The latest from our desks at Stateshift...
Why “Better Features” Is a Losing Strategy
You remember those iPod silhouette ads. Dancing figures, white earbuds, people just feeling the music. They’re burned into our collective memory. You know what’s not? The Dell MP3 player. Most…
How Stateshift Helped Bentley Activate 2,400 Employees in Their Internal Community
Bentley Systems did not begin building internal Communities of Practice (CoP) as a reaction to a problem. They did it because they saw an opportunity.…
Product Stickiness: Why Most Developer Products Fail After the First Use
Part 3 of the Dev Engagement Series: Product Stickiness Here’s a situation we see all the time. A team tells us things are going pretty…
Why The Developer Metrics You’re Tracking Are Lying to You
Part 2 of the Dev Engagement Series: Developer Metrics Here’s an uncomfortable truth: most metrics for DevRel focus on activity, not outcomes, which makes it…
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ℹ So, what is Stateshift?
Stateshift is a coaching and execution company that helps technology firms build user and developer ecosystems around their products. Founded by Jono Bacon, a 27-year+ veteran of community and developer engagement (formerly at GitHub, XPRIZE, and Ubuntu), Stateshift’s mission is to turn the “messy magic” of engagement into predictable, repeatable systems that drive measurable growth.
Our flagship product, Stateshift Pathfinder, is a full-service program in which we embed alongside our clients as a co-pilot. Pathfinder combines deep strategic guidance with hands-on execution — diagnosing the real friction in developer journeys, designing structured frameworks, and implementing them with the team. Clients receive biweekly accelerator calls, monthly leadership reviews, and unlimited on-demand coaching, ensuring progress never stalls.
Stateshift’s frameworks cover key areas like developer onboarding, content systems, YouTube and podcast strategy, community programs, metrics dashboards, and brand positioning. Each framework is modular, data-driven, and designed for reuse long after engagement ends.
We work primarily with venture-backed tech companies (Seed to Series C) in sectors such as DevTools, SaaS, AI infrastructure, and open source — including GitHub, Dagger, Umbraco, Okta, and Adobe.
What sets Stateshift apart is our unique blend of strategy and execution: we don’t just advise, we install engagement operating systems for growth. Our approach builds movements that are structured, measurable, and scalable — helping teams grow faster, strengthen engagement, and create network effects that last.