The Laravel Podcast is brought to you by Tighten, your friendly neighborhood Laravel experts. Check us out at tighten.com and also by other sponsors you will hear about later in the episode. Matt Stauffer sits down with Dave Hicking, Laravel's Agency Partnership Manager, to trace his winding path into the Laravel world — from a UConn IT library to Tighten (twice), Yale's rare books collection, Userscape, and finally Laravel HQ.They dig into the evolution of the Laravel partner program, including the newly restructured tiers, and what Dave is actively building to make "partner" mean something beyond a logo on a page. The conversation covers the strategic thinking behind community growth, what real collaboration between Laravel and its agencies looks like, and why their success is genuinely, structurally mutual.Matt Stauffer on Twitter - https://x.com/mattstaufferDave Hicking Website - https://davehicking.comDave Hicking on Twitter - https://x.com/dhickingDave Hicking on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/dhicking/Laravel Partners - https://laravel.com/partnershttps://randsinrepose.com/ - https://randsinrepose.com/Pragmatic AI Podcast - https://pragmaticai.fm/Laravel Twitter - https://twitter.com/laravelphpLaravel Website - https://laravel.com/Tighten Website - https://tighten.com/Suggestion Box - https://suggest.gg/laravelpodcast----- Editing and transcription sponsored by Tighten - https://tighten.com/Big thanks to the companies that support the show:Honeybadger - https://www.honeybadger.io/for/laravel/Mailtrap - https://l.rw.rw/laravel_pod_1Thunk - https://tidyup.agency/Laravel - Laracon US and Laravel Cloud

In this episode, Matt Stauffer interviews Ryuta Hamasaki, a senior software engineer at Laravel, who shares his journey from discovering Laravel to becoming a key player in the Laravel community. Ryuta discusses his experiences attending international conferences, his motivations for organizing Laravel Live Japan, and his day-to-day work at Laravel, particularly on the Nightwatch team. The conversation highlights the importance of community, collaboration, and the challenges of organizing tech events in Japan.Matt Stauffer on TwitterRyuta Hamasaki (@avosalmon) on XRyuta on GitHubLaravel Live JapanLaravel TwitterLaravel WebsiteTighten WebsiteSuggestion Box----- Editing and transcription sponsored by Tighten.

In this conversation, Devon Garbalosa shares his journey from working in a tire shop to discovering his passion for web development, highlighting a pivotal moment when he discovered Laravel. He discusses the ease of connecting to databases and implementing authentication, emphasizing how frameworks can significantly enhance development efficiency and effectiveness.Matt Stauffer on TwitterDevon Garbalosa on TwitterLaravel TwitterLaravel WebsiteTighten WebsiteSuggestion Box----- Editing and transcription sponsored by Tighten.

In this episode, Matt Stauffer interviews Leah Thompson, a DevRel engineer at Laravel, who shares her unique journey into tech, transitioning from a mathematics background and teaching to web development. Leah discusses her experiences in the Laravel community, the importance of networking, and her role in building marketing websites. She emphasizes the value of public speaking, building in public, and engaging with the community through streaming.Matt Stauffer on TwitterLeah Thompson on TwitterLeah Thompson on TwitchLeah Thompson on GitHubLeah Thompson on BlueskyDesign That Sticks | Leah Thompson Laracon US 2025Laravel TwitterLaravel WebsiteTighten WebsiteSuggestion Box----- Editing and transcription sponsored by Tighten.

In this episode of the Laravel Podcast, host Matt Stauffer chats with Chris Fidao, Team Lead of Laravel’s Infrastructure Cloud Team. They talk about Chris’s journey from his first experience with Laravel to creating educational content and eventually leading an engineering team. Chris shares what it takes to build and maintain Laravel’s Cloud infrastructure, his approach to leadership and team growth, and his perspective on topics like serverless architecture and foreign key constraints.Matt Stauffer on TwitterChris Fidao on TwitterLaravel LearnLaravel TwitterLaravel WebsiteTighten WebsiteSuggestion Box----- Editing and transcription sponsored by Tighten.

In this episode of the Laravel Podcast, host Matt Stauffer speaks with Christoph Rumpel, a DevRel Engineer at Laravel. They discuss Christoph’s journey to joining the Laravel team, the evolution of Laravel’s learning resources, and the launch of Laravel’s new learning platform, Laravel Learn. Christoph shares what it’s like to shape educational content for developers, how he balances creativity and code in video production, and the ongoing art of teaching and learning in tech.Matt Stauffer on TwitterChristoph Rumpel on TwitterChristoph Rumpel WebsiteLaravel LearnLaravel TwitterLaravel WebsiteTighten WebsiteSuggestion Box----- Editing and transcription sponsored by Tighten.

In this episode, Matt Stauffer chats with Joe Tannenbaum about Wayfinder, a tool that generates TypeScript for Laravel routes to improve type safety and developer experience. They dive into the advantages of TypeScript, the unique features of Wayfinder, and how static analysis can boost performance. Joe also shares tips for writing Laravel code that pairs seamlessly with Wayfinder and introduces Ranger, a new tool for app discovery.Matt Stauffer on TwitterJoe Tannenbaum on TwitterJoe Tannenbaum on Blue SkyJoe Tannenbaum on GitHubSeason 7, Episode 3 Laravel Podcast with Joe TannenbaumLaravel TwitterLaravel WebsiteTighten WebsiteSuggestion Box----- Editing and transcription sponsored by Tighten.

In this episode of the Laravel Podcast, Matt talks with Feri Bartha, Laravel’s Director of Customer Success and Support. They explore the role of customer success, the proactive side of support, and what it takes to build a support team from the ground up. Feri shares perspectives on team metrics, knowledge management, and how AI is shaping the future of support. The conversation also dives into personalized customer care and the creative support initiatives happening at Laravel.Matt Stauffer on Twitter  Feri Bartha on LinkedIn  Laravel Twitter Laravel WebsiteTighten Website  Suggestion Box  ----- Editing and transcription sponsored by Tighten.

In this episode of the Laravel Podcast, Matt Stauffer chats with James Brooks, engineering lead for Laravel Forge. James shares his path into Laravel, his early contributions, and the evolution of Forge, including a look ahead at Forge 2.0 and Laravel VPS. They dig into the technical challenges of building new features, the role of community, and the collaborative spirit that fuels the Laravel ecosystem. Matt Stauffer on TwitterJames Brooks on TwitterJames Brooks on GitHubJames Brooks WebsiteLaravel TwitterLaravel WebsiteTighten WebsiteLaravel EnvoyerLaravel ForgeSuggestion Box----- Editing and transcription sponsored by Tighten.

In this episode of the Laravel Podcast, host Matt Stauffer sits down with Ashley Hindle, senior software engineer at Laravel, to explore his path to the team, the rise of AI in programming, and the launch of Laravel Boost, Laravel’s AI toolkit. They dive into Ashley’s experiences with coding assistants, the key features of Boost—from built-in guidelines to MCP server support—and practical tips for getting started with AI in development.Matt Stauffer on TwitterAshley Hindle on TwitterLaravel TwitterLaravel WebsiteTighten WebsiteAshley Hindle WebsiteLaravel BoostKeynoteLaracon US 2025 Blog PostSuggestion Box----- Editing and transcription sponsored by Tighten.