SaaStock USA 2023 · Austin, Texas
776 founders, three days in Austin.
The first SaaStock USA flagship — Wednesday SaaS.City bootcamps and Startup Day at Inn Cahoots, Thursday/Friday main conference across Scale, Growth, and Podcast stages at Austin Marriott Downtown, and the Global Pitch Competition won by Userflow.
Austin Marriott Downtown · Austin, Texas · May 31 – Jun 2, 2023
- Attendees
- 776
- Speakers
- 56
- Talks
- 58
From the event
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Featured speakers
These were the most popular keynotes.
Featured speakers at SaaStock USA 2023 included Lloyed Lobo (Co-founder, Boast AI / Traction), April Dunford (Founder, Ambient Strategy), Michael Tessler (Co-founder & former CEO, BroadSoft), Mark Roberge (Co-founder & Managing Director, Stage 2 Capital), Meghan Keaney Anderson (VP Marketing, Jasper), and Jason Cohen (Founder & Chief Innovation Officer, WP Engine).
Mark Roberge
Co-founder & Managing Director, Stage 2 Capital
“Building a $100M ARR sales machine in a competitive industry”
Jason Cohen
Founder & Chief Innovation Officer, WP Engine
Featured talks
Watch the recordings.
11 lessons from bootstrapping to $10M
Lloyed Lobo · Co-founder, Boast AI / Traction
How Boast AI got to $10M ARR with no marketing team and 30 people — bootstrapped because VCs called the market "too niche." Lloyed Lobo, also a Gulf War refugee turned community-led-growth author, on what the journey actually taught him.
How to build a game-changing sales pitch
April Dunford · Founder, Ambient Strategy
The original SaaStock outing of April Dunford's signature positioning framework — "buying is harder than selling" — anchored on the now-classic "April buys a toilet" example before flipping it to B2B SaaS.
Lessons in building BroadSoft to a $2B exit
Michael Tessler · Co-founder & former CEO, BroadSoft
Alex Theuma in conversation with the founding CEO of BroadSoft — acquired by Cisco for $1.9B in 2018 — on building a multi-decade B2B communications platform and the operating lessons that still apply to today's SaaS founders.
Who was in the room
Who attended SaaStock USA 2023.
776 attendees from 427 unique SaaS companies — the inaugural SaaStock USA, three days at Austin Marriott Downtown that launched the American flagship.
Around the conference
Side Events and Experiences
SaaS.City Workshops
Wednesday May 31 · Austin Marriott Downtown
76 attendees
Four full-day bootcamps the day before the main conference — CEO: Leading From The Front (Mark Organ, Jen Igartua, Vishal Sunak); Marketing: Driving Transitional Growth (Anthony Kennada, Alison Murdock, Eli Rubel); Sales: Scaling Sales-led Revenue (Patricia McLaren, Kendall Gallagher & Brianna Dunbar, Kevin Dorsey); and Operational Efficiency (Tae Hea Nahm, Asia Orangio, Emily G.-Cebrian Lomban, Sam Jacobs). 76 attendees across the four rooms.
Startup Program Day
Wednesday May 31 · Inn Cahoots, Austin
A dedicated day of programming for early-stage SaaS founders at Inn Cahoots — Chad Vanags (Winning by Design), Caya (Slidebean) on building an investor-proof financial model in 15 minutes, Maria Pereda (Capchase) on the metrics investors are watching, and Godard Abel (G2) closing with unmissable insights from a 5x entrepreneur.
The Official Party
Thursday June 1 · Austin
355 attendees
The official SaaStock USA 2023 after-party drew 355 founders, operators, and investors after day one of the main conference.
Global Pitch Competition
Thursday semifinals + Friday final · Won by Userflow
17 startups pitched across the two-day Global Pitch Competition — semifinalists FROGED, Corrily, OneUp Sales, Uspacy, Laxis, and Userflow advanced from the Thursday round, with Userflow taking the trophy in the Friday final. The 17-startup field also included DisCover Technologies, CloudOffix, Insynctive, Mentessa, Training Layers, Allegrow, Peaka, Terralytiq, Sentauro, Zenskar, and Getjop.
