Static, Dynamic, Generative: What’s Next for the Web? w/ Guillermo Rauch

This week, Chuck and special guest co-host Aaron Francis talk with Guillermo Rauch live from React Miami. From early days at Zeit to founding Vercel and launching Next.js, Guillermo shares stories of scaling infrastructure, creating developer-centric products, and navigating startup challenges. They dive into how AI is transforming the web, why thoughtful product expansion matters, and the frameworks guiding Vercel’s future.In this episode:(00:00) - Intro(02:54) - Rum review and rating: Fleur de Caña 18(04:31) - Every company is now a tech company(11:35) - The early days from Zeit to Vercel(19:03) - Vercel's approach to cybersecurity(23:53) - How Vercel decides what features and products to pursue(29:32) - Wins, misses, and wild ideas(45:51) - What drives Guillermo today(50:00) - Growing up in Argentina(52:05) - Boca or River?(54:21) - Guillermo’s surprising Laravel take(01:02:32) - If not tech, what would Guillermo do instead?(01:06:50) - PlugsLinksFleur de Caña 18: https://www.flordecana.com/Vercel: https://vercel.com/Socket: https://socket.io/Next.js: http://nextjs.org/Django: https://www.djangoproject.com/React: https://react.dev/WordPress: https://wordpress.orgKubernetes: https://kubernetes.io/v0: https://v0.dev/Twilio: https://www.twilio.com/Docusign: https://www.docusign.com/Jeff Bezos: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_BezosUber: https://www.uber.com/Airbnb: https://www.airbnb.com/Washio: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washio_(company)The Jetsons: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_JetsonsLars Grammel: https://x.com/lgrammelJared Palmer: https://x.com/jaredpalmerAI SDK: https://ai-sdk.dev/Pokemon: https://www.pokemon.com/Game Boy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Game_BoyBoca Juniors: https://www.bocajuniors.com.ar/River Plate: https://www.cariverplate.com.ar/Taylor Otwell: https://x.com/taylorotwellLaravel: https://laravel.com/Codex CLI: https://help.openai.com/en/articles/11096431-openai-codex-cli-getting-startedWaymo: https://waymo.com/Node: https://nodejs.org/Bun: https://bun.sh/Deno: https://deno.com/Dax: https://x.com/thdxr/Balseiro Institute: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balseiro_InstituteGrand Theft Auto: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Theft_AutoCall of Duty: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Call_of_DutyConnect with GuillermoWebsite: https://rauchg.com/X / Twitter: https://x.com/rauchgConnect with Chuck and RobbieRobbie Wagner: https://x.com/RobbieTheWagnerChuck Carpenter: https://x.com/CharlesWthe3rdSubscribe and stay in touchWebsite: https://whiskey.fmApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/whiskey-web-and-whatnot/id1552776603Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/19jiuHAqzeKnkleQUpZxDfOvercast: https://overcast.fm/itunes1552776603YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@WhiskeyWebAndWhatnotWhiskey Web and Whatnot MerchEnjoying the podcast and want us to make more? Help support us by picking up some of our fresh merch at https://whiskey.fund.