Channel 06 / 13 · Build ecosystem
Developer community & DevRel
Give people a place to learn, build and contribute before selling.
Use it when
Users share tools, code, configurations or implementation questions with each other.
Don't confuse it with
Opening a Discord with no participants or making every post a product pitch.
01 / What companies actually did
Supabase put community work inside its launches
Its Community Day brings together contributors and partners; the published format includes a subsequent virtual hackathon and community-built project showcase.
[S2] Supabase — Community Day ↗GrafanaCON gives practitioners the stage
GrafanaCON includes community stories, hands-on labs, an Ask the Experts area, technical talks and demonstrations—not only vendor keynote sessions.
[G2] Grafana — GrafanaCON 2026 program ↗Linear treated early users as product collaborators
Linear used its waitlist to invite people who could succeed with the MVP, then held conversations and used their feedback before widening access.
[L1] Linear — Rethinking the early-stage MVP ↗02 / How to do it
- 01Identify one technical group already discussing the problem. Participate there first.
- 02Create a repeatable activity that produces value: office hours, community demo, plugin review or troubleshooting session.
- 03Give practitioners opportunities to show their own projects and trade-offs.
- 04Publish code, notes, answered questions and recordings where permission allows.
- 05Measure repeat participation, contribution and product adoption—not community-member counts alone.
Things you can publish or run
03 / What good looks like
Watch this
Repeat active contributors, help questions resolved, integrations/projects built, qualified product adoption.
Common trap
Community takes maintenance and trust. Treat it as an operating responsibility, not a campaign.
04 / Copy the worksheet
COPYABLE WORKSHEET / 06
Developer community & DevRel template
Replace the brackets. Use this as a starting point, not a rigid formula.
COMMUNITY PROGRAM — 6 WEEKS Audience: [specific practitioners] Existing place: [forum / open-source repo / meetup] Recurring activity: [office hours / demos / working sessions] Owner: [technical person with time to help] Week 1: listen to 20 real questions Week 2: public example + invite for clinic Week 3: clinic, publish notes + fixes Week 4: member project showcase Week 5: contribution guide / integration walkthrough Week 6: retro with attendees Rules: honest moderation, transparent affiliations, no spam Measure: repeats, solved issues, contributions, activation
05 / Original sources