Looking Back on Two Years of DevRel Consulting aka I'm (Almost) No Longer Consulting aka Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes

If you read the entire title, congratulations 😅 Also, you’ve now got the TL;DR of this blogpost. But trust me… there’s more. Let’s dive in.

A little over two years ago I took the leap to start my own business and create resources for the DevRel community. It’s been an incredible journey with all sorts of rollercoaster experiences, and it’s one that I thought I’d continue doing for quite some time.

After all, there’s a huge need in the industry for folks who can step in and offer stability to a fledging DevRel team, helping companies build a foundation that will set their new initiative (and team) up for success. There’s also still a fairly big gap in DevRel resources, despite the work that many have done in the last year or so. (Stay tuned for a DevRel FAQ with links to some of these awesome sources!)

In these last two years, I’ve seen the industry grow by leaps and bounds. At a glance: 

• There are now several companies that have C-suite executives with Developer Relations or Community titles. There are even more companies that are creating a stand-alone DevRel team with a Director or VP-level leader who has a DevRel background, and there are easily 10 new IC-level jobs coming across my plate per week.

• Kate Pond helps me sort through close to 1,000 links per week to curate DevRel Weekly, which is steadily coming up on 1,000 subscribers.

• When I published my “4 Things I’ve Learned…” blogpost last January, the DevRel Collective Slack community had 700 members and it’s now over 1,400 members, with 15-20 new applications per week. The admin team has grown from 3-6 people and has become strong enough that I’ve taken a step back from management responsibilities for a little while, which is how I know we’ve built a strong team!

In addition, the number of companies who are starting a new program, looking for advice, or even just curious about Developer Relations, has grown exponentially over the past two years. 

(c) Alison Yin Photography, Sept 2019, POST/CON 2019

It’s absolutely a “right place, right time” situation for DevRel professionals who are looking to take the next step in their career. Which, as it turns out, is exactly what I’m doing!

Before you ask, no, I’m not expanding my business, I’m not writing another book, and I’m not producing a conference.

I’m joining Camunda as their Director of Developer Relations on Dec 9, taking on the task of launching their DevRel initiative and building a global Developer Relations team.

Some of you may be asking why, given what that I just said about being in the right place at the right time in the industry, and how there’s a huge need for folks who have the experience and ability to help companies set a strong DevRel foundation. 

And those are completely valid questions to ask! They’re questions I was asking myself for several months as I began having these conversations with Camunda, and as I simultaneously continued to build out a business plan for 2020 for Persea Consulting.

But here’s the deal. There are jobs that come along sometimes that you just know are the right opportunity. Everything lines up. You’re within running distance of the rainbow and able to find the leprechaun on your first try. The red flags that are usually there are suddenly, magically gone, and you’ve triple checked to make sure you’re not wearing rose-tinted sunglasses. These are once-in-a-lifetime roles that you simply can’t turn down.

There were a few things in particular that intrigued me about this role:

• Camunda truly cares about the technical communities they’re serving. They’ve built a strong open-source foundation over the years and while they haven’t had an official DevRel initiative in the past, the work that co-founder Bernd Rucker has done over the past 18 months has set the groundwork for a successful team.

• The leaders know their limitations. They’re not afraid to say “We’ve done these things and think it might be worthwhile to continue in this direction, but we’re out of our element and need someone else to step in.” I have the utmost respect for leaders who are not only able but willing to recognize when they need additional help in order to build a successful initiative.

• The team is its own entity. Debates about where DevRel should live within the organization are common throughout the tech industry, and I have long been a proponent of creating a DevRel team as a standalone department. In this case, my team will be reporting directly to the CTO, with the VP of Product as my peer. We’ll be working closely with all of the other departments across the company, serving as an internal consultancy, providing insight into the community that we’re serving on a day-to-day basis.

• We’re building a globally distributed team. Camunda’s userbase originated in Europe, but as the product has grown, they’ve been expanding in the Americas and around the world, which of course requires a team of people in appropriate locations (read also: I’ll be hiring in the near future!). I’m a huge fan of distributed teams who are given the tools to be successful, and Camunda has already proven themselves capable of this with their current staff. For instance, their all-hands meetings are held online rather than in person, with each employee calling in from their individual laptop, regardless of where they’re located geographically.

• I’ll be continuing to create resources for the greater DevRel industry. The primary mission for Persea Consulting has always been to provide resources that will push the DevRel industry forward, and I’ll be continuing to do that while at Camunda. In fact, 20% of my time will be dedicated to doing just that. Additionally, since a large part of my role at Camunda will be to build and scale a globally distributed DevRel team, I’ll have a new perspective from which to create content.

To me, this new role is an opportunity to grow and stretch my wings, while simultaneously continuing to give back to the DevRel community in a slightly different way. I’ll still be coaching and mentoring DevRel professionals, albeit on a slightly small scale. I’ll still be producing resources, including blogposts, conference talks, and DevRel Weekly, in addition to the Community Pulse podcast. I’ve also got a few other things up my sleeve that I’m excited to try out with the Camunda DevRel team before releasing to the broader industry!

In short, I’m not going anywhere. My desire is still first-and-foremost to be a resource to the greater DevRel community, and this role gives me the opportunity to do exactly that. Together, I believe we have the power to shape this industry and give it the legitimacy and solid foundation it needs to thrive for years to come.