Fumble of the decade

SUMMARY

Theo Browne, a developer and content creator, mourns Heroku's effective shutdown after Salesforce acquisition, highlighting its pioneering role in easy deployments, the end of free tiers, leadership failures, and urges switching to serverless alternatives like Vercel.

STATEMENTS

Heroku revolutionized developer onboarding by enabling seamless GitHub-linked server deployments, making it essential for early-career programmers.
Acquired by Salesforce in 2010, Heroku became a cost-saving tool for the CRM giant rather than a growth-focused product for the broader market.
The 2022 elimination of Heroku's free tier marked a turning point, alienating hobbyists and independents who relied on it for experimentation.
Heroku is shifting to a sustaining engineering model, prioritizing stability and security over new features or enterprise expansions.
Massive layoffs, potentially over half the team, halted modernization efforts like reviving the free tier just as they gained momentum.
Leadership instability at Heroku, including the CEO's departure in late 2024, left teams without direction, fostering idling and unguided development.
Salesforce's broader troubles, including nearly 1,000 layoffs, signal deeper issues affecting subsidiaries like Heroku.
Heroku's git push deployment remains a benchmark for simplicity, unmatched by many modern platforms despite its stagnation.
Traditional servers like Heroku's dynos incur constant costs, contrasting with serverless models that scale with usage and reduce idle expenses.
Free tiers on serverless platforms like Vercel are sustainable due to zero cost for inactive deployments, unlike resource-heavy traditional setups.

IDEAS

Heroku's acquisition by Salesforce exemplified how large corporations often prioritize internal utility over innovation, leading to gradual product decay.
The free tier's demise in 2022 wasn't just financial; it severed Heroku's identity as an accessible gateway for aspiring developers.
Modern AI automation faces barriers in API-scarce sectors like healthcare, where browser-based tools like Kernel enable seamless integration.
Leadership vacuums post-acquisition, as seen in Heroku and Twitch, paralyze product evolution by diverting executives to political battles.
Serverless architectures solve traditional servers' inefficiency by charging only for active requests, but introduce cold starts that challenge high-traffic apps.
Platforms targeting enterprises, like PlanetScale, view free tiers as distractions, while hobbyist-focused ones like Railway invest in them for growth.
Vercel's edge over competitors lies in its gateway routing multiple requests to single instances, slashing costs for bursty workloads.
Heroku's $25/month plan's static specs over a decade highlight how outdated infrastructure drives users to flexible, scalable alternatives.
Abuse and high infra costs forced platforms like Railway to refine free tiers, prompting self-hosting to regain control and generosity.
Evaluating platform risk involves assessing cost models: serverless free tiers endure due to low overhead, unlike provisioned ones.

INSIGHTS

Acquisitions by giants often transform innovative tools into maintenance burdens, eroding the original vision through misaligned priorities and leadership drift.
Free tiers thrive on serverless paradigms where inactivity incurs no cost, but falter on traditional servers vulnerable to abuse and fixed expenses.
API gaps in legacy systems like medical EHRs underscore the need for browser automation, bridging digital divides for AI-driven efficiencies.
Post-acquisition executive turnover signals impending decline, as unchecked teams pursue fragmented efforts without strategic roadmap.
Platform sustainability hinges on target audience alignment: hobbyist tools subsidize free access for virality, while enterprise ones deprioritize it.
Developer migration from dying platforms demands early action, favoring serverless for cost predictability amid evolving compute demands like LLMs.

QUOTES

"There's a reason that so many developers that you know, love, and learn from today all learned the way they did on top of Heroku."
"Heroku was the first platform that really had that magic feeling of linking something to a GitHub repo and the server just kind of exists."
"Losing your CPO and CEO in a four-month window is basically a guarantee of death."
"The reality is that when you deploy something on Versel, it costs $0 and 0 for Verscell. The only thing that costs money for them effectively is when you actually go to the site."
"Heroku's git push to deploy was a sea change and a fantastic deployment process. To this day, I'm still chasing that high."

HABITS

Automate repetitive tasks using AI tools to boost productivity, especially where APIs are absent.
Provide detailed feedback to service providers or sponsors promptly to influence rapid improvements.
Migrate from problematic platforms early based on warning signs like leadership changes.
Experiment with new deployment tools during off-hours to test viability without disrupting workflows.
Evaluate platform free tiers by analyzing their underlying cost models before committing projects.

