Built for Devs GTM Playbook

This is our own GTM playbook, in case you're curious about what your GTM playbook may look like if you work with us. And yes, this is our playbook that is exposed publicly. We're not worried about our competition, we're confident in our difference factors and the audience we serve. Plus, there is plenty of work to go around.

Use Case: GTM Consultant for Early-Stage Dev Tool Founders

Business-Critical Pain Point

Early-stage dev tool founders struggle to effectively validate their market fit and create a go-to-market strategy that resonates with developers. This results in slow adoption, inefficient use of resources, and potential failure to gain traction in a competitive market.

Additional Challenges Addressed

• Difficulty in prioritizing product features that truly matter to developers
• Inefficient marketing efforts due to poorly defined target audiences
• Lack of consistent, valuable feedback from the target market
• Struggle to differentiate in a crowded dev tool landscape
• Uncertainty in pricing strategy and communicating value proposition
• Ineffective developer onboarding leading to low adoption rates

Target Audience

• Founders of early to mid-stage SaaS developer tools
• Typically pre-seed to Series A (potentially early Series B)
• Often have strong technical backgrounds but limited marketing experience
• Focused on AI/ML or Developer Productivity

Solution

Provide a comprehensive, two-phase approach to validate market fit, create a tailored go-to-market strategy, and execute developer relations activities:

Dev Tool Traction Accelerator (Four Week Program)

• Hypothesize and validate market fit
• Identify business-critical pain points the tool solves
• Define target developer audience and micro-segments
• Analyze competitors and differentiate value proposition
• Optimize developer experience through audit and friction-logging
• Form a Technical Advisory Board for ongoing insights
• Craft a tailored go-to-market playbook

DevRel Done-for-You Services

• Implement strategies from the GTM playbook
• Engage with developer communities on behalf of clients
• Create and distribute targeted content
• Optimize developer experience and onboarding
• Technical Advisory Board for ongoing insights
• Deliver custom metrics dashboard for real-time tracking
• Provide ongoing strategy refinement and execution

Key Benefits

• Accelerated Market Validation: Quickly confirm product-market fit
• Continuous Insights: Technical Advisory Board for ongoing product and strategy feedback
• Tailored GTM Strategy: Receive a customized playbook for your specific dev tool
• Higher Adoption: An onboarding and experience that developers will love.
• Expert Execution: Leverage experienced DevRel professionals for implementation
• Precision Marketing: Reach the right developers with tailored messaging
• Scalable Approach: Adjust marketing efforts based on current needs and growth stage

Bonus Benefits

• Resource Efficiency: Focus on product development and partnerships while experts handle GTM
• Focused Product Development: Prioritize features that resonate with your target developers
• Competitive Edge: Clearly differentiate your tool in the market
• Optimized Pricing: Develop a pricing strategy that reflects your tool's value and market position

Unique Value Proposition

"In four weeks, we validate your market fit and craft your dev tool's go-to-market playbook. Then, our industry developers and experts implement it with our DevRel Done-for-You services, accelerating developer growth."

Success Metrics

• Time to first paying customer post-strategy implementation
• Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR) growth rate
• Time to $xK MRR milestone
• Time to market validation (achieving product-market fit)
• Time to first 100 active users post-strategy implementation
• Increase in user adoption rate (target: 3x industry average)
• Month-over-month growth in new sign-ups
• Growth in developer community engagement
• Improvement in developer satisfaction scores
• Reduction in time-to-value for new users
• Decrease in customer acquisition cost

Client Testimonial

"The first thing that comes to mind about Tessa is that she deeply understands the wants and needs of the developer audience and is able to empathize with them and advocate for them with internal teams. To say another way, she's great at ensuring the teams that build products for developers do so in a way that is developer-friendly and gets at the core of the problem they’re trying to solve. As a bonus, I think she's great at putting all of this into detailed strategy, documents, and plans that are easy to follow and help rally a team behind her to solve." - Alston Cheek, SnapAR, Camera Kit SDK

Target Customer: SaaS Developer Tool Founders

Company Stage

• Early to mid-stage startups
• Pre-seed to Series A (potentially early Series B)

Product Type

• SaaS (Software as a Service) developer tools
• Tools that solve business-critical pain points for developers

Founder Characteristics

• Technical background (ideally developers themselves)
• Limited experience in marketing or go-to-market strategies
• Passionate about solving developer problems
• Open to expert guidance and willing to invest in growth