Full schedule
SaaStock USA 2023 agenda.
Day 1 · Thursday, June 1
Scale Stage
- KeynoteOperational efficiency: New foundations for successful scaling
9 Growth Tactics Top Founders Used to Add $1m in Revenue Last Month (April)
Nathan Latka Founder & CEO, Founderpath
Latka interviews thousands of founders to get the truth behind the fastest growing companies. In this session, you'll learn 9 tactics you can copy (with proof) to add $1m in revenue quickly. Anyone who attends the session will get a copy of the slide deck.
- Deep diveOperational efficiency: New foundations for successful scaling
Building a Practical Strategy With the Whole Team
Jason Cohen Co-founder & Chief Innovation Officer, WP Engine
Teams (and solo founders) are 10x more effective when everyone is coordinated on clear, self-consistent strategic decisions explaining how the company will win. But academic strategy templates with buzzword-laden "visions" and SWOTs are neither inspiring nor effective, and everyone is too busy running the business to set aside three months to build an 80-page strategy. This talk shows a new, straightforward technique that engages everyone at the company to construct a complete strategy that works in the real world.
- Deep diveMarketing: Driving transitional growth
Nailing Your Revenue Attribution & Performance Measurement
Chris Walker CEO, Refine Labs
Learn how Chris is challenging the traditional organizational structure and process for budgeting/planning, and building a new future for how B2B companies and Revenue Teams operate. You'll also hear about the new category of Revenue Professionals called Revenue R&D, and get tangible advice and tactics. Don't miss this opportunity to gain valuable insights and learn how to measure and attribute revenue more effectively.
- KeynoteOperational efficiency: New foundations for successful scaling
How CEOs Can Seize Opportunities to Drive Smart Growth
Godard Abel Co-founder & CEO, G2
As a SaaS founder, it's important to create operational efficiencies that drive smart growth for your business. This becomes even more critical in uncertain economic times. In this session, G2 co-founder and CEO Godard Abel will share how he and his team approached the past year to remain resilient – the metrics they focused on, the plans they revised, and the innovation that continued. Leaning on lessons from his 25+ years as an entrepreneur as well as data from G2's own software marketplace, Godard will offer insights that can guide SaaS leaders to embrace operational efficiency while still focusing on their top priority: delighting customers.
- PanelThe talent race: Building a rockstar team
Building to Win: Steps and Secrets to Unlocking Your Rockstar Team
Andi Vanetta-Smith Operating Partner, Stage 2 Capital
Salesforce, Snowflake and Stripe, three world class companies who clearly do a lot of things right. But, did they all recruit the world's very best talent from day one? In short, no. They've grown and nurtured their very own rockstar team and unlocked as much potential as possible along the way. That's not to say they haven't spent huge money on key hires, made mistakes when onboarding employees or even made the recent layoff headlines. But, from creating a strong company culture to managing people through times of intense pressure, there are countless steps and secrets to be shared when building to win. If you want to know how the top companies build and manage rockstar teams, and how you can too, then this session is the perfect fit.
- KeynoteOperational efficiency: New foundations for successful scaling
How Many Hats Do You Own? Balancing Different Roles While Growing Your Startup
Dave Grow CEO, Lucid Software
It's all hands on deck when you are trying to scale your startup with a scrappy team. From sales to marketing and operations, this talk will explore how to balance wearing different hats within a company and how Dave has navigated it over the course of a decade at Lucid Software.
- PanelFunding: Bootstrapping vs Raising Capital
Investor's Insight: From CEOs to KPIs, What Actually Matters to Investors Now?
Greg Head Founder, Practical Founders
Is it your team? Your ARR growth? Or, maybe it's your runway? The recent headlines paint a pretty risk-averse picture for companies looking to raise for the first time, or even their next round. But, let's not forget, the SaaS market still does and always will have VCs looking to make their next investment. But, what matters most to investors today? What adjustments could your company make to unlock the funding and ride that next wave of growth? Tuning in for some investor insight is never a bad idea, join us for the honest answers and rationale behind what is really going on in the mind of investors.
