Source: http://www.wsj.com/articles/BL-VCDB-1648...

convincing developers to use their product is key to their success. The idea being that once a developer likes a technology, she or he will evangelize its use regardless of where she or he works.

“You can acquire a developer (as a customer) like a consumer, but they have the spend of an enterprise behind them,” Mr. Lawson said.

Twilio participated in more than 500 developer events last year to grow its community. The company now counts nearly 560,000 developers in its community–or roughly double the number registered a year ago–thanks in large part to participating at university hackathons, educational conferences, workshops, meetups and other social events.

During these events, Twilio employees act more as a technical resource and teacher and less as a branch of the marketing group.