LAURENCE MORONEY: At Google, we have lots of developer events.
And today, I'm talking with Megan Krilanovich,
along with her special guest, who makes many of them happen.
So Firebase always has great representation
at events like Google I/O. We have our own summits and lots
of other things.
And Megan, you're the one that drives all of this.
You're the brains behind it all.
What's it like?
MEGAN KRILANOVICH: It's pretty great.
So I think I have one of the best jobs
ever, which is that I help our engineers and our product
managers get out to events and talk to developers
throughout the year.
So we go to about 100, 150 events every year--
LAURENCE MORONEY: That many?
Wow.
MEGAN KRILANOVICH: --and send hundreds of Firebasers
to these events every year, as well.
LAURENCE MORONEY: Wow.
And one of the things that Firebase always
seems to be synonymous with at events is great swag.
MEGAN KRILANOVICH: That is true.
We do have some pretty great swag.
There's a Firebase hot sauce, which is one of my favorites.
And now we've started doing annual additions.
So we're hoping that they kind of become collector's items--
or, at least, I've started to collect them.
One of my other favorites was the Firebase sweatband.
So, you know, it's a lot of work being a developer.
When you start coding, you know, you get hot, you get sweaty,
and you need your sweatband to keep cool.
LAURENCE MORONEY: So we've seen that great video of David.
He's covering himself from head to toe--
MEGAN KRILANOVICH: That's right.
LAURENCE MORONEY: --in these sweatbands, right?
So it's like-- so, would you recommend developers do that?
MEGAN KRILANOVICH: Absolutely.
You know, whatever you need to do to code hard.
LAURENCE MORONEY: So I was speaking at an event in the UK
earlier this year.
And you remember we sent, like, a whole bunch of hot sauce
there?
MEGAN KRILANOVICH: Mm-hmm.
LAURENCE MORONEY: And it didn't quite go according to plan.
MEGAN KRILANOVICH: Oh, man.
I think that the truck that it was being shipped on actually
went off the side of the road.
I think everyone was OK.
But the hot sauce was not, so it never made it to that event.
LAURENCE MORONEY: And so, you ended up
shipping a whole bunch of hot sauce to me.
MEGAN KRILANOVICH: That's true!
LAURENCE MORONEY: And I packed my suitcase full of hot sauce
to go to the UK--
MEGAN KRILANOVICH: Yep.
LAURENCE MORONEY: Let's just say Security gave me, like,
a very interesting expression when they were scanning my bag,
so--
MEGAN KRILANOVICH: But this is the true Firebase spirit.
Anything for our developers.
You know, we always want to go the extra mile.
And if that means packing hundreds of bottles
of hot sauce in your suitcase, then that's
what we've got to do.
LAURENCE MORONEY: And I have to say,
I kept some of the hot sauce at home--
MEGAN KRILANOVICH: Oh, good.
LAURENCE MORONEY: --and my wife makes amazing chicken wings
with it.
So we have to try it some time.
And one of these days, I'm going to do,
like, a Firecast on how to make chicken wings with Firebase
hot sauce.
MEGAN KRILANOVICH: I-- yes.
I would love to be a guest on that show.
LAURENCE MORONEY: We'll bring them and put them
in the middle of the table.
So, one of the things also, with Megan--
I don't know if you can see on camera, but Megan, like--
MEGAN KRILANOVICH: Oh, yeah.
LAURENCE MORONEY: --brings Didi--
MEGAN KRILANOVICH: Here, Didi.
[KISSING NOISES] Come on.
LAURENCE MORONEY: --with her.
And, like, Didi is almost, like, Google-- like,
our Firebase mascot dog.
MEGAN KRILANOVICH: She is the Firebase dog.
You know, Google is very dog-friendly.
And I worked with Firebase before the Google acquisition.
And when we came to Google, I kept telling everyone
that they should get a dog.
And then I realized, maybe I should just get the dog.
LAURENCE MORONEY: OK.
And then Didi came along and loved you.
MEGAN KRILANOVICH: She did.
LAURENCE MORONEY: You know, even,
like, her ear, she has one up, one down.
It reminds me of the Firebase logo.
MEGAN KRILANOVICH: That's true!
LAURENCE MORONEY: Did she inspire it?
MEGAN KRILANOVICH: You know, I would like to say yes.
But I don't think that's the case.
We'll just say she embodies Firebase.
LAURENCE MORONEY: OK, sounds good.
So she's just a--
just a darling little dog.
So she definitely embodies Firebase.
