Max Levchin's guide to luring developers
Max Levchin's widget maker Slide just took on funding that set its value at $550 million. And the company's user base grew 142 percent in a year to 150 million users, giving it the ninth largest "reach" on the Internet. Maybe this means its worth paying attention to Levchin's ideas on "How to successfully launch a social networking platform? Maybe. But not for more than 100 words.
- Create a feeling of technological openness. Developers love the ins and outs — the bugs, unfinished features.
- Treat developers equally, but the best ones? Let them closer in.
- Manage a community pre-launch: meet-ups, chats, IRC channels, mailing lists, visit companies.
- Shift support/documentation onto the early developers. Smaller developer groups will help each other.
- Respond quickly to platform issues.
- Bible-thump: "you will make money" during the early platform days.
- Make your campus a place that developers want to visit, a prize.
- Over-communicate policy changes with the perception of open debate.
- Make the goal of your PR team coverage for successful developers
- Hold frequent developer events. Invite leading developers to speak.