The Playbook for Building Developer-Centric Businesses From his early days in McAfee to leading community growth for NYSE-listed company Elastic, and now aiding development for CodeRabbit, a platform using AI to review code with greater accuracy, his work reflects how startups can set up their strategies to directly appeal to developers.

Companies that build developer-facing products are racing to stand out in a crowded tool ecosystem, and traditional go-to-market tactics often struggle to properly appeal to their desired user base: developers. As a result, a company's success requires building a trusting presence in the market and forming a deep understanding of the communities it's trying to serve.

Aravind Putrevu, director of developer marketing at CodeRabbit, has spent his career working to make this process as smooth as possible. From his early days in McAfee to leading community growth for NYSE-listed company Elastic, and now aiding development for CodeRabbit, a platform using AI to review code with greater accuracy, his work reflects how startups can set up their strategies to directly appeal to developers.

The Challenges Facing Developer-First Startups

Developer-focused startups today face both immense opportunity and relentless competition. New tools appear almost every week, making differentiation harder than ever. Many young companies rush to ship features before finding true product–market fit, while others opt for outdated sales tactics that rarely resonate with technical audiences.

Aravind has seen these pitfalls firsthand. Developers, he notes, want tools that solve real problems, not flashy campaigns or cold outreach. "Developers don't like being sold to. They want real value and authentic relationships," he has said.

That authenticity is especially critical in the age of AI. While adoption is growing, many engineers hesitate to integrate the technology into critical workflows due to issues like concerns about its reliability or fear that it may wind up replacing humans in the long run.

Global expansion adds another layer of complexity. Buying ads can raise awareness, but it doesn't automatically earn credibility. That trust, Aravind notes, comes from consistent and tailored engagement born out of meeting developers where they already are.

How CodeRabbit Built Its Position In AI Code Review

CodeRabbit's rise offers an example of how a company can appeal directly to developers. Designed for engineering teams under pressure to ship faster, CodeRabbit uses AI to automate the tedious process of reviewing code within secure sandbox environments. As a result, it helps developers run through development faster, catch errors while they're still in production, and understand how to conceive of AI as a productive partner rather than a replacement.

This developer-first mindset shaped every major initiative the company undertook. One moment that exemplifies this was the launch of CodeRabbit's IDE extension. Planned over several weeks, tested through early access programs, and promoted across social media, blogs, and tech publications, the campaign wound up generating more than two million impressions in a single day. It boosted adoption while also making clear the company's ability to reach out to developers through the platforms and channels they already use.

It was through these kinds of initiatives that CodeRabbit made developers feel heard and see their input directly shaping the product. That engagement transformed users from passive adopters into active advocates, helping the company grow its reach organically while refining the end product at a rapid pace.

How Aravind Builds Developer Trust

Aravind's career shows why this developer-focused approach resonates. At Elastic, he helped drive the adoption of Elasticsearch, an open-source analytics engine, across Asian and European markets.

He partnered with cloud providers to make sure the company could continue growing its capabilities, fostered internal teams to reach out to communities in different countries, and spoke at developer conferences worldwide, all the while ensuring the company's expansion aligned with what engineers genuinely needed rather than what marketing teams assumed they wanted.

Today at CodeRabbit, he leads the company's entire growth strategy, overseeing top-of-funnel initiatives and developer relations while coordinating closely with engineering, product, and marketing teams. His role spans everything from shaping go-to-market plans for new product launches to managing thought leadership efforts across podcasts, conference stages, and technical publications.

As a result, he ensures CodeRabbit's messaging, product development, and community presence move in lockstep toward the same short and long-term objectives. As he puts it, "I've always balanced developer authenticity with the business goals founders need to hit."

Lessons For Founders Building Developer-Centric Startups

Lessons from Aravind's career and CodeRabbit's trajectory highlight the importance of credibility, community, and focus over short-term gains.

• Start with communities: Early credibility does far more long-term than paid campaigns, with real momentum emerging when products are introduced within forums, open-source projects, and developer-led networks.
• Prioritize product–market fit: Monetization is best delayed until users who are already using the product begin requesting advanced features, signaling an existing demand to drive growth.
• Design for trusted channels: Growth strategies that are centered on the platforms developers rely on for learning and discussion (whether it's announcements through Hacker News, YouTube, podcasts, or technical forums) work far better than broad, untargeted marketing campaigns.
• Invest in thought leadership: Initiatives like speaking at conferences or open forums and publishing articles in respected outlets build long-term credibility that advertising alone can't replicate.
• Protect time and focus: Successful campaigns (such as CodeRabbit's IDE launch) come from careful and deliberate planning, avoiding the dilution of impact that happens when efforts spread across too many channels or initiatives.

Taken together, these principles that have guided Aravind Putrevu's career show one main consistent theme: developer-first companies achieve success by earning trust, prioritizing credibility before visibility, and scaling only when the product and community are ready.