Developer marketing at Auth0, with Gonto

Developer Marketing Stories

Gonto, a pioneer in developer marketing and Auth0’s first marketer, reveals how he set out to build a version of marketing tailored for developers. His innovative approach played a key role in driving Auth0’s growth, ultimately leading to its IPO and $6.5 billion dollar acquisition.

Brought to you by the developer narketing coaching and training program by Matthew Revell and Adam DuVander. Learn more at developer.marketing.

Episode timeline

• 01:10 – Gonto’s start at Auth0: Gonto explains how he joined Auth0, shifting from a developer to a DevRel role, and eventually taking on marketing responsibilities despite his fears.
• 02:31 – The shift from developer to marketer: Gonto talks about his friends' skepticism and how he wanted to prove marketing could be done differently, with honesty and authenticity.
• 06:00 – Should your first marketing hire be a developer? Gonto discusses whether the first marketing hire at a developer tools company should have a technical background.
• 08:43 – A different approach to marketing: Gonto describes how his background as a developer helped him shape marketing strategies that are genuine, data-driven, and based on systematic thinking.
• 11:30 – Developer trust and marketing tactics: The conversation shifts to how Gonto built trust with developers by offering honest, helpful marketing content, and solving their problems without aggressively promoting Auth0.
• 13:02 – Choosing the right developer audiences: Gonto shares insights on why they chose frontend developers and specific technologies as key targets in the early days of Auth0.
• 15:22 – Repeatable marketing processes: Gonto offers advice on how startups can find the right developer audiences and communities by staying informed about new technologies and frameworks.
• 21:30 – Marketing to multiple audiences: The discussion moves to marketing when different technical audiences are involved, such as DevOps and developers, and how to convince multiple stakeholders within an organization.
• 24:20 – Enterprise sales and developer involvement: Gonto explains how the majority of Auth0’s enterprise deals came through inbound developer interest and the steps they took to convert developers into enterprise customers.
• 29:00 – What didn’t work: ads: Gonto shares some of the tactics that failed, including poorly targeted ads and struggles with hiring product marketers who didn’t understand the technical product.
• 34:00 – The importance of metrics and systematic thinking: Gonto reflects on how metrics and systematic thinking guided his marketing strategies and helped the team track success, and how over time he learned that creativity can matter more than data.

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Further reading

• Gonto's website
• Developer Marketing Coaching and Training
• Hoopy and EveryDeveloper