Building the official network for developers: an interview with Devtranet’s CEO and Co-founder, Ibrahim Salami aka D’phenomenal

post,post,Technology

Building the official network for developers: an interview with Devtranet’s CEO and Co-founder, Ibrahim Salami aka D’phenomenal

Devtranet is building a global network for developers and technologists to connect, build, and discover opportunities.

“Dev” comes from Developers, Technologists, and Techies.

“Tranet” comes from Network, Planet, and Community.

Devtranet-logo

TechGruv reached out to Ibrahim Salami, the co-founder and CEO of Devtranet on talks about the startup journey, the problem they are trying to solve, and their future plans.

TechGruv: What is your technical background like?

Ibrahim: I started gaining interest in tech while I was still in middle school, from building with Legos, I then scavenged for electronic parts to build cool stuff because Legos felt limiting at that time. It was with the rising of TikTok and YouTube that we now see creators sharing interesting project ideas and tutorials. I shifted my interest to software in my high school freshman year, mostly due to the difficulty of finding electrical components, the lack of Fab Lab grade equipment, and the fact that it still remains an emerging field. I had to decide whether I want to pursue a career in Mechanical Engineering, Mechatronics, or Computer science. I am very fascinated by Robotics and those were the closest fields to it.

What motivated and inspired you to build Devtranet?

Well, after successfully running Codetivate which is now part of Devtranet, and raising over half a million dollars in in-kind and monetary support, it was then that I became exposed to the API and developer-led economy, the influence developers have, and how recruiting them is still a major challenge for companies. For example, the internet economy, which developers are building on contributed 15.5% to the world's GDP in 2020 (the world’s GDP was $84.71 trillion by then). It is growing 21/2 times faster than the global GDP. In 2021, 1,010 developer-led products made $217.7 billion in revenue, not quite long ago Microsft also said this

“By 2025, 149 million new jobs will be added in technology industries. Leading those gains will be 98 million new software developer jobs and 23 million cloud and data roles”

The grand vision for us is to be the go-to platform for all these people to level up their careers in tech.

How do you see the market you're targeting?

We have achieved a lot within 3 months, the market is pretty competitive and growing very fast. And I’m confident that my co-founder with his experience as a Senior engineer at Google and Roblox, combined with mine leading Africa’s largest network for GenZ technologists, and organizing Codetivate, a developer-centric experience, as well as being the CEO of The Dynamics, empowering developers and makers for 3 years, makes us well positioned for success. I mean in 3 months, we have crossed huge milestones, from generating $10,000 in revenue via consulting for companies on how to reach developers before our launch, to closing lots of partnerships with big tech companies like DigitalOcean, JetBrains, and more.

Is Devtranet raising anytime soon?

Investors have been reaching out to us, mostly US-based ones but we don't plan to raise for now just trying to build relationships with as many of them ahead of when we think we need cash to reach the next milestone for Devtranet.

What scares you the most in this start-up journey or what will you find challenging in the future?

Actually, the recruiting processes, getting the right team and people to actualize the vision with us. I think anyone can paint themselves to fit our mission on paper, we just have to hold difficult conversations to see who’s a great fit for us.

What do you feel or plan about the future of Devtranet?

By January or February 2023, we will be releasing our public beta right now we are piloting a private early access program for developer and tech communities around the world. And trying to speak to as many users as possible to ensure we are really building what they want. So far, the feedback we’ve been getting from users is pretty awesome.

That's great news. What advice will you give to upcoming founders/first-time founders?

Try to validate their idea as much as possible, make sure you're solving a problem, and also set actionable goals and realistic plans.

Ibrahim Salami - CEO and co-founder of Devtranet

Thank you for your time!

In less than 3 months, Ibrahim Salami aka D’phenomenal, and his team have driven Devtranet to a level most VC-funded startups dream to achieve. It's really incredible how fast and strong their execution is but I’m not surprised because they have the experience. Devtranet is building a platform for developers and people in tech to connect, build, and discover opportunities. You can join the network now and be part of the journey of the next big professional network for people in tech.