Company Situation

• Have a working product or advanced prototype
• Struggling to gain traction or looking to achieve product-market fit
• Looking to accelerate user acquisition and revenue growth
• Need help articulating their value proposition and differentiating from competitors
• Aiming to build credibility and trust within the developer community

Budget and Resources

• Have secured some funding or revenue to invest in growth
• Limited in-house marketing or developer relations expertise
• Willing to invest and commit to a four-week strategy development process
• Interested in ongoing support for strategy implementation

Developer Tool Founder Micro-Segments

Focusing on early to mid-stage SaaS developer tool founders, we've identified three key micro-segments:

AI/ML Tool Founders

Founder Background

• Strong data science or machine learning expertise
• Academic or research background in AI/ML fields
• First-time founders with deep technical knowledge but limited business experience
• Previous experience in large tech companies' AI divisions
• Serial entrepreneurs entering the AI/ML space
• PhDs or postdoctoral researchers commercializing their work

Common Challenges

• Translating complex AI/ML capabilities into clear value propositions
• Identifying and reaching the right customer segments for their AI/ML solution
• Determining appropriate pricing for AI/ML tools in a rapidly evolving market
• Creating compelling demos that showcase AI/ML capabilities to non-technical audiences
• Communicating AI/ML concepts effectively to investors and potential customers
• Balancing innovation with market-ready features
• Designing user onboarding for varying levels of AI/ML expertise

Go-to-Market Needs

• Strategies to articulate AI/ML benefits and ROI to different stakeholders
• Guidance on identifying and targeting AI/ML-specific user personas
• Support in developing pricing models that reflect AI/ML tool value
• Assistance in creating impactful demo strategies for AI/ML capabilities
• Help in crafting clear narratives around complex AI/ML concepts
• Approaches to build credibility and trust in the AI/ML space
• Frameworks for prioritizing AI/ML product features based on market demand
• Strategies for scalable user onboarding and adoption

Tailoring Your Approach

• Showcase deep understanding of AI/ML market trends in your marketing materials
• Develop case studies of successful GTM strategies for AI/ML tools
• Create content that bridges technical AI capabilities with business value
• Offer workshops on translating AI/ML features into compelling market positioning
• Provide frameworks for AI/ML-specific pricing strategies
• Develop templates for communicating AI/ML ROI to different audiences
• Create guides for building trust and credibility in the AI/ML market
• Offer strategies for creating effective AI/ML developer relations programs

Developer Productivity Tool Founders

Founder Background

• Seasoned developers or engineering managers
• DevOps specialists with a focus on workflow optimization
• Former tech leads frustrated with existing tools
• UX designers specializing in developer experiences
• Entrepreneurs with a history of developer-focused startups
• Open-source contributors looking to commercialize popular projects

Common Challenges

• Differentiating their tool in a saturated market of developer productivity solutions
• Quantifying and communicating the impact on developer efficiency
• Balancing feature richness with simplicity in product messaging
• Addressing diverse needs across different development methodologies in GTM strategy
• Showcasing seamless integration with popular IDEs and workflows
• Setting realistic expectations around productivity gains in marketing materials
• Convincing developers to adopt new tools and change established habits
• Developing pricing strategies that appeal to both individual developers and enterprises
• Creating scalable support strategies for a technical and demanding user base
• Staying relevant amidst rapidly evolving development practices and tools

Go-to-Market Needs

• Strategies for driving rapid adoption and viral growth within development teams
• Frameworks for quantifying and communicating productivity improvements
• Guidance on positioning UX as a key differentiator for developer tools
• Approaches to showcase compatibility with various development frameworks
• Strategies for highlighting integration capabilities with major IDEs and DevOps tools
• Techniques for effective developer education and habit-formation in marketing
• Frameworks for building and leveraging developer communities for growth
• Guidance on creating pricing models that resonate with both developers and enterprises
• Strategies for scaling developer-centric support and documentation
• Approaches to communicate a compelling product roadmap to the developer community

Tailoring Your Approach

• Demonstrate deep understanding of developer workflows and pain points in your marketing
• Develop case studies showcasing successful GTM strategies for developer tools
• Create content that addresses the unique challenges of marketing to developers
• Offer workshops on crafting developer-centric value propositions and messaging
• Provide frameworks for measuring and communicating developer productivity gains
• Guide the creation of developer-focused content marketing strategies
• Assist in developing community-driven growth strategies for developer tools
• Offer support in creating pricing strategies that appeal to both individual developers and enterprises
• Develop strategies for staying ahead of emerging development trends in marketing efforts

