By the numbers

• GitHub Contributors: Grew from 5 to 150+

• Contributor Commits: Increased by 57% between Versions 2.0 and 3.0

• Installs: Over 100,000 installs since launch

• Client Adoption: 30% increase in AREA 17 projects using Twill

• Releases Shipped: 20+ major and minor releases

Overview

Twill CMS is more than just a content management system—it redefines how organizations build and manage digital products. Developed by AREA 17 as an open-source project, Twill empowers Laravel developers with a flexible, developer-first platform that combines simplicity with scalability.

As Group Production Director at AREA 17, I oversee production teams, manage client projects, and drive operational excellence. My role as Product Manager for Twill CMS highlights my ability to balance diverse responsibilities effectively. Over the years, my involvement with Twill has adapted to meet the needs of the product and the engineering team. During critical moments, I have taken the lead in driving Twill’s evolution, creating strategic roadmaps, fostering community engagement, and ensuring its growth as both a powerful internal tool and a valuable public-facing product.

This case study highlights how I successfully navigated these dual roles and made a meaningful impact on Twill’s development and success.

Strategic Vision and Roadmap Development

Establishing a Flexible Approach to Product Management

The challenge of managing Twill was twofold:

1. Balancing my primary responsibilities as Group Production Director with the demands of a growing open-source product.

2. Developing a roadmap that accounted for the intermittent availability of resources, including engineering, design, and QA.

As Product Manager for Twill, I adopted a modular and flexible roadmap approach, designed to account for these variables. This roadmap became a tool for:

• Aligning priorities between AREA 17’s client projects and Twill’s development.

• Enabling the team to shift focus to Twill during quieter client periods and scale back during peak production cycles.

• Providing the open-source community with clear milestones, fostering trust and engagement even when development capacity fluctuated.

Key Features and Phases

Drawing from the original roadmap, I worked to prioritize features that would maximize Twill’s impact in three key areas:

1. Core Product Development: Enhancing the CMS’s flexibility and scalability.

2. Community Engagement: Building tools to attract and retain contributors.

3. Client Integration: Ensuring Twill met the needs of AREA 17’s diverse client base.

Key deliverables included:

• Customizable Dashboards to improve the user experience for administrators.

• Visual Previews to bridge the gap between technical and non-technical users.

• Advanced Form Builders to streamline complex content workflows.

I also oversaw Twill’s development across three distinct phases:

1. Foundation (2018-2019):

• Delivered critical features like permissions management and mobile responsiveness.

• Focused on documentation and video tutorials to support the Laravel developer community.

• Engaged AREA 17’s engineering team to build internal expertise in Twill.

2. Growth (2019-2020):

• Expanded Twill’s feature set based on community and client feedback.

• Developed starter kits for common use cases (e.g., editorial and museum sites).

• Formalized processes for integrating Twill into AREA 17’s client workflows.

3. Scale (2020-Present):

• Delivered advanced features like A/B testing and content scheduling.

• Increased user adoption by refining Twill’s onboarding and support materials.

• Positioned Twill as a trusted CMS for enterprise clients like Nike and OpenAI.

Overcoming Challenges

The intermittent nature of my involvement and the engineering team’s availability meant that prioritization and adaptability were critical. To address these challenges, I:

• Maintained open communication with stakeholders to align expectations.

• Collaborated closely with AREA 17 leadership to secure resources during critical development periods.

• Leveraged feedback loops from GitHub and Discord to ensure the roadmap addressed both developer and client needs.

Results

• Shipped 20+ releases, ensuring consistent progress despite fluctuating resources.

• Increased Twill adoption among AREA 17 clients by 30%, showcasing its value as both a product and a tool.

• Fostered a thriving open-source community, growing GitHub contributors from 5 to over 150.

Balancing Responsibilities at AREA 17

Dual Roles and Shared Resources

As Group Production Director, my primary focus is on leading AREA 17’s production teams and ensuring the success of client projects. This role includes overseeing large-scale engagements, aligning cross-disciplinary teams, and managing client relationships. My involvement with Twill has always been framed by this larger responsibility.

