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How SaaStr Built an Energized Community of Evangelists From Scratch
G R E T C H E N D E K N I K K E R , C O O / S A A S T R
WHAT IS
SaaStr is definitely the largest community of people who like enterprise software on the planet. It’s a great community of people trying to build companies and learn from one another. It’s pretty amazing to see.”AARON LEVIECEO, COFOUNDER & CHAIRMAN / BOX
“@saastr #liveMKTG@gretchende
VPS
EXECS
VCS
@saastr #liveMKTG@gretchende
FOUNDERS
WE ENTERPRISE SOFTWARE
About us
FOUNDER / ADVISOR
Jason is a 2x founder, 1x VC, and constant SaaS enthusiast
Started SaaStr as a simple blog in 2012
Jason Lemkin
@saastr #liveMKTG@gretchende
COO
Startup junkie, 1x founder, 5x early employee
Joined SaaStr in 2014
Gretchen DeKnikker
@saastr #liveMKTG@gretchende
TWO YEARS OF GROWTH
2014
2016 10,0003MVIEWS/MONTH
1MVIEWS/ MONTH
TRAFFIC
25 ,000
500
SUBSCRIBERS
30,000
5,000
FOLLOWERS
2 ,000
SAASTR ANNUAL
@saastr #liveMKTG@gretchende
WHAT ISSAASTR ANNUAL?
2015 2016 201710,000 attendees
3 days, 4 stages
200+ speakers
5,000 attendees
3 days, 2 stages
100+ speakers
- and a dance crew
WHAT IS SAASTR ANNUAL?
2,000 attendees
1 day, 1 stage
20 speakers
Learning via blog - but one voice, one direction 1
Gathering in person - more voices, connecting with others 2
@saastr #liveMKTG@gretchende
3 Education platform - packaging lessons for every stage of journey
HOW THE CONFERENCE INTEGRATES
HOW DID WE DO IT?
Measure E V E R Y T H I N G
HOW DO WE DO IT?
We have no idea what we’re doing1
2
3
4
@saastr #liveMKTG@gretchende
Most importantly…
The community
HOW DO WE DO IT?
Pick an outcome and work backwards
@saastr #liveMKTG@gretchende
4
WHAT WE’VE LEARNED… SO FAR
Single owner/single metric - or disaster
The details really matter
It ain’t software
Process, but not for process sake
WHAT WE’VE LEARNED, SO FAR…
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1
2
3
4
HOW DOUBLEDUTCH HELPS
HOW DOUBLEDUTCH HELPS
We can’t trust our opinions…
1
2
3
4
@saastr #liveMKTG@gretchende
There’s soooo much more we can do
We need to do speaker prep
…but we can’t necessarily trust theirs either
HOW WE MEASURE
EVERYTHING
METRICS
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A good metric…
A GREAT metric also… 3
4
Has an object basis attendees per company, returning attendees by month
Aligns individual goals with overall plan single owner, everyone has a number
1
2
Begins with a number # of ticket sold, % of speakers confirmed
Has a time basis per week, by October 10th
*adapted from LUXr Lean Startup Workshop
HOW WE USE THE DATA
WHAT DO WE DO WITH THE DATA? HOW DOES IT SHAPE DECISIONS?
• Agenda - attendee profiles shape content
• Expenses - what we can add and when
• Revenue - scenario planning, fixed vs variable costs
• Attendee Experience - managing venue constraints
• Hiring - who we’ll need when
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HOW WE MEASURE SUCCESS
HOW WE MEASURE SUCCESS AND ROI
A mix of quantitive…
• Sponsor renewals - closed $1m in sponsors within 60 days of the event - but also new 40% were new logos
• Return attendees - 1000 tickets within 90 days - but also new, 35% return/65% new (only 50% can be return)
… and qualitative feedback
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…AND QUALITATIVE FEEDBACK
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WHERE DO WE STILL NEED TO
IMPROVE?
WHAT CAN WE STILL DO BETTER?
Diversity - have to be committed.
Processes - the right-sized tools that scale
Advisory council - speakers and sponsors
Editing ourselves – a year to plan is a long time
@saastr #liveMKTG@gretchende
SAASTRWHAT’S NEXT FOR
WHAT’S NEXT?
SaaStr Academy
More events
Co-selling Space
SaaStr Jobs
SaaStr Fund
@saastr #liveMKTG@gretchende
WE’RE [email protected]
