Why do some developer-focused products achieve massive adoption while others fail to gain traction, even with great technology? The answer often lies at the intersection of Developer Relations (DevRel) and Documentation.

In this session, Cassiano Moraes (CEO @ WriteChoice) and Marcos Placona (Founder of DevRel Bridge) break down how strategic DevRel and high-quality documentation work together as a powerful engine for growth.

Learn why you only have five minutes to capture a developer's "Aha Moment" and how your docs are often your most critical commercial asset—even more important than your homepage. Marcos and Cassiano discuss the complete developer journey, from the common pitfalls founders face (like developer bias) to building a self-sustaining "flywheel" of content and community that drives activation, retention, and revenue.

🗣️ Meet the Speakers

• Marcos Placona: Founder of DevRel Bridge, Marcos is a Developer Relations professional with over 12 years of experience. With a background as a software engineer at companies like Twilio and Circle, he now helps developer-first companies scale faster through strategic DevRel, community building, and content strategy.

• Cassiano Moraes CEO @ WriteChoice, Cassiano founded WriteChoice in 2020 with the clear mission of helping SaaS and API-first companies succeed by creating high-quality documentation. His work focuses on building documentation portals that increase product adoption, reduce support tickets, and maximize growth.

  
  

💡 Key Takeaways

This conversation is packed with actionable insights for founders, product managers, and marketing leaders in the developer space.

• What is DevRel? Understand DevRel as a strategic function that bridges the gap between your product and the developers who use it, directly influencing activation, time-to-value, and retention.
  
  

• The 5-Minute Rule: You have about five minutes to grab a developer's attention. If your docs are broken, your SDK is confusing, or the "Aha Moment" is buried, you've lost them.
  
  

• Documentation is Your Best Marketing: For a technical audience, your documentation is your marketing. Marcos calls a doc-focused fintech his "dream client," as developers will check your docs and API references long before they read a case study.
  
  

• When to Start DevRel: The ideal time isn't at Series C (when you're fixing problems). The "magic window" is from Seed to Series A, allowing you to shape your community and find your ICP from day one.
  
  

• The "Unfair Problem" for Founders: Founders are biased by their own product knowledge. This is why external DevRel and documentation experts are critical—they see the product from the user's perspective.
  
  

• Building the DevRel Flywheel: Learn the step-by-step process to build momentum:

  1. Create a "home" for developers (with code snippets!).

  2. Instrument your user journey (e.g., with PostHog) to find friction points.

  3. Execute content campaigns (blogs, webinars) to fill gaps.

  4. Build a community (like Discord) as a "gold mine" for feedback and content ideas.
     
     

• The Work is Never Done: Stopping DevRel or doc maintenance causes you to lose all momentum. Learn how to use small retainers or hire full-time to keep the flywheel spinning.
  
  

• Startup vs. Enterprise DevRel: Discover the different goals for each. Startups focus on acquisition and finding Product-Market Fit, while enterprises are often fixing past mistakes or revamping their developer experience.