Why Understanding Product-Market Fit Makes You a More Valuable DevRel
Senior Developer Advocate at Asana, prev Appsmith | Keynote Speaker & Storyteller | Google Developer Expert. 16+ years building technology for startups and enterprises (IBM, Google, Microsoft, Nintendo). 60+ keynotes worldwide. I turn complex tech into content that drives real product adoption. I help companies build DevRel programs that drive measurable adoption.
If you want to stand out as a Developer Relations professional, there's one concept most people overlook—one that separates tactical and strategic DevRels from just content creators or evangelists: Product-Market Fit.
Most people who want to break into DevRel think about skills like writing, public speaking, creating videos, or building community. All of these are important. But if you don't understand the business context in which you operate, you'll end up executing tactics without knowing if they're actually moving the needle.
Understanding Product-Market Fit gives you an advantage that few have: the ability to think like a strategist, not just an executor.
What Is Product-Market Fit?
Product-Market Fit (PMF) is the point where your product satisfies a real market demand. It's when users don't just try your product, but adopt it, recommend it, and get frustrated when something doesn't work because they already depend on it.
Marc Andreessen, co-founder of Andreessen Horowitz, described it this way: "Product-Market Fit means being in a good market with a product that can satisfy that market."
It sounds like something that should only matter to founders and product managers. But for DevRel, understanding PMF completely changes how you approach your work.
Why PMF Matters for Your DevRel Career
When you understand what stage of PMF a company is in, you can:
1. Make better choices about where to work
Not all DevRel opportunities are equal. A pre-seed startup looking for their first DevRel has completely different needs than a Series C company scaling their community. If you can't distinguish between them, you could end up in a role where conditions don't allow you to succeed, regardless of your talent.
2. Adapt your approach based on context
In a company still searching for PMF, your role is closer to product—gathering feedback, talking to the few active users, iterating alongside the engineering team. In a company with validated PMF, you can focus on scaling: more content, more events, more reach.
3. Set realistic expectations
When you understand the company's stage, you can propose metrics and objectives that make sense. You won't promise 10,000 new users when the product is still pivoting. This protects you and makes you look more professional to stakeholders.
4. Have strategic conversations
Instead of just receiving instructions ("we need more blogs," "make a video about X"), you can participate in discussions about priorities, timing, and how DevRel connects to business objectives. This positions you as a strategic partner, not just a content creator.
5. Demonstrate ROI in ways that matter
Because you know which metrics are relevant at each stage, you can align your work with what actually matters to the company. This makes you invaluable when it's time to justify budget or headcount.
The Stages of PMF and How the DevRel Role Changes
To apply this knowledge, you need to understand what each stage looks like and what type of DevRel work has the most impact in each one.
Pre-PMF (Usually Pre-seed / Seed companies)
Context: The product is in active development. The team is experimenting, iterating, looking for the first users who truly find value. The product may change significantly every few weeks.
What type of DevRel has impact here:
1:1 conversations with the few active users
Direct feedback loops with product
Basic documentation that evolves with the product
Participation in existing communities (not creating your own yet)
Mindset: Closer to product than marketing. The goal is to learn, not to scale.
Initial PMF (Usually Series A)
Context: There are clear signals that something is working. Users who come back, who recommend, who depend on the product. The team can articulate who the product is for and what problem it solves.
What type of DevRel has impact here:
Establishing systems and frameworks (docs structure, content templates)
Creating the first high-quality educational resources
Starting to build community with intention
Formalized feedback loops between community and product
Mindset: Building the foundation to scale. Quality over quantity.
Validated PMF (Usually Series B/C)
Context: The product has real traction. Clear and repeatable use cases. Growth is predictable. It's time to scale.
What type of DevRel has impact here:
Content at scale (videos, tutorials, blogs, webinars)
Presence at events and conferences
Community champions or ambassador programs
Integrations and partnerships with other tools
Mindset: Amplify what works. Scale awareness and adoption.
Post-PMF (Series D+ / IPO / Enterprise)
Context: Established product, millions of users, enterprise use cases. Stability allows for long-term planning.
What type of DevRel has impact here:
Certification programs
Integration and partnership ecosystem
Owned events (user conferences)
Enterprise and Fortune 500 work
Specialized teams (education, community, advocacy)
Mindset: Sophistication and depth. Building ecosystem.
My Experience at Different Stages
I've been fortunate to work at different points on the spectrum, and the difference in how I approach the work is striking.
At Appsmith (Series B):
When I joined, Appsmith had already found its PMF. They knew exactly what problem they solved (building internal applications quickly), for whom (developers at companies who need internal tools), and they had an active community of over 3,000 members.
My job was clear: scale what was already working. We grew the community from 3,000 to over 20,000 members. I produced over 500 videos. I could plan content with confidence because the product had a stable identity.
