In 2021 I gave a talk about “Guerilla DevRel” at DevRelCon 2021. “How to start DevRel and turn around the culture without burning out”, I said. Oh well, actually I was recovering after one burnout and depression, and heading into much more turbulence. So, here is a 2.0 edition!

Many developers care about end user experience, especially when those end users are other fellow developers. But do their companies really care? Despite the product-led growth buzz, not everyone has a DevRel strategy beyond slides. “Top-to-bottom sales for the win”, “let’s work with VPs” they say. Can a single contributor turn around the culture and introduce developer relations in a big company? Maybe! Can they burn out in the process? Well, I did.

We will talk about setting up developer relations and open communications culture in a rigid enterprise environment. How to get started without any resources? How to find allies and avoid making foes? What could possibly go right (sic!)? And how to actually make a difference and prove it? What is InnerSource and how is it related to this talk? And, if you end up in a similar situation, I will be happy to share some tips on how to preserve yourself and avoid burnout, from me and other DevRel folks with similar stories.