Arun Gupta to open HANDS-ON with a keynote on developer empathy

We’re excited to announce our opening keynote for HANDS-ON: Arun Gupta, DevRel Coach/Player | Open Source Strategist | GTM Advisor!

🗓️ September 30, 2025

🕥 10:30 am ET

💻 100% virtual

🎟️ Register for HANDS-ON now

Developer empathy: The key to unlocking GTM success

In today’s AI-fueled, developer-first landscape, one truth cuts through the noise: hands-on experience builds trust—and developer empathy turns that trust into adoption.

In this opening keynote, Arun Gupta makes the case for why empathy is your ultimate advantage in reaching, engaging, and winning over technical audiences. With over two decades leading developer-focused initiatives at companies like Intel, Apple, and Amazon, Arun will share how the most successful GTM teams today aren't just building for developers—they're building with empathy, curiosity, and human insight.

You’ll explore:

• Why developer empathy is the foundation for product-led growth, DevRel, and sales engineering
• How to rewire GTM strategies around real-world, immersive, hands-on experience
• The rise of “vibe coding” and what tools like Cursor and Lovable reveal about modern dev engagement
• Why non-technical skills—like communication, reflective listening, and even mindfulness—matter more than ever
• What Arun learned on Kilimanjaro that applies directly to scaling empathy in technical go-to-market teams

Updated HANDS-ON agenda

We’ve updated the agenda to include Arun’s keynote at 10:30 am ET. Here’s a look at the current speaker lineup:

⛰️ Opening Keynote: Developer Empathy

‍Arun Gupta‍

DevRel Coach/Player | Open Source Strategist | GTM Advisor

Formerly Intel, Apple, Amazon | Exploring the next chapter

🔮 6 Developer Adoption Trends to Watch for 2026

‍Jono Bacon‍

CEO & Founder

StateShift

📢 Our third session will be announced in August. Stay tuned!

‍Why HANDS-ON is built differently

HANDS-ON is the first and leading developer adoption conference created for go-to-market professionals—from product marketers and DevRel to sales engineers and technical enablement teams.

Whether you’re designing onboarding flows, scaling demo environments, or coaching your team on what makes developers tick—this event is for you.

Who should attend HANDS-ON

HANDS-ON is tailored for software GTM professionals who create, scale, and optimize developer adoption:

• Developer relations & community managers
• Product marketers & growth marketers
• Sales engineers & solution architects
• Enablement, training & education teams
• Anyone crafting hands-on experiences that drive real adoption

Save your spot today

Arun Gupta’s keynote will set the tone for two hours of powerful, practical content. Learn how leading teams are building trust and driving adoption by getting hands-on—with developer empathy.

📅 Join us live on September 30th at 10:30 am ET

📩 Can’t make it live? Register anyway and we’ll send the full recap

🎟️ Register for HANDS-ON now!