To understand some of the unique challenges facing developers and DevRels in Web3, what’s working — and what isn’t — we spoke with five Developer Relations professionals shaping ecosystems across Bitcoin, EVM, AI, and DeFi. While their experiences differ, they all noted the same trend: DevRel is evolving. Expectations are rising. The space is getting noisier. But the core goal remains the same: help developers succeed, and the ecosystem benefits.
Here’s what they shared about their essential tools, the challenges they’re solving, and their advice for the next generation of DevRels entering Web3.
Billy learned DevRel by doing — and struggling. As a self-taught builder, he fought through broken tutorials and vague documentation, and that frustration shaped his philosophy: make the content he wished had existed. At API3, he now focuses on bringing clarity and accessibility to the complex world of DeFi infrastructure, guiding others through what he once had to figure out alone.
Follow Billy on X: @Billyjitsu_
Sneha's path has taken her through some of Web3's most recognizable communities, from Buildspace to Polygon to Aptos. With experience building technical guilds and education programs, she focuses on addressing the visibility and support gaps that many early-stage developers face. Her DevRel work balances strategy with personal connection: empowering developers to grow from users into founders.
When Afghanistan’s financial system collapsed, Suhail’s family lost access to traditional banking, and crypto went from abstract idea to necessity. That experience shaped his path into Web3 DevRel, driven by a desire to make blockchain tools more understandable and accessible for people facing similar learning curves.
Follow Suhail on X: @suhailkakar
Toby got his start in the open-source trenches, building in public and helping onboard developers at projects like Million.js and Fleek. His focus has always been on improving developer experience, especially in fast-evolving spaces like decentralized AI. His DevRel style blends deep technical insight with practical education and a strong commitment to community-driven growth.
Follow Tobiloba on X: @toby_solutions
Unnati progressed from debugging smart contracts in Discord to formally leading DevRel at LayerEdge, where she helps developers leverage Bitcoin's security using zero-knowledge proofs. Her work is grounded in genuine empathy for builders. Having experienced firsthand how difficult finding good resources can be, she's committed to solving this problem through thoughtful content and hands-on support.
Follow Unnati on X: @unnati_builds24
Ask anyone working in Web3 DevRel, and they’ll likely tell you the same thing: it’s not the technology that holds people back — it’s the experience of trying to build with it.
Compared to Web2, developers in Web3 face a steeper learning curve, fragmented resources, fast-changing infrastructure, and higher stakes. The people supporting these builders see the pain points up close, and they’re working to fill the gaps.
“Web3 has insane complexity upfront. Bad docs, scattered tooling, no standards. You’re building while guessing, and the stakes are higher because you’re dealing with wallets, tokens, real value.”
— Suhail, TAC
“I think onboarding, UX, and lack of longevity are the core issues in Web3 right now. Web2 tends not to face these — except maybe longevity, which is just a general software problem.”
— Tobiloba Adedeji, Gaianet
“The resource gap is especially painful. While Web2 developers have Stack Overflow answers for almost everything, Web3 builders often hit problems no one has solved yet, with documentation scattered across Discord servers and GitHub repos.”
— Unnati Gupta, LayerEdge
“Things change very fast, and when they do, things break. In my opinion, DevRel instructionals had a dark time where people were just regurgitating the same content over and over — so those who wanted to go deeper were drowned out by the noise.”
— Billy, API3
Across the board, the message is clear: in Web3, developer experience isn’t just important, but it’s make or break. A tool can be technically impressive, but if it’s not understandable, usable, and supported, developers will move on. In a space already full of complexity, the teams that win are the ones that invest in education, guidance, and real community.
Suhail, TAC, makes sure to dedicate time to exploring: “I spend weekends in the rabbit hole. Mostly X, GitHub, and some Telegram groups. I like getting lost in weird docs and weird repos. Sometimes it’s just a tTweet from a founder that sparks something.”
Unnati, LayerEdge, takes a more curated route: “Following the right developers means seeing what they're excited about in real-time. For newsletters, I live by Bytes, Changelog, and Cooperpress.”
Tobiloba, Gaianet, adds broader inputs to the mix: “I discover new tools from social media, friend communities, and news forums like daily.dev, Reddit, and Hacker News.”
Suhail says the energy still centers around the EVM space, pointing to “Telegram chats, Discords, and conference backchannels,” and adding, “Solana is loud, but EVM devs ship quietly and relentlessly.”
Sneha from the Aptos Foundation highlights a few active ecosystems, including “Solana/Superteam, Celestia and their dev programs, Succinct’s testnet community, Aptos dev groups, and the GitHub forum.”
Tobiloba emphasizes that surface-level channels still matter, noting, “Twitter, Telegram, and Discord are some of the most active places where Web3 communities are engaging today.”
Key takeaway: Developers tend to cluster in smaller, focused spaces. Many of these communities have become active working environments — places where developers share context, debug issues, test ideas, and push projects forward together.
For many, documentation is the foundation. It’s not just about completeness, but clarity and flexibility. Unnati, LayerEdge, shared: “For docs, Docusaurus has been my lifesaver. It's flexible but doesn't let things get messy.”