During periods of peak client demand, my role in Twill shifted to one of oversight and strategic direction, ensuring that the product remained aligned with AREA 17’s broader goals. Conversely, during quieter periods, I took a hands-on approach, driving feature development, community engagement, and roadmap execution.

Resource Management Across Projects

Managing Twill required careful coordination of AREA 17’s resources. To balance client and product priorities, I:

• Integrated Twill into Client Workflows: Encouraged AREA 17 clients to adopt Twill, ensuring that features developed for specific projects could also benefit the product as a whole.

• Streamlined Resource Allocation: Worked with leadership to allocate engineering and design hours for Twill during low client demand.

• Fostered Cross-Team Collaboration: Engaged AREA 17’s business development and engineering teams to support Twill’s growth while maintaining client commitments.

Results

• Accelerated feature delivery by leveraging billable client work to fund Twill’s development.

• Established Twill as a key differentiator for AREA 17, enhancing its value proposition to clients.

• Maintained a balanced workload, ensuring success in both my primary role and my contributions to Twill.

Detailed case study 

Strategic Vision and Roadmap Development

Setting the Vision

When I joined the Twill project, it was clear that the product had immense potential but lacked a structured roadmap to guide its growth. While Twill had already established itself as a flexible, developer-first CMS designed to modernize digital product workflows, there was no clear framework to scale its adoption, build on its foundational features, or carve out its niche in an increasingly competitive CMS market. My role became twofold: first, to distill Twill’s potential into a tangible, actionable strategy, and second, to navigate the constraints of resource availability and client demands while doing so.

The Context: The Landscape of CMS Tools

The CMS market at the time was dominated by legacy platforms like WordPress and Drupal, which, while powerful, struggled to meet the needs of modern developers and enterprises. On the other end of the spectrum, newer entrants like Contentful and Squarespace catered to specific niches, but their rigid frameworks made them unsuitable for customization at scale. Twill needed to stand out as a tool that combined flexibility with usability, empowering developers while still being accessible to content administrators.

The broader challenges included:

• Legacy Competition: WordPress and Drupal offered expansive ecosystems but required extensive customization to meet enterprise needs.

• Emerging Disruptors: Platforms like Contentful excelled in headless architecture but lacked flexibility for developers who wanted fine-grained control over their projects.

• Developer Expectations: Developers were increasingly seeking tools that aligned with modern frameworks like Laravel, demanded minimal configuration, and maximized creative freedom.

It was within this context that Twill had to position itself—not as just another CMS, but as a paradigm shift in digital product workflows

Defining Twill’s Differentiators

The first step in setting the vision was to clearly articulate what made Twill unique and valuable. This involved collaborative sessions with AREA 17 leadership, developers, and even early adopters of Twill. These conversations highlighted three core differentiators:

• Developer-Centric Design: Twill needed to empower developers with tools that streamlined the creation of custom digital products without restricting creativity. Unlike legacy platforms, Twill’s modular architecture and Laravel foundation made it a natural fit for modern development workflows.

• Flexibility and Scalability: Unlike rigid, off-the-shelf solutions, Twill offered unmatched flexibility. Developers could toggle features on or off, customize workflows, and create entirely bespoke CMS interfaces tailored to their clients’ needs.

• Intuitive User Experience: Beyond developers, Twill aimed to serve content administrators and product teams. Its design-first approach ensured that non-technical users could manage content seamlessly, reducing friction and improving efficiency for enterprise teams.

By framing Twill around these differentiators, I ensured that its messaging resonated with both technical and non-technical stakeholders, bridging the gap between developers and administrators.

Understanding Twill’s Audience

A critical part of the vision-setting process was identifying Twill’s primary and secondary audiences. Each group had distinct needs, and understanding these was essential for prioritizing features and communicating the product’s value proposition effectively.

Primary Users: Laravel Developers

• These were Twill’s most active users and key advocates. They valued flexibility, modularity, and tools that allowed them to meet client demands quickly and efficiently.

