Playing a familiar tune: Adam DuVander joins Orchestrate as director of developer relations

I’m always a fan of Portland startups securing experienced talent—especially when it’s local talent. And that’s why I’m happy to report that local tech booster Adam DuVander has joined Portland startup Orchestrate as director of developer relations.

Like many startups in Portland focused on platform plays, developer relations can be a critical role in determining the success of the company. Especially as they scramble to build and support a highly technical user base. By securing DuVander, Orchestrate has chosen wisely.

I’m joining Orchestrate to help you build better applications faster. With my team of developer advocates, we’ll listen to where developers struggle, and we’ll do our best to help Orchestrate eliminate the barriers that keep developers from creating amazing things. We believe that removing the worries associated with databases will allow you to focus what you do best and accelerate your path to complete applications.

Honestly, it was kind of meant to be.

Adam is an API guy. From publishing books about mapping APIs to helming the most exhaustive resource on APIs on the Web, ProgrammableWeb. When I caught wind of what Orchestrate was doing—simplifying data management by abstracting the often complex database layer behind an API—the first person I contacted was Adam.

It seemed like perfect fodder for ProgrammableWeb. And it was. But Adam was in the midst of a transition into a new role. At SendGrid.

But at least he was able to serve as a mentor for the company as they went through PIE.

When Orchestrate became a PIE company, Rick introduced me to CEO Tony Falco. With my background editing the premier API directory, ProgrammableWeb, I’d seen thousands of APIs. I’d been a technical journalist and had watched the trends in developer-focused companies. The founding principals behind Orchestrate’s database API aligned well with my own thinking and we had a lot of good conversations about where the industry is headed. I was impressed with their team of infrastructure experts and I felt my most useful in my several years as a PIE mentor.

Sometimes, the best things take a little time. Adam continued to mentor the team as he continued his work at SendGrid. And eventually, things just clicked.

Kind of like it was just meant to be.

Aside from this being a great Portland startup story, I’m equally excited about seeing what Adam can do at Orchestrate to augment his already impressive accomplishments. It will be interesting watching this happen.

For more information, see write-ups from The Portland Business Journal, The Oregonian, Orchestrate, and PIE.

Published by Rick Turoczy

More than mildly obsessed with the Portland startup community. Founder and editor at Silicon Florist. Cofounder and general manager at PIE. Follow me on Twitter: @turoczy View all posts by Rick Turoczy