

#8 [Interview] Adam Frankl's tips for developer marketers (not only founders)
Adam Frankl is perhaps the GOAT of dev marketing but definitely the Triceratops who was the first VP marketing at 3 dev tool startups that became unicorns. Author of a must read book for dev tool founders - Developer Facing Startup. Had so much fun talking and learning from Adam.
Links
- Adam Frankl https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamfrankl/
- Jakub Czakon https://www.linkedin.com/in/jakub-czakon/
- The Developer Facing Startup (Adam's book) https://www.amazon.com/Developer-Facing-Startup-market-developer-facing/dp/B0D4KGHQML
- Developer Facing Startup Founder's Academy (Adam's course) https://developerfacingstartup.dev/
- Value Proposition Design book https://www.amazon.com/Value-Proposition-Design-Customers-Strategyzer/dp/1118968050
- Lean Customer Development book https://www.amazon.com/Lean-Customer-Development-Hardcover-version/dp/1449356354
Takeaways
- Technical advisory board tweaks for dev marketers implementing this (including the chief scientist persona, social media marketing)
- Creating authority and actual thought leadership content as a non SME marketer
- Examples of owning the problem midnshare from Neo4j (graph database newsletter)
- Strategic narrative framing for dev tools + example from sourcegraph
- Technology discovery loop for devs (and getting into those loops)
- Dark matter devs and how to solve it with targeting “alpha developers” who in turn speak to other devs
- Free anonymous piece of product + examples from Neo4j and Sourcegraph
- Adjusted value proposition design framework (pains, gains, jobs to be done, AND changes in the environment)
- Why influencer marketing is the thing to do. Why Adam believes that paid flavor of this doesn’t work. And what you should do instead
- When introductory developer content is actually the play
- Creating research-based content factory with an example from jFrog and Tailscale
- And finally, why Adam’s is even doing this.
Chapters
00:00 The Importance of Iteration in Development
04:05 The Role of Feedback in Product Development
06:29 Understanding Intellectual Property in Tech
09:30 The Evolution of AI and Its Interfaces
12:39 The Value of Customer Feedback
14:53 The Journey of a Developer Marketer
17:38 Creating a Technical Advisory Board
20:44 The Role of Problem Framing in Marketing
36:55 Becoming an Expert: The Two Paths
39:06 The Social Nature of Development
40:02 Recruiting Top Talent: Strategies for Marketers
42:16 The Journalist Approach to Marketing
44:07 Building Authority Through Reporting
45:36 Engaging with Your Audience on Social Media
48:17 The Pitfalls of Content Marketing
51:18 Thought Leadership vs. Content Marketing
53:34 Defining Categories in Marketing
55:38 Effective Tab Interviews: Key Questions
01:00:53 Identifying Trends in Development
01:10:17 Understanding the Developer Discovery Loop
01:12:39 Understanding the Alpha Developer
01:17:49 The Importance of Free and Anonymous Products
01:21:53 Listening to Developers: The Key to Innovation
01:29:37 Identifying and Prioritizing Problems
01:36:38 Becoming a Developer Influencer
01:47:09 The Mission to Improve Software Tools
Keywords
podcast, teaching, feedback, iteration, intellectual property, AI, DevTools, marketing, content marketing, thought leadership, thought leadership, tech marketing, developer engagement, market research, product differentiation, developer discovery, community building, content marketing, software tools, startup strategy