DevTools Brew #34: Cloudflare: From Self-Serve to Enterprise, Mastering Developer Marketing: the Good and the Bad...
Hey folks, welcome to DevTools Brew #34!
If you're new here, my name is Morgan Perry, co-founder of Qovery, and every Saturday, I share the stories, strategies, and insights behind the most successful devtool companies.
In this Issue #34:
📈 Cloudflare: From Self-Serve to Enterprise
💻 Mastering Developer Marketing: the Good and the Bad
⭐ Star History Weekly Pick
💰 Devtools Funding Rounds of The Week
I hope you will enjoy this new edition.
Let's dive in!
📈 Cloudflare: From Self-Serve to Enterprise
Today, we're diving into the fascinating journey of Cloudflare, the unsung hero of the Internet. While you might not have heard much about them, they're the power behind over 10% of global HTTP traffic. Let's unveil the growth secrets behind this tech giant's transformation from a self-serve developer product to an essential component of the internet ecosystem in just 7 years 👇
Key Insights:
1. Laddering Up with Strategic Growth Strategies
Early Days: Developer-Focused Growth 🧑💻
Cloudflare's initial approach was akin to a Stripe-like model focused on developers. They emphasized community engagement and created high-quality technical blog content based on product improvements.
By improving the product and providing educational resources, they made it appealing for developers to try Cloudflare. The simplicity of integration and low-cost pricing made the decision to adopt Cloudflare quite low-risk.
Moving Upmarket: Enterprise Adoption 🏢
As Cloudflare gained momentum, they leveraged their growing user base to venture into enterprise territory.
The credibility gained from aggregating a large customer base made Cloudflare the "safe" choice for enterprises. This credibility, established through their history of handling a significant portion of global HTTP(S) traffic, helped in closing larger enterprise deals.
2. Building Defensibility through Data Network Effect
Smart Data Network Strategy
Cloudflare focused on gathering valuable data, especially from small-scale customers who lacked dedicated security teams. This strategy allowed them to detect and respond to threats more swiftly.
As Cloudflare's user base grew, the data network effect kicked in, turning every additional customer and their data into a value-added asset for the entire network.
Unique User-Generated Content (UGC)
Cloudflare's access to a substantial volume of user-generated data provided a significant cost advantage.
This advantage allowed them to offer fixed pricing plans, a notable departure from competitors who often relied on metered pricing models.
3. Weathering the Storm: Seizing Industry Scale Effects
Benefiting from Industry Trends
Cloudflare fortuitously aligned with several industry trends, such as the rise of IoT, the growth of cryptocurrencies, and Google's Panda update.
These trends created substantial organic demand for their services. IoT's proliferation led to more potent DDoS attacks, cryptocurrencies spawned new forms of ransomware, and Google's algorithm updates emphasized site speed and latency.
Network Scale Effects
Cloudflare's earlier focus on smaller customers enabled them to establish a data network effect.
Smaller businesses, often without dedicated security teams, were more willing to grant Cloudflare deeper access to their network data, facilitating early threat detection and mitigation.
Enterprise Credibility
Cloudflare's solid track record in mitigating large-scale DDoS attacks and managing a substantial portion of HTTP(S) traffic made them the "safe" choice for enterprises.
Enterprise clients, often risk-averse when it comes to security, placed significant weight on Cloudflare's reputation, resulting in larger contracts and a compounding reputation over time.
4. Devtools Laddering: Lessons for Startups
Success in Stages 📈
Cloudflare's journey exemplifies how Devtools startups can ascend from self-serve offerings to enterprise-level services.
They continually discovered new growth strategies and leveraged their unique strengths to provide increasing value to customers at each stage.
5. Looking to the Future: Cloudflare Stream
Scaling Up with Cloudflare Stream
Cloudflare's recent launch of Cloudflare Stream, an end-to-end video streaming offering, showcases their expansion into higher value-added services.