I knew that every video I created would still be relevant in 6 months. That certainty allowed me to invest in quality and build a resource library that generated compound value over time.
At Kite AI (Pre-PMF):
I also had the chance to contribute to Kite AI, a new product from the same Appsmith founders—but this time from scratch, before any product-market fit existed.
The work was completely different. I wasn't scaling anything. I was helping build the foundation. I conducted user interviews to validate our ICP assumptions. I dug into competitor gaps to help shape our key differentiator. I worked directly with the product team on feature prioritization and collaborated with marketing to craft the initial messaging.
There was no playbook. I wore multiple hats daily—researcher, strategist, copywriter, user advocate. We iterated extremely fast, pivoting based on what we learned each week.
This experience crystallized something important: the same person can thrive at both stages, but the work is fundamentally different. At Appsmith, I amplified. At Kite AI, I discovered. Both require DevRel skills, but applied in completely different ways.
At Asana (post-IPO):
The context is entirely different. Asana has PMF validated by years of operation, millions of users, and proven enterprise use cases.
My focus isn't validating whether the product works—it's building education programs, solid documentation, and working close to partners to understand their usecases. Both the scale and sophistication are worlds apart from startup life.
The stability allows the team to strategize with longer time horizons. I can build deep relationships with the community and plan initiatives that can take months to mature.
The lesson: My skillset is the same in these cases. What changes is how I apply it based on context. Understanding PMF allows me to adapt my approach to maximize impact.
How to Evaluate a Company's PMF?
Whether you're evaluating a role or want to better understand your current company, these signals help you identify where they are:
Signs that PMF EXISTS:
→ Users come back without anyone reminding them. Retention is organic.
→ Growth comes primarily from word-of-mouth, not paid ads.
→ Users get frustrated when something doesn't work. They care because they depend on the product.
→ There are clear and repeatable use cases. Not every user uses the product in a completely different way.
→ The team can clearly articulate who the product is for and what problem it solves.
→ The value proposition doesn't change every month.
Signs they're still SEARCHING for PMF:
→ The product changes significantly every few weeks.
→ Every user seems to have a different use case.
→ Retention is low and no one knows exactly why.
→ The product pitch changes depending on who's presenting it.
→ Founders are still "discovering" who the ideal user is.
→ Lots of experimentation, little repeatability.
Neither situation is inherently bad—they're natural stages of company growth. The key is knowing which one you're in so you can adapt your work accordingly.
The Common Mistake (And How to Avoid It)
It's worth mentioning a pattern that repeats itself: companies that hire DevRel before having PMF, expecting DevRel to help find it.
This puts the DevRel professional in an almost impossible position: they're asked to build community and generate awareness for a product that hasn't yet proven value in the market.
If you find yourself evaluating a role like this, you don't necessarily need to reject it—but you need to enter with clear expectations. Your work will be closer to product than marketing. You'll need to be flexible and comfortable with ambiguity. And you'll need to establish metrics appropriate for the stage.
The key is that you understand the context, even if the company doesn't articulate it clearly. That lets you negotiate realistic expectations and protect your own success.
Questions to Evaluate a DevRel Opportunity
When you're in an interview or evaluating a role, these questions help you understand the context:
How many active users do you currently have? What's the retention?
Where do most of your users come from? Organic or paid?
Can you describe your ideal user without hesitation?
Has the product pivoted significantly in the last 6-12 months?
What do you expect DevRel to achieve in the first 6 months?
Is there a product team I would work directly with?
What's the current funding stage?
The answers will allow you to place the company on the PMF spectrum and decide if the role is right for you and your working style.
This Differentiates You from 90% of Candidates
The reality is that most people who want to break into DevRel only think in terms of tactics. "I can write blogs." "I can give talks." "I have Twitter followers."
All of those skills are valuable. But when you can walk into a conversation and talk about PMF, company stages, and how to adapt DevRel strategy based on context... you're playing in a different league.
Hiring managers notice the difference. Founders notice the difference. You position yourself not as someone who executes tasks, but as someone who understands the business and can contribute strategically.
And once you're inside, that knowledge lets you navigate the organization, align your work with what matters, and demonstrate value in ways others can't.
Final Reflection
Product-Market Fit isn't just a concept for founders and VCs. It's a framework that makes you a better DevRel professional.
It helps you choose where to work, adapt your approach to context, set realistic expectations, have strategic conversations, and demonstrate ROI that actually matters.
The next time you evaluate a DevRel opportunity or want to better understand your current role, ask yourself: What stage of PMF is this company in? The answer will tell you a lot about what type of work will have real impact.
That knowledge is what separates DevRels who execute from DevRels who lead.
Have experiences about PMF and DevRel you'd like to share? Connect with me on LinkedIn or visit kevinblanco.dev for more resources.
