A $260 DIY CMS sparked debate on Twitter last month. Hank and Gonto break down Lee Robinson’s (Cursor) post, Sanity’s response, and why both sides actually won from a marketing perspective. They dig into the gap between CMS theory and real-world practice, the rise of vibe coding, and why DevRel’s real job is expanding imagination.

Then Hank brings backfield notes from AWS Re:Invent with a rapid-fire “worth it or not” game on booths, swag, and side events. Practical, opinionated, and very online.

Most sales & marketing people hate my email drafts.

Because I'm not writing for them; I write for developers.

I crafted & tested these drafts for the last decade specifically to get enterprise pipeline from developers in product signup funnels at Vercel, GitLab, Neo4j, & Laravel (plus several startups I've advised).

And these emails beat every challenger's drafts for ten years! I believe they're strong enough to endure even if widely used, so I'm happy to share them (just ask).

So here's ten minutes of me nerding out about some emails I've worked on for years, including when I first wrote them, the behavioral psychology and cognitive biases I play into, and why sales and marketing people usually dislike them (until they see the results).

The drafts: https://ctm.fm/signup-emails

In Episode 40, we break down two big announcements this week and why one absolutely outperformed the other. Cloudflare’s Replicate acquisition vs. RunLayer’s launch and fundraise: clarity, positioning, what’s-in-it-for-me, and how a single quote-tweet can reshape a narrative.Then we dive into Kalshi and PolyMarket’s “news as growth” strategy and how devtools can copy it using zero-click content and product-aligned insights. Fast, tactical episode. Enjoy.Also Hank cut his hair

A startup spent half its preseed on a Nordic sauna office and turned it into pure rage bait. We break down why attention without a real product or halfway decent website is a waste, and how to time fundraise announcements so they actually help you. Then we get into technical SDRs and GTM engineers, how to source and comp them, and why the future of selling devtools looks a lot more like sales engineers than classic AEs. Plus, a quick invite-only peek at the Code to Market Summit at Snowbird.

From AI-generated badges to algorithm-killing YouTube settings, Vercel’s events were full of lessons. We talk about the rise of dual-event strategies, why practice still matters, and how conferences became brand design in motion.

Ramp nailed it. Clay made a polarizing play. Cluely is failing. Branding is the sum of your campaigns and positioning and critical to both getting the right attention and keeping it. From Ramp’s genius Office stunt to Clay’s risky joint-roller bit, it’s all about knowing your audience and going all in when the idea is right.

Framework turned one broke developer’s tweet into millions of impressions in a masterclass in generous marketing. From there, Hank and Gonto dive into why DevRel never really died, how influencer fatigue is pushing everything back in-house, and why AI companies are stuck launching everything twice.

A fast tour of “zags” that earn attention and still drive understanding. We break down PostHog’s playful desktop motif, PlanetScale’s crisp text-first launch page, why Tempo’s eye candy misses the mark, and a scrappy direct mail play from Browserbase. We close with hiring tactics to separate real operators from smooth talkers.