Layer

Christopher France

Christopher Blow France

Home
Resume
PreviousThe Data GuildNextFaer
I designed the Layer identity, built the authentication and payment processing, and collaborated on the market positioning.
I designed the Layer identity, built the authentication and payment processing, and collaborated on the market positioning.

At the Guild we identified a class of low-touch products which worked well with the portfolio model — products which are data-driven, developer-facing tools that are horizontally relevant and can provide signal about market viability without a large sales team. An example of this type of product experiment was Layer, which served as a API clearinghouse for general-purpose spatial data and geocoding services.

I led the UI design and frontend development, including authentication, integration with Stripe and the API backend. Users can create an API key and purchase credits for use by the API.

The service was conceived as a data API which would create recurring revenue without a great deal of management overhead.

We have used Layer to measure market interest in API services.

As a result we have created repeatable template for API service — and a recurring passive revenue stream.

Layer's value proposition was grounded in developer experience and world-class documentation. I designed the documentation site (shown) and helped get it into production using declarative configuration in a modern devops style.
Layer's value proposition was grounded in developer experience and world-class documentation. I designed the documentation site (shown) and helped get it into production using declarative configuration in a modern devops style.
PreviousThe Data GuildNextFaer