Nervous. That’s how I felt when Shane O’Connor and I started to explore the idea of collaborating on a video interview series at apidays Paris. Shane is Scalar’s GTM lead and has been with the company since the beginning. You might recognize Scalar as one of the sponsors of this newsletter. However, this time our collaboration goes beyond written words. The plan is to grab some of the smartest API people during apidays Paris and get their thoughts on video. Real stories from actual API practitioners are what we’re looking for. Not just theory, but real stories that actually happened. Exciting? Definitely. What if I tell you that you can submit your own questions? Even better. So, who will we be interviewing? Read on to find out all the details about this collaboration.
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The idea for the “Scalar X APICHANGELOG” collaboration (that’s how it’s called) started at the end of September 2025. Shane sent me a message saying he wanted to share a few thoughts he had for doing something together at apidays Paris. He had been doing a series of interviews published on LinkedIn (they’re called “Behind the API“), and he thought it would be great to continue on that theme. We quickly agreed that doing the interview series would be amazing, and we started planning it. The most important thing we needed was to invite the people we wanted to interview. More on that later, because first I want to tell you how we managed to get the recording equipment we needed. The first thing that crossed our mind was to talk with the apidays conference organizers and ask if they could help. Fortunately, they’re able to help us with the proper audio and video equipment that we need for the interviews on December 10 at the conference venue. So, what will the interviews be like?
We’ll be interviewing people whose work is to make sure the APIs they manage are in good shape. Some of those people work for consulting companies, some others work for organizations with large API landscapes, and there are even others who are launching their own startups. People like Daniel Kocot of codecentric AG, who’s been using OpenAPI and TypeSpec to help customers get their API programs off the ground. Or people like Gareth Faull of the London Stock Exchange, who brings a product perspective to the APIs he manages. Or even people like Irina Kamalova of JPMorganChase, with a vast experience in the banking industry, who brings an engineering perspective to the table. These are the people behind the APIs. They’re in the trenches, understanding what stakeholders need, making sure their APIs are sharp. They’re authentic and they’re engaged. I wonder what stories they have to share.
We’re aiming for interviews of around 15 minutes. We think this is the sweet spot for a topic as rich but also as complex as APIs can be. Interviews will be done at the apidays Paris exhibitors’ area, most probably at or near Scalar’s booth (some details still need to be ironed out, as you can see). Everyone is, obviously, invited to watch the recording of each interview, as it happens. However, we’re not open to direct participation from the audience. Instead, we’re happy to receive any questions you’d like us to ask during the interviews. Just send an email to [email protected] and tell us what you’re curious about. Also, if you know someone whom you think we should interview, please let us know! It could even be yourself.
What else do we have in store? Merchandise, beautifully designed and available to the most enthusiastic API fanatics. Stickers, t-shirts, tote bags, sombreros (no, not really), and who knows what else. Finding out for yourself is easy. Just come visit the Scalar booth in the exhibitors’ area. You’ll get a chance to know us, learn more about Scalar, and even see one of the interviews happening live at the scene.
