← Sourcegraph
Sourcegraph role-play cheat sheet
For the mock cold call at the end of most SDR interviews.
What they sell, in one line
Tools that help developers search, understand, and change large codebases, plus an AI coding assistant.
Who you'd be calling
VPs of Engineering, engineering managers, developer productivity and platform leads at large software companies.
Your opener
“Hi [Name], this is [You] from Sourcegraph. I know you didn't expect my call. Do you have a quick moment to hear why I reached out about how your developers find code?”
Problems you solve for them
- Developers waste time finding and understanding code in huge codebases
- Slow onboarding for new engineers
- Hard to make safe changes across many repositories
Discovery questions to ask
- How do your developers find and understand code across many repositories?
- How long does it take a new engineer to get productive?
- Are you using AI coding tools today, and do they understand your own codebase?
Objections they'll throw at you
“I'm busy right now.”
→ Totally understand. I'll keep it short. Is developer productivity on your plate this year? If so, what's a better time to call?
“I'm not interested.”
→ Fair enough. Just curious, how do your engineers find their way around a big codebase today?
“We already use something for this.”
→ Makes sense. Are you using an AI coding assistant or built-in search? How well does it handle your whole codebase?
“Just send me an email.”
→ Of course. Is your priority faster onboarding, better code search, or getting more from AI coding tools?
Competitors worth knowing
GitHub Copilot, Cursor, JetBrains
Interview tips for this company
- Understand what a codebase and a repository are, and why large ones are hard to navigate.
- Know the pitch is about developer productivity and AI that understands your company's code.
Written from public information about Sourcegraph to help you practice. Ask an insider what their role play looked like; it's the best prep there is.