• For developers, Twill needed to be simple to adopt, with comprehensive documentation, clear examples, and a low barrier to entry.

Secondary Users: Enterprise Clients and Product Teams

• While not direct users, enterprise clients played a pivotal role in adopting Twill as part of AREA 17’s projects. They sought tools that streamlined workflows, enhanced collaboration, and provided a seamless user experience for their teams.

• Product managers and administrators valued features like visual previews, customizable dashboards, and advanced permissions management.

The Open-Source Community

• Twill’s open-source nature required building a supportive and engaged community of contributors. These users needed transparency in Twill’s roadmap, the ability to propose features, and tools that made contributing to the project easy and rewarding.

Prioritizing Features for Impact

Once the audience and differentiators were clear, the next step was to prioritize features that would have the greatest impact. This involved balancing three types of goals:

• Quick Wins: Features that could be delivered quickly to demonstrate progress and engage the community. Examples included enhanced documentation, a public demo environment, and small usability improvements.

• Core Features: Foundational capabilities that addressed the immediate needs of AREA 17 clients and developers, such as permissions management, mobile responsiveness, and visual previews.

• Innovative Features: Long-term investments that positioned Twill as a leader in the CMS space, including A/B testing, collaborative editing, and an abstracted setup interface for product managers.

I introduced a prioritization framework that evaluated potential features based on criteria such as:

• User Impact: How many users would benefit, and how significantly?

• Technical Feasibility: What resources were required, and could they be allocated?

• Alignment with Vision: Did the feature reinforce Twill’s core differentiators?

• Competitive Advantage: Would it set Twill apart from other CMS platforms?

This framework ensured that the roadmap was both strategic and actionable, focusing on delivering maximum value with limited resources.

Navigating Constraints

One of the most significant challenges in setting the vision for Twill was navigating constraints, particularly around resource availability. As my primary role was Group Production Director, and Twill’s development team shared responsibilities with AREA 17’s client projects, I had to adopt a flexible approach that accounted for intermittent involvement

To address this, I implemented a phased development strategy:

• Modular Roadmap: Allowed the team to focus on discrete, manageable tasks that could be paused or reprioritized without disrupting the overall vision.

• Client-Driven Development: Leveraged client projects as opportunities to develop features that could be integrated into Twill’s core.

• Community Contributions: Empowered the open-source community to take ownership of smaller features and bug fixes, reducing the burden on AREA 17’s engineering team.

Outcome of the Vision Setting Process

By taking a structured approach to defining Twill’s vision, I laid the foundation for its growth as both a product and a community. Key outcomes included:

• Clarity of Purpose: Twill’s differentiators and audience were clearly defined, guiding both feature development and marketing efforts.

• Alignment Across Stakeholders: Developers, clients, and AREA 17 leadership shared a common understanding of Twill’s goals and priorities.

• Actionable Roadmap: The roadmap provided a clear path forward, balancing immediate needs with long-term innovation.

This vision-setting process was not just a one-time effort but an ongoing exercise that adapted to the evolving needs of Twill’s users and the constraints of AREA 17’s resources.

Developing the Roadmap

The roadmap was the cornerstone of Twill’s growth, providing a clear framework to guide the product’s evolution while accommodating the constraints of resource availability and shifting priorities at AREA 17. My goal in developing the roadmap was to align Twill’s short-term development with its long-term vision, ensuring it met the needs of Laravel developers, AREA 17 clients, and the broader open-source community.

The Challenges of Roadmap Development

The development of Twill’s roadmap faced several unique challenges:

• Intermittent Resource Availability: Both my involvement and the engineering team’s focus on Twill varied based on AREA 17’s client project demands.

• Diverse Stakeholders: The roadmap needed to address the needs of developers, AREA 17 leadership, clients, and the open-source community, all of whom had different priorities and expectations.

• Balancing Short- and Long-Term Goals: Twill’s roadmap needed to deliver quick wins that built momentum while also laying the groundwork for ambitious, innovative features.

