From Stocks to Stacks: Economics Lessons for DevRel

From balancing risk to maximizing reward, MLH’s CEO and self-professed finance nerd, Swift, will walk us through how we can apply lessons from economic theory to our work in DevRel.

This talk was given at DevRelCon NYC in 2024.

Transcript

1. $TOCK$ STACKS An Economics Lesson for DevRel FROM TO By: @theycallmeswift
2. I’m going give you a framework to maximize your DevRel ROI.
3. Let’s evaluate three hypothetical DevRel organizations at different stages: Startup 🚀 Searching for Product Market Fit (PMF). 1 Growth 🌿 Building market share & brand awareness. 2 Mature 🎓 Preserving market share & deeping integrations. 3
4. Startup 🚀 Growth 🌿 Mature 🎓 Resources Target ROI Investment Style Investment Strategies
5. I’ve been building developer communities & brands for 15 years.
6. 1. Presidential Biographies 󰑔 2. AI Science Fiction 🤖 3. Finance & Monetary Policy 💵 2023 Reading Themes:
8. Today 1 in 3 Computer Science graduates in the USA are already MLH Community Members.
9. 9 TRUSTED BY THESE BRANDS & MANY MORE! MLH helps brands reach developers in an authentic, scalable way.
10. What “Return on Investment” are we seeking in DevRel? 🤔 1. Enterprise Sales 2. Trials / Free Signups 3. Brand Awareness 4. Feedback / Product Dev 5. Relationship Building 6. Use Cases / Content 7. Cross-Functional Value 8. Community Goodwill
11. We generate DevRel ROI by investing in “assets” like: Events Content Community
12. From what I’ve seen, the most common investment strategy in DevRel is basically “Throwing Darts”.
13. Harry Markowitz Father of Modern Portfolio Theory (MPT)
14. An asset’s risk and return should not be assessed by itself, but rather by how it contributes to the overall portfolio return. – Modern Portfolio Theory (MPT)’s Key Insight 💡
15. RISK Systemic vs Specific .
16. We can reduce specific risks through diversification. However, systemic risks cannot be canceled out. 😬 16
17. Your underlying beliefs & philosophies about how to maximize your returns. Investment Style How you actually apply your investment style to building your portfolio. Investment Strategy
18. Startup 🚀 Growth 🌿 Mature 🎓 Resources Target ROI Investment Style Investment Strategies
19. Startup 🚀 Growth 🌿 Mature 🎓 Resources Money: 💰 Time: ⏱⏱⏱ Money: 💰💰 Time: ⏱⏱ Money: 💰💰💰 Time: ⏱ Target ROI Investment Style Investment Strategies
20. Startup 🚀 Growth 🌿 Mature 🎓 Resources Money: 💰 Time: ⏱⏱⏱ Money: 💰💰 Time: ⏱⏱ Money: 💰💰💰 Time: ⏱ Target ROI 1. Use Cases / Content 2. Feedback/Product Dev 3. Relationship Building Investment Style Investment Strategies
21. Startup 🚀 Growth 🌿 Mature 🎓 Resources Money: 💰 Time: ⏱⏱⏱ Money: 💰💰 Time: ⏱⏱ Money: 💰💰💰 Time: ⏱ Target ROI 1. Use Cases / Content 2. Feedback/Product Dev 3. Relationship Building 1. Trials / Free Signups 2. Use Cases / Content 3. Brand Awareness Investment Style Investment Strategies
22. Startup 🚀 Growth 🌿 Mature 🎓 Resources Money: 💰 Time: ⏱⏱⏱ Money: 💰💰 Time: ⏱⏱ Money: 💰💰💰 Time: ⏱ Target ROI 1. Use Cases / Content 2. Feedback/Product Dev 3. Relationship Building 1. Trials / Free Signups 2. Use Cases / Content 3. Brand Awareness 1. Brand Awareness 2. Relationship Building 3. Cross-Function Value Investment Style Investment Strategies
23. Active vs. Passive Are you actively selecting your own investments or relying on someone external to do it for you? Self-Managed Average Cost $5,000 120+ hours $1.5k / person $500 - $1k Avg. Outcomes 10 - 15 30 - 45 $15,000 per event MLH-Managed Average Cost $1,300 <1 hour $0 $200 - $300 Avg. Outcomes 4 - 6 12 - 18 $1,800 per event Sponsor Fee Time Cost Staff T&E Prizes & Swag Projects New Users Cost per Event
24. Value vs. Growth Are you looking for established assets that you know work or trying to get in on the ground level of something growing fast?
25. Large vs. Small Cap Are you looking for big,name-brands where you’ll be one of many voices or for smaller, lesser known assets where you’ll be the center? vs.
