Blinkist, a Berlin-based startup, has grown its user base to nearly 5 million users while maintaining a developer-led culture, without traditional hierarchical management structures. They initially relied on Compose, a third-party MongoDB as a service, but faced issues when it changed its architecture, forcing them to migrate to a new database provider. Blinkist eventually chose MongoDB Atlas, the managed cloud service, which has provided a solid base for their future growth, allowing them to scale efficiently and maintain a strong developer culture. The partnership with MongoDB has also helped create an open and empowering work environment where developers can focus on driving projects and achieving business goals without being bogged down by infrastructure management.