Paige Paquette works in marketing at OpenAI and is a partner and co-founder of Calyx Consulting. She previously built developer marketing and community and ran platform marketing at Slack. Her work focuses on helping companies launch and grow developer platforms, ecosystems, and go-to-market programs.
Key Learnings from Paige Paquette's Work
These "learnings" are principles and frameworks that Paquette advocates for in her roles at Calyx Consulting, her Reforge course, and her "Developer GTM" Substack newsletter.
On Developer Marketing Strategy
- The Flywheel Effect is Crucial: A successful platform creates a virtuous cycle: more developers building apps leads to more customer discovery and usage, which in turn fuels more development. [3]
- Focus on "Jobs to Be Done": Understand the "job" a developer is "hiring" your product to do. This framework is more effective than focusing on features alone. [3]
- Build a Simple Funnel: To identify growth bottlenecks, map out the developer journey and understand where users are dropping off. [3]
- Develop a Launch Playbook: A launch is not a single event. Plan tactics for the day of the launch and a series of follow-on activities to maintain momentum. [3]
- Champion-Led Growth is Powerful: While product-led growth (PLG) is valuable, fostering internal champions who advocate for your product can be a highly effective strategy.
- Don't Let Sales Cannibalize PLG: If you don't have enough marketing-qualified leads, your sales team may end up closing deals that would have converted on their own, which is an expensive way to grow.
- Marketing Problems are Often Company-Wide: Many challenges attributed to marketing are, in fact, cross-functional, strategic issues that require broader collaboration to solve.
On Content and Communication
- Lead with Use Cases: Your content should immediately address the reader's needs and the problems your product solves for them. [3]
- Every Sentence Must Have a Purpose: Avoid fluff and marketing jargon. Write clearly and concisely. [3]
- Speak to What is True Today: Instead of dwelling on how difficult things used to be, focus on the current problems you are solving for your audience. [3]
- Authenticity Builds Trust: To build a brand that resonates with developers, you need to pass the "BS test" by being genuine and trustworthy.
- Evolve Your Voice as You Move Upmarket: Your brand's voice and messaging may need to adapt as you begin to target larger, enterprise customers.
On Platform and Ecosystem Growth
- Identify Your Most Impactful Use Cases: Understand how your platform delivers the most value to your target audience. [4]
- Build Compelling Value Propositions: Clearly articulate why developers should join and build within your community. [4]
- Kickstart Your Platform Flywheel: Proactively identify and address issues in the developer journey to keep developers happy, successful, and retained. [4]
- Articulate the Value of the Developer Platform: Clearly communicate how the work of the developer relations and marketing teams supports the company's top-level goals. [4]
- Mediocre Docs Sabotage Growth: High-quality documentation is not just a resource; it's a critical component of your growth funnel.
- Delight Your Customers: Go beyond simply providing a service. Focus on creating a positive and delightful experience for your users.
Sources and Further Reading
- DevRelCon San Francisco 2019 Talk: A foundational source for many of Paquette's core philosophies on developer marketing. The full transcript and video are available online. [3][4]
- "Developer GTM" Substack by Calyx Consulting: Co-authored by Paige Paquette, this newsletter offers ongoing insights and interviews with leaders in the developer-first space. [3]
- Reforge Course - "Growing a Thriving Developer Platform": This course, created by Paquette, outlines her strategic approach to building and scaling developer ecosystems. [4]
- The Org Professional Profile: Provides a summary of her career and current role at Calyx Consulting. [5]
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