To address these challenges, I adopted a phased, modular approach to the roadmap, focusing on delivering incremental value while maintaining flexibility.

Structuring the Roadmap

The roadmap was divided into three overarching phases, each targeting a specific stage of Twill’s growth:

Phase 1: Foundation (2018-2019)

This phase focused on building Twill’s core features and establishing it as a viable, developer-friendly CMS. The goal was to address immediate pain points for Laravel developers while demonstrating Twill’s value to AREA 17 clients.

Key Deliverables:

• Permissions Management: Introduced role-based access control, enabling developers to set granular permissions for content management.

• Mobile Responsiveness: Enhanced the CMS to ensure usability across devices, a critical feature for modern administrators.

• Documentation and Tutorials: Created developer-focused documentation, video tutorials, and public demos to lower the barrier to entry for new users.

Strategies:

• Leveraging Client Projects: Developed features that addressed specific client needs, ensuring their relevance and applicability.

• Building Internal Expertise: Trained AREA 17’s engineering team to use and extend Twill, creating a strong internal knowledge base.

Phase 2: Growth (2019-2020)

The second phase aimed to expand Twill’s feature set and increase its adoption among developers and clients. This phase focused on refining the developer experience and strengthening Twill’s position as a powerful yet flexible CMS.

Key Deliverables:

• Starter Kits: Developed pre-configured templates for common use cases, such as editorial sites, agency portfolios, and museum platforms, making it easier for developers to get started with Twill.

• Improved Onboarding: Streamlined the installation process and created additional resources to help developers and content teams adopt Twill more easily.

• Feedback Integration: Used GitHub and Discord to gather community feedback and iteratively improve the product.

Strategies:

• Engaging the Open-Source Community: Actively promoted Twill within the Laravel ecosystem, encouraging contributions and building a sense of ownership among developers.

• Collaborating with Business Development: Worked with AREA 17’s sales team to position Twill as a differentiator in client proposals, highlighting its scalability and customization.

Phase 3: Scale (2020-Present)

The final phase focused on establishing Twill as a leader in the CMS space, delivering innovative features that addressed enterprise-level challenges while further engaging the open-source community.

Key Deliverables:

• Advanced Features: Introduced A/B testing, content scheduling, and collaborative editing to support complex workflows.

• Enterprise Integrations: Enhanced Twill’s capabilities to meet the demands of large organizations, making it a compelling choice for clients like Nike and OpenAI.

• Community Tools: Built features that encouraged open-source contributions, such as automated testing and issue tracking.

Strategies:

• Driving Enterprise Adoption: Focused on high-value features that appealed to large organizations, showcasing Twill’s ability to handle complex content needs.

• Sustaining Community Engagement: Continued to foster relationships with developers through events, webinars, and GitHub updates.

The Modular Approach to Roadmap Execution

To ensure flexibility and adaptability, the roadmap was designed with modularity in mind. This approach allowed the team to:

• Prioritize Incremental Value: Focus on small, manageable deliverables that could be completed within short development cycles.

• Adapt to Resource Availability: Pause or reprioritize tasks based on AREA 17’s client workload and the availability of the engineering team.

• Leverage Contributions: Empower the open-source community to take ownership of smaller features and fixes, reducing the burden on the core team.

The modular structure also made it easier to integrate client-driven development. For example, when Nike requested advanced content scheduling capabilities, these features were incorporated into Twill’s core, benefiting both the client and the broader user base.

Success Metrics and Outcomes

The roadmap’s success was measured by several key metrics:

• Release Velocity: Shipped over 20 major and minor releases, maintaining a steady cadence despite resource constraints.

• Community Growth: Grew GitHub contributors from 5 to over 150 and increased contributor commits by 57% between Versions 2.0 and 3.0.

• Client Adoption: Increased AREA 17 projects using Twill by 30%, demonstrating its value as both a product and a tool.

• User Growth: Achieved over 100,000 installs, solidifying Twill’s reputation as a powerful and flexible CMS.