Now, you mentioned you came as part
of the Firebase acquisition.
So what was it like going from, like, start up to then
being part of Google?
MEGAN KRILANOVICH: It was a pretty great journey, you know.
I joined one year before acquisition,
so I was there a year.
And from then, we grew from seven employees to over 20.
And then we were acquired by Google.
So I always say that tech years are kind of like dog years.
So it's about a 7:1 ratio.
LAURENCE MORONEY: OK.
MEGAN KRILANOVICH: So time moves very quickly.
LAURENCE MORONEY: So a lot has changed since you were--
MEGAN KRILANOVICH: A lot has changed.
LAURENCE MORONEY: --became part of Google, you know.
MEGAN KRILANOVICH: That's right.
We used to bake cookies in our own--
in our own kitchen, back in the old days.
And, you know, things like that don't happen anymore.
But we still have a lot of fun as a team.
LAURENCE MORONEY: Now we can just go to a micro kitchen
and take some cookies, right?
MEGAN KRILANOVICH: That's correct.
LAURENCE MORONEY: So to-- back to events for a second.
So, like, one of the things that, all these events,
from small to large, like, all the way up from, like,
G2G Meetups, to Google I/O, and that kind of stuff, it's like--
it's a big logistic issue getting the right speakers
to go to the right events so that we can support and love
our community.
And it's like, how is it that you managed all of this?
It sounds so difficult.
MEGAN KRILANOVICH: know, it takes a lot of time,
and a lot of it is just about taking care of each
and every one of our speakers, and the awesome Googlers that
go to these events, so that, they
can keep going to as many events as possible
throughout the year.
LAURENCE MORONEY: Do you have a favorite?
MEGAN KRILANOVICH: A favorite event?
LAURENCE MORONEY: Yeah.
MEGAN KRILANOVICH: Oh, man.
You know, there's some that we've been going
to forever, like, some of the--
some college hackathons that we go to, year after year.
And so I really like some of these ones that are just
Firebase tradition to go to.
LAURENCE MORONEY: And it's great, like,
to work with students, like--
MEGAN KRILANOVICH: It is.
LAURENCE MORONEY: --to see them getting started,
and beginning their journey, right?
MEGAN KRILANOVICH: It's really cool.
And some of the things that they build in, you know, 24-48 hours
is absolutely amazing.
LAURENCE MORONEY: So beyond, like,
the hackathons and college hackathons, obviously we
have the big events like Google I/O, and that kind of stuff.
Any good ones coming up that you're working on?
MEGAN KRILANOVICH: Well, we are going
to have an event on October 31 in Amsterdam,
in the Netherlands.
LAURENCE MORONEY: Halloween in Amsterdam!
MEGAN KRILANOVICH: We're super excited about this.
We'll be sending a huge portion of the Firebase team,
lots of really great sessions, and instructor-led trainings,
and office hours.
And so, developers will get to have
just a whole day with the Firebase team,
and ask any questions that they've
been storing up over the year.
LAURENCE MORONEY: We did a great one last year in Berlin.
And it was, like, there were-- so many people went.
And it was a fabulous event, right?
MEGAN KRILANOVICH: Yes.
LAURENCE MORONEY: So, hoping for the same again.
MEGAN KRILANOVICH: Absolutely.
It's going to be great.
LAURENCE MORONEY: Cool.
So if I'm a developer and I want to get started,
what's the best place to get going?
MEGAN KRILANOVICH: I recommend that you
go to firebase.google.com and get started on our code labs.
We have great code labs for iOS, Android, and web.
LAURENCE MORONEY: Cool.
MEGAN KRILANOVICH: Or, you know, come meet the Firebase team
at one of these events.
LAURENCE MORONEY: Sounds good.
MEGAN KRILANOVICH: We would love to see you there.
LAURENCE MORONEY: So can I go to the Amsterdam one?
MEGAN KRILANOVICH: Yes, Laurence.
If I'm going, you're going, Laurence.
LAURENCE MORONEY: Sounds good to me.
So thanks, everybody, for watching this episode
of "Coffee With a Googler."
And thanks, Megan, and thanks, Didi, for being our guests.
And as you heard, there's so many events.
They're always going on.
We have, from Google Developer groups,
all the way up to things like Google I/O,
and this event that's coming in Amsterdam on Halloween,
October 31st.
So check in on firebase.google.com,
and check out the links below to learn more
about some of the events, and Megan,
the person who's making them all happen.
So, thanks again, Megan.