattic, the company behind WordPress.com, Jetpack, and WooCommerce, doesn't just contribute to the world's most popular CMS—its global, distributed team lives and breathes WordPress every day. Explore how their unique reliance on WordPress-powered tools, especially P2, shapes their products, culture, and the future of web publishing.
Sun Microsystems didn't just sell innovative technology; it was its own most demanding customer. From its global network running on Sun servers and Solaris to the internal use of Java and StarOffice, Sun's philosophy of 'eating its own dogfood' was a driving force behind its pioneering products and a key part of its complex legacy.
Splunk doesn't just sell data-to-everything solutions; its own teams are 'Customer Zero,' rigorously using the Splunk platform for their security, IT operations, and observability. Discover how this internal proving ground shapes more robust, effective, and battle-tested products for all users.
As a prime target for sophisticated cyberattacks, SentinelOne doesn't just build cybersecurity solutions; it lives and breathes them. Discover how SentinelOne leverages its own Singularity XDR platform and AI capabilities to protect its operations, turning intense adversarial pressure into a crucible for product innovation.
Nord Security, the force behind NordVPN, NordPass, and NordLocker, doesn't just preach digital security and privacy—it practices it rigorously from within. Explore how Nord's own teams rely on their suite of protective tools, creating a powerful feedback loop that strengthens their products and reinforces their security-first culture.
Mozilla's commitment to an open, accessible, and private internet is not just an external mission—it's deeply embedded in how they build and refine their own products. Explore how Mozilla's teams leverage their own software, from Firefox Nightly to Thunderbird and beyond, to innovate and improve.
Instagram, a cornerstone of Meta's social ecosystem, isn't just built for its billions of users—its own employees are deeply immersed in the platform, testing new frontiers and refining existing experiences. Explore how this internal usage, from pre-release feature testing to insights from enterprise tools like Workplace by Meta, helps shape the evolving world of Instagram.
From its early days as a check-in app to its current standing as a B2B location intelligence powerhouse, Foursquare has leveraged its own technology and data to refine its offerings, showcasing a deep-rooted practice of building products its own teams actively use and improve.
Dell Technologies doesn't just build technology for its customers; it's a primary user of its own extensive portfolio. Through its IT organization, Dell Digital, the company acts as 'Customer Zero,' a philosophy that deeply influences product development, enhances real-world understanding, and accelerates innovation from data centers to AI and client devices.
Cursor, the AI-first code editor, isn't just a tool its team builds; it's the environment they build *in*. Discover how the developers at Cursor leverage their own AI-powered features daily, creating a uniquely powerful feedback loop that accelerates innovation and refines the future of coding.
Cloudflare doesn't just build tools for the internet; it runs its global operations, secures its infrastructure, and innovates new products by rigorously using its own technology. Explore how Cloudflare's commitment to being 'customer zero' shapes its powerful suite of services.
From its iconic smartphones and BlackBerry Enterprise Server to its current focus on cybersecurity and IoT software, BlackBerry's journey has been deeply intertwined with using its own solutions. This internal adoption was key to its security prowess but also offers insights into navigating market shifts.
The Browser Company isn't just designing Arc as a novel way to experience the web; its own team lives and breathes within Arc daily. Explore how this deep internal immersion shapes Arc's unique features, user experience, and the quest to build a more personal and productive internet.
Anthropic, a leader in AI safety and research, doesn't just build powerful language models like Claude; its own teams are primary users and evaluators. Explore how this deep internal engagement—from refining Constitutional AI to leveraging Claude for research and operations—is crucial for developing AI that is helpful, honest, and harmless.
A look into how Akamai leverages its own suite of content delivery, security, and cloud computing solutions to refine its offerings and enhance its operational efficiency, turning internal use into a powerful engine for innovation.
Exploring how YouTube leverages Google's and its own proprietary technology to power its massive video platform, from infrastructure like Bigtable and custom CDNs to AI-driven recommendations and internal development frameworks.
Toast isn't just selling restaurant technology; they're deeply immersed in it. From rigorous internal 'Test Modes' and 'Demo Labs' to high-pressure, real-world simulations, Toast actively utilizes its own platform to refine its POS, KDS, and a full suite of restaurant management tools. This piece explores how this commitment to experiencing their own solutions fuels product development and aims to keep them aligned with the dynamic needs of the hospitality world.
Auth0, now a product unit within Okta, doesn't just sell identity solutions; it lives by them. This post explores how Auth0's practice of using its own platform for internal authentication, API security, and developer tooling has driven product innovation like the 'Teams' feature, while also examining the complexities and criticisms that can arise when a company is its own first customer.
Explore how cloud security leader Wiz utilizes its own comprehensive platform internally, driving product refinement, accelerating innovation, and fostering a deep understanding of customer challenges in the complex cloud landscape.
Exploring how Netscape's internal use of its groundbreaking browser and server software fueled innovation and market dominance, but also how this reliance might have contributed to standards battles and its eventual shift towards an open-source future.