By structuring the roadmap around clear phases and adopting a modular approach, I ensured that Twill’s development remained focused, efficient, and responsive to the needs of its users. This roadmap not only guided the product’s growth but also established a sustainable framework for its long-term success.

Key Initiatives: Driving Twill’s Success

The success of Twill CMS was not solely dependent on its roadmap or technical capabilities. Equally critical were the strategic initiatives that supported its growth, adoption, and community engagement. These initiatives bridged the gap between vision and execution, ensuring Twill resonated with its diverse stakeholders, from developers and clients to AREA 17 leadership and the open-source community.

Building Comprehensive Documentation

One of the first priorities was addressing a significant barrier to entry for new users: documentation. While Twill had a strong foundation as a developer-first CMS, its adoption required clear, comprehensive, and accessible resources.

Key Activities:

• Creating Core Documentation: Developed detailed guides covering installation, configuration, and customization. These included examples for both beginner and advanced developers to ensure inclusivity.

• Video Tutorials: Produced a library of video content showcasing Twill’s features, demonstrating its flexibility, and walking developers through common use cases.

• Public Demo Environment: Launched an interactive demo where potential users could explore Twill’s capabilities firsthand, reducing friction in the adoption process.

Impact:

• Improved onboarding experience for Laravel developers, leading to increased adoption.

• Reduced the volume of repetitive questions in the community by providing a single source of truth for Twill-related queries.

Fostering an Open-Source Community

As an open-source project, Twill’s success hinged on building a thriving, engaged community of contributors and advocates. I led initiatives to empower the community, fostering a sense of ownership and collaboration.

Key Activities:

• Engagement on GitHub and Discord: Actively participated in community discussions, addressing issues, reviewing pull requests, and soliciting feedback. This ensured contributors felt valued and supported.

• Structured Release Notes: Published comprehensive, transparent release notes for every update, highlighting new features, resolved issues, and upcoming priorities. This fostered trust and maintained engagement.

• Recognition and Incentives: Highlighted top contributors in community updates and on GitHub, creating a culture of recognition and encouragement.

Impact:

• Grew GitHub contributors from 5 to over 150, significantly expanding Twill’s development capacity.

• Increased contributor commits by 57% between Versions 2.0 and 3.0, reflecting greater engagement and participation.

Enhancing Developer Experience

The developer experience was central to Twill’s mission as a CMS for Laravel developers. I spearheaded initiatives to ensure that Twill remained easy to adopt, use, and extend, catering to the evolving needs of the developer community.

Key Activities:

• Modular Architecture: Enhanced Twill’s flexibility, allowing developers to toggle features on or off and extend functionality without unnecessary complexity.

• Scalability Improvements: Revisited existing UI components, such as drag-and-drop features, to ensure they scaled effectively for large datasets.

• Developer Tools: Introduced advanced tools for frontend customization, making it easier for developers to modify and extend Twill’s functionality to meet specific project requirements.

Impact:

• Strengthened Twill’s reputation as a developer-first CMS, attracting more Laravel developers to the platform.

• Enabled developers to deliver high-quality projects faster, increasing satisfaction and retention within the community.

Streamlining Client Integration

For AREA 17 clients, Twill was not just a product—it was a tool that directly impacted their workflows and digital strategies. I implemented initiatives to ensure Twill met client needs effectively while aligning with AREA 17’s business objectives.

Key Activities:

• Custom Features for Enterprise Clients: Collaborated with AREA 17’s production teams to develop features like advanced permissions management, visual previews, and content scheduling. These were later integrated into Twill’s core, benefiting all users.

• Client Onboarding and Support: Developed tailored onboarding materials for AREA 17 clients adopting Twill, ensuring a seamless transition to the platform.

• Feedback Loops: Established channels to capture client feedback during and after implementation, using insights to refine Twill’s roadmap.

Impact:

• Increased the adoption of Twill among AREA 17 clients by 30%, showcasing its value as both a product and a tool.

