Meet the Team: Donté Ledbetter, Codecademy’s Product Marketing Lead

Everybody’s career journey looks different — even the journeys of our own team members! That’s why we’re so excited to share stories and advice from Codecademy’s Software Engineers, Data Scientists, Product Managers, and more to show people what it’s like to work in tech.?

Today we’re shining a spotlight on Donté Ledbetter , our Product Marketing Lead who has been with Codecademy for just under two years. You can also read stories from people who have successfully landed jobs after learning with Codecademy here.

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Tell us about yourself.?

“As the Product Marketing Lead, my role is to be at the center of the customer, marketing, and product. I've been in marketing for about a decade since graduating college and have worked with virtually all sub-functions of marketing, including social media, CRM (customer relationship management), and paid advertising.?

Product marketing happens to be my favorite.??

I actually started doing product marketing during my first job out of college. One of the key initiatives that I worked on was launching an API for advertisers. That was my first experience developing a go-to-market strategy. Years later, I found myself in a product marketing role at Stash, helping them launch their first debit account.???

Now I'm here at Codecademy bringing technical education to the masses in a product marketing role.”?

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What’s it like being a Product Marketer??

“Product marketers are essentially mini-CMOs. Not only do we have to understand the customer, the product, and how to promote products but we also have to understand the business. So product marketers are at the center of the action in every organization.??

At Codecademy, the most exciting initiative is what's happening right now. We're at an inflection point in tech where AI is going to fundamentally change the way we create, work, and learn. So I'm helping to bring Codecademy into the AI conversation and transform the platform into one that can be used to learn more advanced topics like AI. ?

"We're at an inflection point in tech where AI is going to fundamentally change the way we create, work, and learn."

Product marketing is a very involved role. In other words, it's only for people who enjoy being in the middle of the action. It's a very strategic role but also high-pressured because you're defining how products are presented to customers and the market. This can make or break the success of a product. Communication and collaboration skills are essential.??

The most successful product marketers know how to work with and influence others in the organization. But, most importantly, you have to know your customers.”?

What advice do you have for people interested in product marketing??

“Learn technical skills a little earlier.??

Early in my career, I was a right-brained marketer who didn't know much about the technical aspects of software and the web. I became more technical over time, which allowed me to work with product managers and engineers better. At one point, I was doing CRM so I wanted to learn how to update HTML emails. I signed up for Codecademy in late 2016 to learn HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.?

Then I learned how to build my own website. Then in 2020, I learned SQL and Python for the first time. If I could go back in time, I would definitely learn technical skills from day one.”?

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What do you want to learn next? ?

“I'm very interested in what's coming next for AI and the impact it'll have on marketing and business.??

I spend a lot of time reading business news and thinking about business strategy. That actually influences how I approach certain things as a product marketer, in addition to my knowledge about the customer.??

So one of the best ways to learn is to learn from other companies. Study what successful companies do and experiment with doing similar things in your work.”?

What’s your favorite Codecademy course???

“I'm a Python fanboy. I actually started learning on Codecademy in 2017 and my favorite course by far has been Learn Python 3. Python is a powerful language and Codecademy makes it so easy to learn.”?