26. Startup 🚀 Growth 🌿 Mature 🎓 Resources Money: 💰 Time: ⏱⏱⏱ Money: 💰💰 Time: ⏱⏱ Money: 💰💰💰 Time: ⏱ Target ROI 1. Use Cases / Content 2. Feedback/Product Dev 3. Relationship Building 1. Trials / Free Signups 2. Use Cases / Content 3. Brand Awareness 1. Brand Awareness 2. Relationship Building 3. Cross-Functional ROI Investment Style Investment Strategies
27. Startup 🚀 Growth 🌿 Mature 🎓 Resources Money: 💰 Time: ⏱⏱⏱ Money: 💰💰 Time: ⏱⏱ Money: 💰💰💰 Time: ⏱ Target ROI 1. Use Cases / Content 2. Feedback/Product Dev 3. Relationship Building 1. Trials / Free Signups 2. Use Cases / Content 3. Brand Awareness 1. Brand Awareness 2. Relationship Building 3. Cross-Functional ROI Investment Style • Active (100%) • Growth (100%) • Small Cap (100%) Investment Strategies
28. Startup 🚀 Growth 🌿 Mature 🎓 Resources Money: 💰 Time: ⏱⏱⏱ Money: 💰💰 Time: ⏱⏱ Money: 💰💰💰 Time: ⏱ Target ROI 1. Use Cases / Content 2. Feedback/Product Dev 3. Relationship Building 1. Trials / Free Signups 2. Use Cases / Content 3. Brand Awareness 1. Brand Awareness 2. Relationship Building 3. Cross-Functional ROI Investment Style • Active (100%) • Growth (100%) • Small Cap (100%) • Active/Passive (50%) • Growth (75%) • Small Cap (75%) Investment Strategies
29. Startup 🚀 Growth 🌿 Mature 🎓 Resources Money: 💰 Time: ⏱⏱⏱ Money: 💰💰 Time: ⏱⏱ Money: 💰💰💰 Time: ⏱ Target ROI 1. Use Cases / Content 2. Feedback/Product Dev 3. Relationship Building 1. Trials / Free Signups 2. Use Cases / Content 3. Brand Awareness 1. Brand Awareness 2. Relationship Building 3. Cross-Functional ROI Investment Style • Active (100%) • Growth (100%) • Small Cap (100%) • Active/Passive (50%) • Growth (75%) • Small Cap (75%) • Passive (75%) • Value (75%) • Large Cap (75%) Investment Strategies
30. 1. Be a Contrarian 🔙 2. Quality Over Quantity 💎 3. Throwing Darts 🎯 Startup Investment Strategies
31. Startup 🚀 Growth 🌿 Mature 🎓 Resources Money: 💰 Time: ⏱⏱⏱ Money: 💰💰 Time: ⏱⏱ Money: 💰💰💰 Time: ⏱ Target ROI 1. Use Cases / Content 2. Feedback/Product Dev 3. Relationship Building 1. Trials / Free Signups 2. Use Cases / Content 3. Brand Awareness 1. Brand Awareness 2. Relationship Building 3. Cross-Functional ROI Investment Style • Active (100%) • Growth (100%) • Small Cap (100%) • Active/Passive (50%) • Growth (75%) • Small Cap (75%) • Passive (75%) • Value (75%) • Large Cap (75%) Investment Strategies • Contrarian • Quality • Throwing Darts
32. 1. Style or Theme 🎨 2. Momentum Investing 🏆 3. Satellite & Core 📡 Growth Investment Strategies
33. Startup 🚀 Growth 🌿 Mature 🎓 Resources Money: 💰 Time: ⏱⏱⏱ Money: 💰💰 Time: ⏱⏱ Money: 💰💰💰 Time: ⏱ Target ROI 1. Use Cases / Content 2. Feedback/Product Dev 3. Relationship Building 1. Trials / Free Signups 2. Use Cases / Content 3. Brand Awareness 1. Brand Awareness 2. Relationship Building 3. Cross-Functional ROI Investment Style • Active (100%) • Growth (100%) • Small Cap (100%) • Active/Passive (50%) • Growth (75%) • Small Cap (75%) • Passive (75%) • Value (75%) • Large Cap (75%) Investment Strategies • Contrarian • Quality • Throwing Darts • Style • Momentum • Satellite
34. 1. Buy & Hold On 👌 2. Indexing ⚖ 3. Laddering Payoffs 🪜 Maure Investment Strategies
35. MLH Alumni introduced technology they learned at a hackathon into production at their job. 37%
36. Startup 🚀 Growth 🌿 Mature 🎓 Resources Money: 💰 Time: ⏱⏱⏱ Money: 💰💰 Time: ⏱⏱ Money: 💰💰💰 Time: ⏱ Target ROI 1. Use Cases / Content 2. Feedback/Product Dev 3. Relationship Building 1. Trials / Free Signups 2. Use Cases / Content 3. Brand Awareness 1. Brand Awareness 2. Relationship Building 3. Cross-Functional ROI Investment Style • Active (100%) • Growth (100%) • Small Cap (100%) • Active/Passive (50%) • Growth (75%) • Small Cap (75%) • Passive (75%) • Value (75%) • Large Cap (75%) Investment Strategies • Contrarian • Quality • Throwing Darts • Style • Momentum • Satellite • Buy & Hold • Indexing • Laddering
37. “NO”
38. 1. Take advantage of the hyper-focus on revenue & the USA. 2. Divest from programs that ultimately boil down to glorified tech support. 3. Email & SMS are the most valuable developer networks. Swift’s 2024 DevRel Hot-Takes
39. Thank you & Happy Hacking. Mike “Swift” Swift CEO & Co-founder @ MLH swift@mlh.io | theycallmeswift.dev Slides Available After Talk: speakerdeck.com/theycallmeswift