When it comes to development environments, familiarity and versatility both matter. Billy, API3, keeps his workflow close to what developers actually use: “API3 uses Hardhat so I do as well. I also use Foundry framework. For scripting, I use Ethers, and on the frontend, Viem.”
Tobiloba, Gaianet, moves across multiple ecosystems: “Typescript, Rust, Slidev, Astro, Python, ElysiaJS, and Solidity. It’s a weird combination, but these days I tend to work across several technical stacks.”
Beyond code, community and workflow tools are equally essential. Discord remains the home base for most teams, giving DevRels a direct line to their builders. Sneha at Aptos Foundation also relies on Notion, ClickUp, and Airtable to manage everything from workshop planning to ecosystem analytics. With Web3, as is the case with just about any product or service provider these days, fast, human responses can make a huge difference.
Tobiloba incorporates tools like Gaia, Granola, and Warp into his daily DevRel work, highlighting how AI and automation now streamline everything from workflows to content creation.
For some, AI is already essential. Billy shared that tools like Claude and Copilot have transformed his process — helping him frame ideas faster, analyze code more effectively, and stay productive day to day.
Suhail’s AI toolkit includes Cursor and Claude for coding, Notion AI and Figma’s built-in tools for documentation and design work, and DeScript for video editing. He sees these tools as signals of a broader shift. With AI increasingly handling boilerplate code, doc writing, and basic tutorials, DevRel has to level up — moving beyond just “how to build” and toward “why this matters,” “how this fits,” and “what to avoid.”
Unnati sees both opportunity and risk. She highlighted AI’s ability to review large datasets, predict bottlenecks, optimize resources, and enhance workflows — but also warned that over-reliance can inhibit creativity and critical thinking. For complex or novel problems, she believes human insight is still irreplaceable.
Key takeaways: AI can speed up the basics. But when it comes to building trust, navigating real-world decisions, and explaining tradeoffs that tools can’t surface, the human side of DevRel is more critical than ever.
In a space flooded with technical content, what actually cuts through the noise? According to the DevRels we spoke with, it’s less about format and more about utility, authenticity, and respect for developers’ time.
Video consistently performs well, especially when paired with practical resources. Billy mentioned that video plus a GitHub repo is his go-to approach. He runs long-form beginner workshops that walk through both concepts and tools, and finds that while video is highly absorbable, good documentation still reigns supreme.
For written content, Sneha pointed out that brevity and relevance matter more than polish. Well-written X (Twitter) articles are performing well lately, while technical blogs tend to resonate more with developers who want to understand the "how" and "why" behind a solution. What’s worked for her is clearly showing why something matters — like how integrating a tool can reduce a user flow from three clicks to one.
Live interaction also plays a key role. Unnati emphasized that workshops where developers code alongside a guide often spark those “aha” moments that lead to lasting understanding.
Key takeaways: Content that’s authentic and practically useful wins. Developers are drawn to actionable solutions from people who’ve experienced — and solved — the same problems, not marketing gloss or pure theory. Sharing your process, including mistakes, builds more trust than anything polished to perfection.
When asked what advice they’d share with newcomers, the our DevRel panel offered a clear, consistent message: real DevRel in Web3 can’t be faked. It’s not about volume, polish, or being everywhere at once — it’s about building trust, solving meaningful problems, and showing up where developers actually need support.
Suhail emphasized the importance of staying grounded in hands-on work: build something useful, write about it as if you’re teaching your past self, and get obsessed with clarity.
“Help one developer solve one real problem, then scale that.”
— Suhail, TAC
Tobiloba focused on the power of narrowing your scope. He suggested learning the basics of blockchain and choosing a niche — whether it’s DePIN, DeFi, security, or decentralized AI — then using that niche to understand how the rest of the ecosystem fits together.
“Stay in your niche and use it to understand how the whole ecosystem fits together.”
— Tobiloba Adedeji, Gaianet
For Unnati, credibility comes from shared experience. She encouraged new DevRels to start building with the protocols they genuinely enjoy, even if it’s something small.
“Nothing builds trust like having dealt with the same integration pain points as the developers you’re helping.”
— Unnati Gupta, LayerEdge
Billy treats DevRel like building a public portfolio. He emphasized making content as part of your resume, getting to know other developers through socials, joining communities, and building things you’d actually use, then sharing what you’ve learned along the way.
Ultimately, success in DevRel isn’t about being everywhere — it’s about delivering focused value. It takes genuine presence, strategic visibility, and commitment, even when the hype fades and others move on.
DevRel in Web3 isn't just about pushing products. It's about understanding the developers you’re trying to help, building trust, removing friction, and helping developers accomplish their objectives.
The professionals who shared their insights with us go beyond advocating for tools. They bridge critical knowledge gaps, nurture communities, and shape developer experiences that determine whether ecosystems thrive or fade. Often, their most impactful work happens behind the scenes — in Telegram chats, Discord threads, and hallway conversations at conferences.
As Web3 matures, some ecosystems will naturally shift from hype-driven growth to sustained, developer-led momentum. In that environment, the DevRels who stay close to developers and their changing needs, ship practical resources, and evolve along with technology developments, will create the most lasting impact.
Huge thanks to Suhail, Billy, Tobiloba, Sneha, and Unnati for sharing their insights with us! Interested in being featured in our DevRel series? Fill out this form.
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