By using their existing scale, Cloudflare competes in ways that are difficult for competitors to replicate, signaling the next stage of their growth.
In just 7 years, Cloudflare has evolved from a tech underdog to a powerhouse, and their journey teaches us valuable lessons about strategic growth, data networks, and laddering up in the world of DevTools. Stay tuned for more insights from the world of DevTools companies in our next newsletter! 🌐📩 #DevToolMasters #CloudflareInsights
—> To explore more, read the full story here - published initially by Reforge.
💻 Mastering Developer Marketing: the Good and the Bad
Now, let’s delve into the world of developer marketing. How can you make it not just bearable but actually compelling? Cecilia Stallsmith has curated an insightful how-to guide that reveals the do's and don'ts of developer marketing. This guide is your treasure map to hit the mark with your developer audience. 👇
❌ The Notorious 'Bad' in Developer Marketing
Bad 1: Tone-deaf Content
Phrases like "join the movement," "instant innovation," or "unleash the power" might sound great for other audiences, but for developers, they're cringe-worthy.
Developers can sense when marketing content is out of touch. Using code snippets that feel unnatural or adopting buzzwords that developers don't resonate with is a big no-no.
Bad 2: Do Nothing
Some successful developer companies have taken the "we don't need marketing" approach. While it can work for a few, it's risky.
Marketing isn't just about having a team; it's about how your brand is perceived, how your product is discovered, and how you win developers over.
Bad 3: Try to Out-Market a Weak Product
In the world of developer products, you can't cover up a weak product with marketing magic. Developers know their stuff, and they expect quality.
Your product should speak for itself. Marketing can't rescue a subpar offering.
Bad 4: Forget About Other Audiences
Developers don't operate in isolation. Remember that project managers, security teams, procurement, and legal are part of the process.
Ignoring these secondary audiences can be a mistake. Providing them with resources that align with their interests is a smart move.
✅ The Good in Developer Marketing: Strategies that Shine Bright
Good 1: Show, Don't Tell
Developers appreciate seeing your product in action. Show them code snippets or demonstrate how your product works.
Visual demonstrations can help developers grasp the utility of your product more effectively.
Good 2: Your Marketing Site Matters, but Your Docs REALLY Matter
Stripe's iconic developer brand is largely built on the strength of its documentation.
Clear, well-organized documentation with excellent code samples can unblock your audience and make their experience smoother.
Good 3: Be Succinct
Clear and concise language trumps jargon and business lingo. Speak directly and technically.
User interviews, AI writing tools, and input from your dev team can help you refine your messaging.
Good 4: Content Marketing Has to Be High Value
Fluffy content doesn't cut it. Technical content with depth, like that from fly.io, Honeycomb, or earthly.dev, drives real audience growth.
High-value, technically sound content fuels impressions and SEO.
Good 5: Provide a Variety of Onramps
Developers have different needs and preferences. Offer a range of integration options, from drag-and-drop to raw endpoints.
Stripe's approach, with options for no-code and complex integrations, is an excellent example.
Developer marketing isn't just an art; it's a science, and by following these tips, you can master it. Whether you're looking to improve your existing strategies or embark on a new marketing journey, these insights shared by Cecilia Stallsmith can steer you in the right direction.
⭐ Star History Weekly Pick
The Star History Weekly Pick is:
Twenty: “Building a modern alternative to Salesforce, powered by the community.”
⭐️ 5.2k stars reached
💰 Devtools Funding Rounds of The Week
Oxide, the latest startup to try and bring the power of the cloud on-prem, announced a $44 million Series A.
Chkk, a startup that helps keep complex Kubernetes environments up and running, announced a prior $5.2M seed investment led by Sequoia Capital.
Ternary, a cloud spend management startup, raises $12M in a Series A funding round.
MangoBoost, an AI-based data center optimization startup, raised $55M Series A.
It’s already over! If you have any comments or feedback, you can reach out to me on LinkedIn or Twitter.
Thanks for reading,
Morgan
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