Scaling a Unicorn at Machine Speed: Mirko Novakovic, CEO of Dash0, on AI-Native Engineering and Growth

What happens to software engineering when almost every line of code is written by AI?In this episode of Riding Unicorns, James sits down with Mirko Novakovic, Founder & CEO of Dash0, the AI-native observability company helping engineering teams understand, monitor and fix problems in increasingly complex software systems.Dash0 has grown at remarkable speed, 4x-ing ARR in six months and recently raising a $110m Series B. For Mirko, now on his third company, that growth hasn't come from a single breakthrough. His philosophy is much simpler: build the fundamentals brick by brick, continuously improve them, and let the effects compound. The conversation explores how AI is fundamentally changing software development. At Dash0, almost no code is now written manually, with engineers increasingly using natural language to create software and focusing their time on architecture, review and quality. Mirko believes the next step is automating the entire journey from prompt to production. We also discuss what it takes to scale a venture-backed company aggressively. Mirko explains why founders need to recognise when they have momentum and "step on the gas", why revenue growth is the metric that matters most in the early stages, and why sometimes you need to shorten your runway to capture the opportunity in front of you. Topics Covered• Why AI-generated code creates a bigger need for observability  • Growing Dash0 from launch to unicorn at exceptional speed  • Why there is no "secret sauce" to building a great software company  • How small improvements compound into significant growth  • Knowing when to step on the gas and scale aggressively  • Why revenue growth matters more than efficiency at the early stage  • Saying no to $10m+ customer opportunities when you're not ready  • Why the first engineers you hire must be exceptional  • How AI is changing the role of software engineers  • Why almost every line of code at Dash0 is now AI-generated  • Building an AI-first organisation without restrictive procurement processes  • Why Dash0 insists presentations are generated entirely by AI  • Developers spending up to $20,000 per month on AI tools  • Turning internal AI tools into new products  • Why AI-native companies are documenting and systemising more of their knowledgeMirko also shares his approach to hiring, why great people attract other great people, and how his experience building previous companies has shaped the speed and ambition behind Dash0.This is a conversation about building at machine speed: using AI across engineering and operations, knowing when to take risk, and creating the organisational momentum required to build a category-defining software company.