Coinbase doesn't just facilitate access to the cryptoeconomy; it actively builds upon and utilizes its own products, APIs, and infrastructure like the Base L2 network. This post explores how this deep internal engagement shapes its services, from AI innovations to open-sourcing security tools, and examines the inherent complexities and lessons learned when a company 'eats its own crypto dog food.'
A look at how AOL utilized its own software, like AIM and homegrown systems, for its operations, and how this internal usage shaped its products and, in some cases, highlighted missed strategic opportunities.
How did (and does) Yahoo, a pioneering internet company, use its own products internally? We delve into notable instances of dogfooding at Yahoo, from mandated email shifts to strategic smartphone adoption, and explore how this practice aimed to shape its vast suite of services.
Pivotal Labs wasn't just an advocate for agile methodologies and tools like Pivotal Tracker; they were fervent practitioners. This post explores how Pivotal's deep-seated culture of dogfooding its own software and development practices shaped its products, services, and enduring influence on the software industry.
Zendesk has long been a leader in the customer experience space, but how does the company leverage its own suite of tools to manage its internal operations? This post explores how Zendesk's own teams use their software for everything from HR to IT, revealing how this internal feedback loop shapes the product for everyone.
Explore how Toast, the restaurant management platform, extensively uses its own software across its internal operations, from sales to support, driving product refinement and customer empathy.
TikTok's rapid rise and constant evolution suggest a dynamic development process. While ByteDance's internal testing practices for its flagship app aren't widely publicized, we explore the clues that point to how the company might 'eat its own dog food' to refine the TikTok experience.
Bumble's mission is to create a platform built on safety, kindness, and empowering women. But do its own employees use pre-release versions of the app to ensure it hits the mark? This post explores Bumble's approach to product refinement, internal testing, and the unique considerations of dogfooding a dating app.
How Stripe's deep internal use of its own payment infrastructure fuels its innovation and customer-centric design, and where the boundaries of this approach lie.
Snapchat is renowned for its innovative and rapidly evolving features. A key, albeit secretive, part of its development process involves 'dogfooding' – where Snap employees rigorously use pre-release versions of the app. This post delves into how this internal testing, coupled with public betas and a unique company culture, shapes the Snapchat experience.
How Meta (formerly Facebook) built React to solve its own massive UI challenges and continues to shape the framework's evolution through extensive internal use across its vast ecosystem of products, for better or sometimes, for more complex.
A deep dive into how Perplexity AI leverages its own groundbreaking answer engine to drive product development, enhance user experience, and navigate the complex landscape of AI-powered search.
Explore how New Relic is turning the lens of observability inward, using its own security products to embed security into the development lifecycle and solve the universal challenge of alert fatigue.
How Microsoft's 'Eat Your Own Dog Food' philosophy shaped their development culture
Mailchimp famously helps millions market to their customers. But how does this primate-branded behemoth leverage its own potent marketing tools for its internal needs? We explore where this internal usage shines and where the platform's external focus might lead internal communicators down a tricky path.
An exploration of how LinkedIn leverages its own vast technological infrastructure and employee usage to refine its platform, and the potential pitfalls of this deep internal reliance.
Uber leverages its own technology extensively, from sophisticated experimentation platforms to internal tools and targeted beta programs. This post explores how dogfooding—using their own products—helps Uber innovate, refine, and occasionally, stumble.
HashiCorp's suite of tools forms the backbone of modern cloud infrastructure for countless organizations. But how does the company itself leverage its powerful creations like Terraform, Vault, Consul, and Nomad? We delve into how HashiCorp's own operational experiences shape its products, highlighting both the symbiotic relationship and the pragmatic approach of integrating external solutions when needed.
Google Search is the gateway to the internet for billions. But before new features or algorithm tweaks reach the public, they often go through rigorous internal testing by Google's own employees—a practice known as 'dogfooding.' This post explores how Google eats its own search dog food to refine the world's most popular search engine.
Etsy, the global marketplace for unique and creative goods, doesn't just build tools for its millions of sellers and buyers; they immerse themselves in their own ecosystem. This exploration delves into how Etsy applies dogfooding principles to refine its platform, improve user experience, and foster innovation, while also considering the nuances of this approach.
A deep dive into how Asana leverages its own work management platform for everything from product development and infrastructure management to internal communication and goal setting. Discover the patterns and practices that help them refine their product and the occasional insights gained when the system is stretched.
Roblox doesn't just offer a platform for creators; its own teams actively use its tools, from Roblox Studio to the Luau scripting language, to innovate and refine. This post delves into how internal game jams, dedicated productivity platforms, and cutting-edge AI development on their own tech shape the Roblox universe, while also exploring the challenges of aligning internal perspectives with a vast global developer community.
DoorDash encourages employees, from engineers to executives, to directly experience its platform through programs like WeDash. This post explores how this immersive approach, alongside dedicated internal tool development, aims to refine its services, and touches on the complexities and feedback surrounding such initiatives.