Building the @vercel marketing engine taught me a lot. Here are some things I believe in: • Don’t slow down product launches. In hypergrowth, launches drop with little notice but that’s the fun! Be flexible, give the team permission to drop other work, and then spend time on “the land.” • AI = rapid response. Tier 1 campaigns matter, but AI moves too fast. Lock in a few always-on activities and keep capacity to ship fast based on what’s happening to be relevant. • Founder-led comms only works if it’s authentic. Feed the CEO angles, narratives, and evidence but don’t ghostwrite everything. Be their sounding board not voice. • Ignore pressures from “average hiring timelines.” Don’t compromise. It takes time to find people who can do the job, succeed at the company, and want to be there. Missionaries > mercenaries. • The biggest growth wins often come from product improvements, not experiments. Faster pages, simpler upgrade flows, better account structures. • Communication is the job. Sharing what you and the team are shipping, learning, and building is just as important as the work itself. Bring everyone along for the journey. • For hybrid user conferences, prioritize the online experience over in-person (even though in-person takes more time to plan). Also, if you have their info, simplify the reg experience. • Be the “I’ll figure it out” person who always follows through. The best take on problems they’ve never solved before and get it done with a smile. • Message testing doesn’t need to be formal. We tested on billboards and watched what spread on social. • The best developer marketing = education. Make it easy for site visitors & product users to access the docs over trying to capture their info.