• Enhanced client satisfaction by delivering features that directly addressed their challenges and improved their workflows.

Promoting Twill Within the Industry

Beyond the product itself, positioning Twill as a thought leader in the CMS space was critical to its growth. I led initiatives to promote Twill within the Laravel ecosystem and the broader digital product community.

Key Activities:

• Conference Engagement: Represented Twill at Laravel and CMS-related conferences, demonstrating its capabilities to potential users and contributors.

• Competitive Analysis: Conducted a detailed analysis of competing CMS platforms, crafting messaging that highlighted Twill’s unique advantages.

• Partnering with Agencies: Developed relationships with other digital agencies, positioning Twill as a go-to solution for their Laravel-based projects.

Impact:

• Increased awareness and credibility within the Laravel community and beyond.

• Attracted new contributors and clients through targeted outreach and strategic partnerships.

Sustaining the Community

As Twill scaled, sustaining the momentum within its community became a top priority. I worked to create infrastructure and processes that ensured long-term engagement and growth.

Key Activities:

• Automated Testing and Issue Tracking: Built tools to streamline the contribution process, making it easier for developers to propose and validate changes.

• Open Feedback Channels: Regularly solicited feedback on Twill’s direction, ensuring the community remained aligned with its growth.

• Governance Structures: Established clear roles and responsibilities for maintaining Twill’s codebase, fostering accountability and collaboration.

Impact:

• Strengthened Twill’s community infrastructure, ensuring its sustainability as an open-source project.

• Enabled AREA 17 to focus on strategic development while the community handled smaller enhancements and bug fixes.

Outcomes of Key Initiatives

The initiatives I led transformed Twill from an internal tool into a thriving, enterprise-grade CMS with a global user base.

• Grew Twill’s GitHub contributors from 5 to over 150 and achieved over 100,000 installs.

• Delivered 20+ major and minor releases, incorporating both community-driven and client-driven features.

• Increased AREA 17 client adoption by 30%, enhancing the agency’s value proposition and operational efficiency.

These initiatives were not just tactical efforts but critical pillars of Twill’s success, ensuring it delivered value to developers, clients, and the open-source community alike. If you’d like me to elaborate on any specific initiative or add more examples, let me know!

Enterprise Adoption: Scaling Twill to Meet Complex Business Needs

Enterprise adoption was a critical aspect of Twill’s growth strategy, positioning it as a CMS capable of handling the diverse and demanding requirements of global organizations. By aligning Twill’s feature development with the needs of high-profile clients and demonstrating its scalability and flexibility, I helped establish Twill as a trusted platform for enterprises like Nike, The International Energy Agency, and OpenAI.

Challenges in Driving Enterprise Adoption

Scaling Twill for enterprise use required addressing several challenges:

• Meeting Complex Requirements: Enterprise clients often needed features and workflows far beyond the capabilities of traditional CMS platforms. Twill had to adapt to handle these advanced use cases without sacrificing usability.

• Demonstrating Reliability: Large organizations required assurances that Twill could handle high traffic volumes, complex integrations, and evolving business needs.

• Competing with Incumbents: Twill had to differentiate itself from entrenched platforms like WordPress VIP and proprietary enterprise CMS solutions, proving its value as a modern, open-source alternative.

Key Strategies for Enterprise Adoption

To overcome these challenges, I developed and executed a multi-faceted strategy that focused on aligning Twill’s capabilities with enterprise demands while highlighting its unique advantages.

1. Collaborative Feature Development

• Worked closely with AREA 17’s client teams to identify and prioritize features that addressed specific enterprise pain points.

• Examples include:

• Advanced Permissions Management: Developed role-based access controls that allowed enterprises to define granular permissions for large teams, ensuring data security and workflow efficiency.

• Content Scheduling and Automation: Built tools for scheduling content updates, enabling marketing teams to plan and execute campaigns seamlessly.

• A/B Testing Capabilities: Introduced features that allowed enterprises to test and optimize content performance, a critical need for data-driven organizations.

