Adam Frankl: How to Launch & Scale a DevTool Startup (3x VP Marketing at Unicorns)

Adam Frankl was the first VP Marketing at JFrog, Neo4j, and Sourcegraph, all three dev-first unicorns.

He’s helped dozens of early-stage DevTool startups go from “cool idea” to credible company. And now he’s written the book on it.

In this episode, Adam breaks down the biggest mistakes technical founders make when they try to grow. He shares the exact process he’s used to validate real problems, build developer trust, and create go-to-market clarity, before spending a single dollar on ads or content.

This is the DevTool marketing blueprint.

Topics we cover in this episode:

- Why the best DevTools start with a real problem, not a cool idea

- How to recruit a “Technical Advisory Board” to guide your strategy

- The 3 best questions to ask in early-stage user interviews

- Why GitHub stars ≠ validation

- What your first dev-focused marketer should actually do

- How to earn developer trust without hype or paid media

- The difference between a founder brand and a founder POV

- How to become the go-to expert in your space, even if nobody knows you yet

Perfect for:

- DevTool founders figuring out go-to-market

- Early-stage marketers building developer credibility

- Technical leaders turning product into motion

Connect with Adam:

- Adam’s Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamfrankl/

- Adam’s book - The Developer Facing Startup: https://www.amazon.de/-/en/Developer-Facing-Startup-market-developer-facing/dp/B0D4KGHQML

Connect with me:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/finnthormeier/

Website: https://www.project33.io/

Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/03CXzsZp7wdqIRVDcqPTFH

Chapters

00:00 The real DevTool go-to-market playbook

02:10 Why the best companies solve old problems, not invent new ones

04:25 How to validate with 50+ real conversations (not downloads)

06:45 What most founders get wrong about early traction

08:20 GitHub stars ≠ signal

10:00 The “Technical Advisory Board” strategy explained

13:00 How to ask better questions in early interviews

15:10 Why cold outreach work if you lead with value

17:45 The biggest red flags in early-stage feedback

20:30 Turning developer insight into content that actually works

22:50 What your first marketing hire should focus on (it’s not leads)

26:00 Founder POV vs. Founder Brand

28:30 Why developers follow people—not companies

30:15 Adam’s content hierarchy: 1. research, 2. insight, 3. distribution

33:00 The social proof flywheel and when to start turning it

35:45 Picking the right distribution channel for your audience

37:20 Why forced content formats always fail

40:00 Do you need a new category or just a better story?

42:10 Final advice: what early DevTool teams should obsess over

Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/03CXzsZp7wdqIRVDcqPTFH

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/finnthormeier/

Website: https://www.project33.io/

#linkedin #founderledmarketing #linkedinads #linkedinagency #founderbranding #saas #b2bmarketing #demandgeneration #demandgen #content #b2b #revenue #contentmarketing #performancemarketing #videomarketing #personalbranding