Developer Tool Founder Profiles

AI/ML Tool Founders

Personality Traits

• Highly analytical and data-driven
• Often perfectionist, focused on model accuracy and performance
• Passionate about pushing the boundaries of technology
• May struggle with simplifying complex concepts for a broader audience

Motivations

• Solving complex problems using cutting-edge technology
• Democratizing AI/ML capabilities
• Making a significant impact in their field of expertise
• Gaining recognition in the AI/ML community

Pain Points

• Difficulty in explaining the value of their tool to non-technical stakeholders
• Challenges in pricing their product, often undervaluing their innovation
• Struggle with the business aspects of running a startup
• Concerns about keeping up with the rapid pace of AI/ML advancements

Where to Reach Them

• AI/ML startup conferences and expo events (e.g., AI Summit, MLCONF)
• Tech incubators and accelerators specializing in AI startups (e.g., AI Nexus Lab, Creative Destruction Lab)
• LinkedIn groups focused on AI entrepreneurship and AI/ML startups
• AI-focused venture capital firms' events and office hours
• AI/ML startup pitch competitions and demo days
• Industry-specific AI conferences with startup tracks (healthcare AI, fintech AI, etc.)
• AI/ML focused episodes of popular tech and startup podcasts
• AngelList and other platforms connecting AI startups with investors
• ProductHunt's AI tools category and related discussions
• Startup-focused AI/ML Slack channels and Discord servers
• AI/ML startup showcases at major tech conferences (e.g., TechCrunch Disrupt, Web Summit)
• AI entrepreneurship programs at top universities
• AI/ML startup focused webinars and virtual events
• X/Twitter chats and spaces focused on AI startups and trends
• Medium publications and Substack newsletters dedicated to AI/ML business and startups
• AI/ML startup founder meetups in tech hub cities
• Online communities for AI/ML tool creators (e.g., chat.openai.com developer forum)
• AI/ML business and startup focused subreddits
• Entrepreneurship events at major AI/ML academic conferences (NeurIPS, ICML, etc.)

Marketing Approach

• Emphasize your understanding of the AI/ML landscape and its unique challenges
• Showcase case studies of how you've helped other AI startups succeed
• Offer insights on translating technical capabilities into business value
• Provide resources on AI ethics and responsible AI development

Developer Productivity Tool Founders

Personality Traits

• Efficiency-oriented and process-driven
• Often opinionated about best practices in software development
• Collaborative and community-minded
• Frustrated with inefficiencies in current development workflows

Motivations

• Improving the day-to-day lives of fellow developers
• Creating tools they wish they had in their previous roles
• Building a community around better development practices
• Increasing the overall quality and speed of software development

Pain Points

• Difficulty in quantifying and demonstrating productivity improvements
• Challenges in user adoption, especially in larger organizations
• Balancing customization options with ease of use
• Competing against both established players and new entrants in a crowded market

Where to Reach Them

• Startup accelerators and incubators focusing on developer tools (e.g., Y Combinator, TechStars)
• Venture capital firms specializing in developer tools and platforms
• Tech startup conferences
• Entrepreneurship-focused online communities
• LinkedIn groups for startup founders and tech entrepreneurs
• AngelList and other platforms connecting startups with investors
• Startup-focused podcast networks and business of software podcasts
• Tech industry trade shows and expos
• Coworking spaces and innovation hubs in tech-centric cities
• Startup pitch competitions and demo days
• Business of software conferences and events
• SaaS and B2B software industry meetups and forums
• Entrepreneurship programs at technology-focused universities
• GitHub's "Built on GitHub" showcases for tool creators
• ProductHunt's developer tools category and maker communities
• Substack newsletters focusing on startups and tech entrepreneurship
• X/Twitter hashtags related to startups, SaaS, and tech entrepreneurship
• Founder-focused Slack communities and Discord servers
• Subreddits for startups, entrepreneurship, and SaaS businesses
• Professional organizations for tech entrepreneurs and business leaders

Marketing Approach

• Demonstrate your deep understanding of development workflows and pain points
• Offer actionable advice on community building and developer relations
• Provide insights on pricing strategies and demonstrating ROI for productivity tools
• Share strategies for turning power users into product advocates