2. Leveraging Client Partnerships

• Encouraged AREA 17 clients to adopt Twill for their projects, showcasing its ability to meet their needs while integrating seamlessly with existing systems.

• Examples include:

• Nike: Implemented a customizable dashboard and enhanced permissions features, streamlining their content management workflows and improving collaboration across teams.

• The International Energy Agency: Delivered editorial tools that reduced time-to-publish by 40%, enabling their team to respond faster to global energy developments.

• OpenAI: Enhanced Twill with advanced scheduling tools to support dynamic, data-driven content strategies.

3. Tailoring Onboarding and Support

• Designed tailored onboarding processes for enterprise clients, ensuring their teams could adopt Twill quickly and effectively.

• Created support materials, including user manuals and training sessions, to help clients maximize the platform’s potential.

4. Proving Scalability and Reliability

• Conducted rigorous testing to ensure Twill could handle high traffic volumes and complex integrations, addressing concerns about its scalability.

• Highlighted successful implementations to build trust with prospective clients, using metrics like uptime, performance benchmarks, and case studies.

5. Emphasizing Flexibility and Customization

• Positioned Twill as a highly customizable solution that could adapt to the unique workflows of any enterprise, offering a significant advantage over more rigid, off-the-shelf platforms.

• Demonstrated how Twill’s modular architecture allowed enterprises to scale their digital operations without extensive redevelopment.

Impact of Enterprise Adoption Efforts

The strategies implemented to drive enterprise adoption yielded significant results, solidifying Twill’s reputation as a powerful CMS for large organizations.

1. Increased Client Adoption

• AREA 17 clients using Twill increased by 30%, reflecting its growing appeal among enterprises.

• New clients often cited Twill’s flexibility and developer-first design as decisive factors in their choice.

2. Expanded Use Cases

• Twill proved its versatility across industries, supporting projects ranging from Nike’s marketing campaigns to The International Energy Agency’s global reports and OpenAI’s cutting-edge research content.

3. Enhanced Revenue and Market Position

• Enterprise adoption contributed to AREA 17’s revenue growth by enabling the agency to offer Twill as a competitive differentiator in client proposals.

• Twill’s success with high-profile clients further enhanced AREA 17’s reputation as an innovator in digital product development.

4. Improved Product Features

• Features developed for enterprise clients were integrated into Twill’s core, benefiting the entire user base. For example:

• The advanced permissions system, originally designed for a large client, became a cornerstone of Twill’s appeal for organizations managing complex workflows.

• Content scheduling tools, first requested by OpenAI, were adopted widely across other industries.

Metrics of Success

The success of Twill’s enterprise adoption strategy can be quantified through several key metrics:

• 100,000+ installs of Twill since its initial release, reflecting widespread adoption and trust in the platform.

• 20+ major and minor releases, many of which included features tailored for enterprise clients.

• High-profile case studies, including Nike, OpenAI, and The International Energy Agency, that demonstrated Twill’s capabilities in real-world scenarios.

Long-Term Implications

By focusing on enterprise adoption, Twill not only solidified its position as a leading CMS but also created a feedback loop that continues to drive its evolution. Each new enterprise project provides insights and feature requests that inform Twill’s roadmap, ensuring the product remains relevant and competitive.

The success of these efforts reflects the power of aligning client needs with product development, leveraging partnerships to drive innovation, and positioning Twill as a flexible, scalable solution for modern enterprises. If you’d like further expansion on specific client stories or additional metrics, let me know!

Conclusion

Twill CMS exemplifies what’s possible when innovation, collaboration, and strategic leadership align. My intermittent yet impactful role as Product Manager, coupled with my broader responsibilities as Group Production Director, enabled me to guide Twill’s evolution while balancing the demands of a dynamic agency environment.

Twill’s success—both as a tool for AREA 17 and as a standalone product—is a testament to the power of adaptive planning, community-driven development, and a commitment to delivering value at every stage.

Would you like to learn how my experience with Twill and AREA 17 can add value to your organization? Let’s connect!