In this compelling keynote from the CMX Summit, Jono Bacon—a globally recognized community leader, author of the best-selling book "People Powered," and CEO of StateShift—dives deep into what it takes to build high-impact communities that create real business value.
With over 27 years of experience, Jono has worked with more than 200 organizations ranging from scrappy startups to Fortune 500 giants. His insights are trusted by companies like GitLab, Canonical (Ubuntu), IBM, and many more.
In this talk, Jono breaks down a jaw-dropping case study: how GitLab responded to a massive technical outage not with spin, but radical transparency and community involvement. Rather than hide from the issue, GitLab openly collaborated with their users on a public Google Doc and a live YouTube stream—turning a disaster into a massive trust-building moment that helped catapult them to IPO.
From there, Jono lays out his proven framework for creating similarly powerful stories in your own organization. He introduces three critical pillars:
Start With the End in Mind – Align your community work with outcomes like revenue, adoption, brand growth, or operational efficiency. Know your audience’s pain points and tailor your experience to drive measurable progress.
Nexperimentation – A blend of experimentation and iteration. Test small. Fail fast. Learn quicker. Whether it’s a new email sequence, event format, or content idea—rapid testing helps you discover what actually works.
Differentiation – In a noisy internet, playing by the old rules won’t cut it. You’ll hear hilarious and insightful stories—from sending personalized Loom videos to emceeing events in gold shorts—all in the name of standing out and connecting authentically.
This keynote is a must-watch for:
Community managers who want to connect their work to business goals
Developer advocates looking to drive adoption
Founders aiming to grow user trust and brand affinity
Marketing leaders tired of shallow engagement tactics
Jono also shares how consistency and long-term effort pay off—highlighting the journey of YouTube legend Marques Brownlee, who began with 74 subscribers and now has over 19 million, thanks to relentless iteration.
Whether you're just starting or looking to scale your community efforts, this video will inspire you to lead differently, think bigger, and build something meaningful.
👉 Learn more about StateShift: https://www.stateshift.com
👉 Follow Jono on LinkedIn: / jonobacon
Thanks to the CMX folks for sharing the video. The CMX mission is to advance the community industry and help professional community builders thrive. Join the Community: https://www.cmxhub.com/community
#CommunityBuilding #CommunityManagement #DevRel #MarketingStrategy #GrowthHacking #GitLab #StateShift #CMXSummit #PeoplePowered #OnlineCommunities #OpenSource #DeveloperEngagement
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ℹ️ Check out Stateshift 👇
Most tech companies struggle to build reliable user and developer engagement. We ride shotgun with you, with clear coaching and frameworks driven by 27 years of experience, to deliver consistent adoption, revenue, and brand growth.
Customers inc. Dagger, Comcast, IBM, Linux Foundation, Neural Magic, CNCF, Pfizer, Okteto, Dragonfly, Gates Foundation, and many others.
Find out more: https://clcl.ink/yt-d
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