How Willian Frantz Went from Erlang Meetups to the ElixirConf Stage

Willian Frantz first heard about Elixir in 2015 and thought it could become the future of web development. It took two more years before he wrote his first professional line of it. By 2022, he was on stage at one of the biggest Elixir conferences in the world.

Frantz is a Senior Software Engineer who has been with X-Team for a year and a half. Late last year, he was one of the speakers at ElixirConf 2022, where he presented on the basics of networking protocols through native Erlang code. Getting there was a journey measured not just in years of language experience but in a deliberate commitment to community — meetups, conferences, blog posts, mentorships — that began the moment he fell in love with the stack.

In this story, Frantz traces his path into Elixir, explains how he prepared for ElixirConf and shares what he'd tell anyone who is thinking about speaking at a technical conference for the first time.

How Elixir Became His Stack of Choice

Frantz started his career as a software developer in 2011, working on Windows desktop applications and web apps using C# .NET. By the time he first encountered Elixir in 2015, he was intrigued but not yet ready. He recognized immediately that it was a Brazilian technology and that it was built on top of BEAM and Erlang — technologies already known for reliability, fault tolerance, distribution and functional programming capabilities. But he held off.

"At the time, I didn't feel comfortable enough yet to test it yet," he says. That changed in 2017, when the company he was working for — where he had been primarily doing Ruby on Rails work — wanted certain projects migrated to Elixir and Phoenix. "I found myself really enjoying Elixir, and it quickly became the stack I felt most comfortable with."

From that point, his engagement with the Elixir world went well beyond his day job. He attended meetups and conferences, joined community discussions, wrote blog posts and took on mentorship work. Before ElixirConf 2022, he had already spoken at CodeBEAM BR 2020 and 2021, Elixir Brasil 2021, ElixirConf EU 2021 and CodeBEAM America 2021 — a track record that gave him credibility and, importantly, experience managing the anxiety that comes with standing in front of a technical audience.

Getting a Talk Accepted — and Getting Ready to Give It

Frantz's path to the ElixirConf 2022 stage was through the standard call for papers process. He submitted a proposal on a topic he genuinely believed in: the basics of networking protocols — HTTP, FTP, SMTP — explained through native Erlang code. His argument for the subject was straightforward: understanding how these protocols work under the hood enriches a developer's worldview and sharpens problem-solving skills. The ElixirConf committee agreed and accepted the proposal.

Preparation was its own project. Frantz had to decide which points were most worth demonstrating, figure out how to keep the audience's attention, assemble slides — "always complicated," he says — and find a way to introduce Erlang and Elixir code without losing the room to technical depth. He describes the process as assembly work: putting together pieces, then repeating. "Essentially, preparing for a talk is like putting together pieces of LEGO. Once you've put together the pieces, it's a matter of practice."

That practice included writing blog posts as a way to sharpen how he framed technical ideas for a general audience — a habit he recommends to anyone preparing to present code on stage. He also did rounds of rehearsal, running through the talk repeatedly to build the muscle memory that keeps nerves from derailing delivery.

The talk itself went well. "I was a little nervous, but thought it went by okay," Frantz says. The feedback afterward was positive.

What the Conference Taught Him — and What He'd Tell First-Timers

ElixirConf 2022 was held at the Gaylord Rockies Resort. Beyond his own talk, Frantz attended sessions, spoke to people in the hallways and did the kind of networking that in-person conferences make possible in a way that virtual ones rarely match. "It's so nice to be in a comfortable place surrounded by people who enjoy the same topics you do," he says. "It's a great way to get a lot of new ideas, as well as learn about things you don't know."

For developers thinking about speaking for the first time, Frantz offers two equally valid starting points: write about something you know well or write about something you want to learn. The subject matters less than the act of trying. "You never know how far you can go on the speaking circuit unless you're willing to try."

On the question of anxiety — which he thinks is universal — his advice is direct. Acceptance by a committee is itself evidence of capability. "If you've been accepted as a speaker, it's probably because the committee believed in your capabilities and skills," he says. "So you should, too. Prepare thoroughly and you'll nail it."

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