Building Bridges: From Developer to Developer Advocate • David Edoh-Bedi & James Beswick • GOTO 2025

This interview was recorded for GOTO Unscripted. #GOTOcon #GOTOunscripted https://gotopia.tech Read the full transcription of this interview here: https://gotopia.tech/articles/368 David Edoh-Bedi - Developer Relations at Stripe James Beswick - Head of Developer Relations at Stripe @JamesBeswickD RESOURCES David https://x.com/edohbedi_d https://www.linkedin.com/in/edohbedi https://edoh-bedi.com James https://bsky.app/profile/jbesw.bsky.social https://twitter.com/jbesw https://linkedin.com/in/jamesbeswick Links https://stripe.dev @StripeDev https://youtu.be/HAFrggEDr5U https://youtu.be/mWfvi346puM https://youtu.be/yJOrMDMqeoI https://youtu.be/BvJ0XLyCQsw https://youtu.be/KDtsC7SjsdA https://youtu.be/JB87qJGSvuk https://youtu.be/8csr0dOZWPY https://youtu.be/Jymrhk4BNes https://youtu.be/1PJM8p-RMsY https://youtu.be/dUXDuxqTxmo DESCRIPTION James Beswick (Head of Developer Relations at Stripe) talks with David Edoh-Bedi (Developer Advocate) about his professional journey from growing up in Togo to working at Microsoft and eventually Stripe. The conversation explores David's transition from software engineering to developer advocacy, highlighting the importance of empathy, communication skills, and technical knowledge in the role. They discuss the challenges of working with large legacy systems, the complexities of payment processing, and how the software development landscape has evolved from library-focused development to API-centric approaches. The interview provides valuable insights for developers considering a career path in developer relations and those integrating complex systems like payment processing into their applications. TIMECODES 00:00 Intro 00:24 First programming experiences 03:57 Transitioning from college to industry 10:30 Dealing with legacy systems 14:14 Transition to developer advocacy 17:42 Challenges of transitioning roles & public speaking in tech 25:08 Beyond payments: The complexity of payment systems 38:37 Mastering APIs 44:00 Comparing AWS & Stripe 46:35 Outro RECOMMENDED BOOKS Simon Brown • Software Architecture for Developers Vol. 2 • https://leanpub.com/visualising-software-architecture David Farley • Modern Software Engineering • https://amzn.to/3GI468M Kim, Humble, Debois, Willis & Forsgren • The DevOps Handbook • https://amzn.to/47oAf3l Simon Wardley • Wardley Maps • https://amzn.to/45U8Upr Simon Wardley • Wardley Mapping, The Knowledge • https://amzn.to/3XQEeDu David Anderson, Marck McCann & Michael O'Reilly • The Value Flywheel Effect • https://amzn.to/3VcHxC Mike Amundsen • Restful Web API Patterns & Practices Cookbook • https://amzn.to/3C74fpH https://bsky.app/profile/gotocon.com https://twitter.com/GOTOcon https://www.linkedin.com/company/goto- https://www.instagram.com/goto_con https://www.facebook.com/GOTOConferences #Stripe #DevRel #DeveloperRelations #DeveloperDdvocacy #API #APIs #DavidEdohBedi #JamesBeswick CHANNEL MEMBERSHIP BONUS Join this channel to get early access to videos & other perks: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCs_tLP3AiwYKwdUHpltJPuA/join Looking for a unique learning experience? Attend the next GOTO conference near you! Get your ticket at https://gotopia.tech Sign up for updates and specials at https://gotopia.tech/newsletter SUBSCRIBE TO OUR CHANNEL - new videos posted almost daily. https://www.youtube.com/user/GotoConferences/?sub_confirmation=1