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Why Resend partnered with Mintlify to create world-
class documentation instead of building from scratch
For Resend’s founder, world-class documentation is nonnegotiable. Learn why he chose
Mintlify instead of building docs from scratch.
As the founder and CEO of Resend, Zeno Rocha is driven to build the
best developer-focused email API and create high-quality
documentation for it.
About
Email AP! that keeps transactional Docs done right are more than just walls of text, according to Zeno.
emails out of spam folders at
They're thoughtful and well-designed extensions of a brand's identity;
scale. Founded in January 2023.
they're intuitive for developers to build and update; and they’re easy for
resend.com/docs users to navigate and digest.
Backed by
Y Combinator, SV Angel, Dylan
Field of Figma, Guillermo Rauch of The Challenge
Vercel, and more
To get the perfect balance of quality and functionality, Zeno used to
believe that developers had to build docs from scratch with a slow and
Get Started
resource-heavy process he knew all too well. Before launching Resend,
he built docs in-house for various projects, most recently as VP of
Developer Experience at WorkOS.
Typically, people see docs as adjacent to the product, but
I've always believed docs are a part of the product
@ Zeno Rocha, Founder & CEO
Treating docs like a product, he learned, means having a roadmap,
budget, and a team of dedicated engineers, designers, and others to
build docs, identify patterns, and organize content.
While Zeno wanted the control and customization you get from DIY
docs for Resend, he didn’t have the budget, resources, or time to spare.
And as a Y Combinator (W23) startup, Resend needed to prove traction
right away. “We had to figure out how to make something fast, but still
have that quality factor,” says Zeno.
The Search for a Documentation Partner
With skepticism that he would get the quality he wanted, Zeno
launched a search for a product that could help Resend build first-class
docs fast—without pain and frustration. His top requirements:
Modern, beautiful, and customizable design
¢ fit for developer workflows
The fact that you can write content in markdown, don’t
need to think about how to display it nicely, and it just
renders well is the functionality we needed—Mintlify
checked all the boxes.
@ Zeno Rocha, Founder & CEO
The Solution
Before Mintlify, Resend tested two other documentation platforms, but
were disappointed by the outdated designs, lack of customization, and
poor readability. “I didn’t feel like they cared about docs as much as |
did,” he says. “If you're building a developer product, you need a
partner, not just a vendor.”
So in November of 2022, they tried Mintlify, hopeful that fellow YC
alumni (W22) could deliver on design and performance. Impressed by
what they saw, Resend also chose Mintlify for its open source project,
React Email.
Time savings
Right away, Mintlify’s white-glove docs migration, which was completed
in less than two days, gave Zeno the crucial thing every founder needs:
time.
“If | had done that manually, it taken me hours. But even if it
took me two minutes, that’s the type of work | don’t want to do. It’s not
the best use of my time,” he says.
Introduction
Quickstart
Customization without the hassle
Out of the box, Mintlify’s starter templates, which have built-in
essentials like sidebars and quick-start cards, impressed Zeno. “You
can tell Mintlify has kept up with the trends around docs,” he says.
Resend easily customized the templates, creating a seamless fit
between its website and docs, both featuring the same simple, black
and white aesthetic.
Send Email
Body Parameters
Zero friction for developers
The days of tedious documentation updates are long gone. Zeno
describes Resend’s process in one word: fast. Because creating and
updating docs with Mintlify is as simple as updating a markdown file
and pushing to GitHub, there’s no friction with current developer
workflows.
Additionally, there’s no need for added steps or tools, developers are
more motivated to update docs, so there’s less of a chance of docs
going stale.
Results
By early August 2023, just eight months post-launch, Resend already
had 15,000 users. Zeno credits some of that success to the time and
energy Mintlify freed up for Resend to focus on growth and
development.
Without Mintlify, our products wouldn't be at the level they
are now. And | highly doubt we'd be able to build a product
that has this many users in such a short amount of time if
we had to build our own docs.
@ Zeno Rocha, Founder & CEO
Recognition and conversion
Another sign of success for Zeno is the frequent praise the startup gets
from its customers, who often share its docs on Slack inspiration
channels. He knows that when happy customers call out the docs’
attention to detail, really talking about functionality.
A documentation partner, at last
As Resend grows, Zeno expects Mintlify to grow along with it—
especially as Mintlify continues to launch new features, like Mintlify
Chat.
Instead of the usual keyword search, Mintlify Chat lets users search
docs with the same Al technology behind ChatGPT. Best of all, new
updates and features are automatically deployed.
And if Resend experiences hiccups or problems of any size on its way
to the next level, Zeno is confident that Mintlify’s customer support will
be there. “I've never met people who cared about docs as much as |
do,” he says.
Mintlify’s support is so fast and responsive, it’s become a model for
Zeno as he builds Resend.
| want to provide this level of support to my own users.
When you do work that inspires others to do better work
themselves, that’s truly exceptional.
@ Zeno Rocha, Founder & CEO
se, eS ae ee
) Zeno Rocha, Founder & CEO
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