FACTS

Heroku was acquired by Salesforce in 2010 primarily to support the company's own infrastructure needs.
The free tier ended in September 2022, sparking widespread developer backlash and viral discussions.
Heroku's team suffered layoffs exceeding half its staff, coinciding with Salesforce's broader cut of nearly 1,000 employees.
Over 400 EHR and EMR systems in healthcare lack sufficient APIs, relying on web portals for access.
Vercel and similar serverless platforms incur zero deployment costs, only charging for active traffic and bandwidth.

REFERENCES

Kernel: Browser automation tool for AI, compatible with Playwright and Puppeteer, used by Novaflow for medical voice agents.
Heroku blog post: Announces sustaining engineering model, no new features, and enterprise contract changes.
TechCrunch article: Covers Heroku's shift to maintenance mode and end of enterprise sales.
LinkedIn post by Mikell: Discusses Heroku's internal "end of sale" status for enterprises.
X posts: From JustJake on Railway's free tier adjustments and Heroku's official update.
Theo's past videos: On serverless vs. traditional compute, Cloudflare vs. Vercel, and Heroku free tier shutdown.

HOW TO APPLY

Assess your current platform's cost model: Identify if it's serverless (usage-based) or traditional (always-on) to gauge free tier risks.
Monitor leadership changes: Track executive departures at your provider, as rapid turnover often precedes service decline.
Test migration feasibility: Deploy a small project to alternatives like Vercel for serverless or Railway for persistent servers to compare ease.
Evaluate traffic patterns: For low-traffic apps, prioritize serverless to minimize idle costs; for persistent needs like websockets, choose VPS options.
Diversify dependencies: Avoid single-platform reliance by gradually shifting databases and services to compatible ecosystems like PlanetScale for scaling.

ONE-SENTENCE TAKEAWAY

Heroku's decline warns developers to migrate to sustainable serverless platforms amid acquisition pitfalls and free tier uncertainties.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Prioritize serverless deployments on Vercel for hobby projects to leverage cost-free inactivity and seamless GitHub integration.
Scrutinize platform targets: Choose hobbyist-focused services like Railway for generous free tiers aligned with early-stage needs.
Automate browser interactions with tools like Kernel for API-limited domains to enhance AI workflows without custom infrastructure.
Plan migrations proactively from legacy platforms by testing alternatives early to avoid disruptions from sudden policy shifts.
Build with scalability in mind, favoring flexible stacks over rigid ones to adapt to evolving demands like LLM integrations.

MEMO

In the annals of web development, few tools have shaped careers like Heroku, the once-magical platform that turned a simple Git push into a live server. Theo Browne, a prominent voice in the developer community through his t3.gg channel, reflects on its poignant end. Acquired by Salesforce in 2010 as a pragmatic fix for the CRM behemoth's own needs, Heroku's innovative spirit withered under corporate indifference. What began as a haven for bootstrapping coders—offering generous free tiers and effortless deploys—devolved into a maintenance relic, its team gutted by layoffs exceeding half its staff.

The tipping point came in 2022 with the abrupt axing of the free tier, a move Browne likens to Twitter abandoning its open ethos. This wasn't mere cost-cutting; it severed Heroku's lifeline to the indie developers who evangelized it at work. Leadership turmoil sealed the fate: CEO Bob Weise departed in late 2024, mere months after seeking a chief product officer, leaving squads adrift in a post-acquisition haze. Salesforce's own woes, including a thousand-job cull, amplified the chaos, pushing Heroku into "sustaining engineering" mode—no new features, no enterprise deals, just stability for existing payers.

Yet amid the grief, Browne spotlights evolution in deployment landscapes. Serverless pioneers like Vercel thrive by charging only for traffic, rendering free tiers nearly costless and resilient to abuse. Contrast this with traditional servers' constant hum, which drained Heroku's resources and invited scalability woes. Platforms such as Railway, now self-hosting to tame expenses, offer persistent options for websocket-heavy apps, while PlanetScale targets enterprise databases, deeming free tiers expendable distractions.

Browne's sponsor shoutout to Kernel underscores a parallel tech shift: AI automation's frontiers, bottlenecked by API deserts in sectors like healthcare. With over 400 electronic health record systems locked behind web portals, browser tools bridge the gap, enabling zero-downtime migrations for voice agents. This ingenuity echoes Heroku's original promise—democratizing access—now reborn in nimble alternatives.

As Heroku spirals toward obsolescence, Browne urges swift exodus. Vercel for quick serverless spins, Railway for reliable VPS, Render for balanced simplicity—these aren't just swaps; they're bets on platforms attuned to developers' rhythms. In an era of fleeting tools, the lesson endures: Innovate or fade, but always chase that first-deploy high.