- Deep diveOperational efficiency: New foundations for successful scaling
How to Connect Your C-suite to Your Ground Reality: Why It's Needed Now More Than Ever
Dave Kellogg Principal, Dave Kellogg Consulting
The risk today is navel gazing. Internal systems produce so much data, you can spend your whole life in spreadsheets. How can we ensure we connect ground reality to your team so that they can interpret numbers through the best lense, and how can we ensure we aren't just looking at our records of the interactions with the people we found, and not the whole market?
- KeynoteMarketing: Driving transitional growth
How to Build, Engage and Monetize an Owned Audience
Anthony Kennada Co-founder & CEO, Audience Plus
Every company is becoming a media company. Changing consumer behavior around emerging content formats, data privacy laws, and our relationship with social media is creating a renewed focus on owned media - a powerful strategy for building authentic relationships between brand and audience. Owned media, however, is more than just a new buzzword, but the most efficient strategy to building sustainable revenue.
- FiresideThe talent race: Building a rockstar team
Power Your Growth with DEI: How to Build an Unstoppable Company Culture
Laith Dahiyat CEO, Pingboard
An immigrant to America, Vishal has a personal connection to DEI efforts, and understands that revenue is not the only KPI critical to success. In recent years, he's helped implement initiatives to diversify employee demographics. For example, at LinkSquares 70% of AI-specific hires have been women, and underrepresented groups are included in the decision-making process during the screening, hiring, and onboarding of new candidates. In 2022, the company earned the #1 spot on Boston Business Journal's Best Places to Work list, an honor based on third-party delivered employee surveys. In this session, Vishal will share ways to avoid performative DEI metrics, and share his steps for cultivating an environment supporting diversity.
- MC address
MC Closing Address
Matt Cretzman Founder & CEO, Stormbreaker Digital
Closing address from Matt Cretzman, Founder & CEO at Stormbreaker Digital.
Growth Stage
- KeynoteSales excellence: Effectively scaling your sales organization
Leading and Selling Through the Tough Times
Kevin Dorsey SVP Sales, Bench
Selling is tougher right now. When things are good selling is good and when things are bad selling gets HARD. You can't skip steps. You can't afford to miss. Transformational sales coach and renowned speaker Kevin 'KD' Dorsey takes the stage to share how you can retain sales excellence even through the tough times. From uncovering what the TOP sales leaders are doing right now to how implementing the right habits and changes can bring company changing growth to your doorstep.
- FiresideSales excellence: Effectively scaling your sales organization
The Future of Selling; PLG, Playbook Selling and Partners
Roy Solomon Co-founder & CEO, Salesroom
Most SaaS companies today are on a mission to build the next hyper-growth software company. But how do you actually reach that goal? By having the next great go-to-market (GTM) strategy. In this session, Will May, CRO of ClickUp, and Stevie Case, CRO of Vanta, will discuss the GTM strategy of the future. Learn tactics and best practices about the future of selling, including how product-led growth (PLG), playbook selling, and scaling via partners will support your company's rapid growth and impact on your customers.
- KeynoteMarketing: Driving transitional growth
How to Compete and Win in Saturated Markets
Peep Laja Founder & CEO, Wynter
Look at any mature category — almost every competitor does all the same things. Every CRM, email marketing tool, or landing page builder has every feature. Look at any mature category — almost every competitor does all the same things. Every CRM, email marketing tool, or landing page builder has every feature. If you compete in an existing, mature category (98% of us do) — you cannot win by being objectively better. Why is that? It's just too hard. Whatever stuff you build that buyers want, others can replicate it relatively fast. So in a crowded market, how can you compete and win? Peep Laja, Founder & CEO at Wynter uncovers 3 things you need to win if you're not already the category leader.
- KeynoteOperational efficiency: New foundations for successful scaling
Board Reporting and Forecasting During Uncertainty
David Appel Global Head of Subscription & SaaS Vertical, Sage Intacct
For companies to emerge successful when the sands are shifting, leaders have to get their decision making right. The same applies when it comes to board reporting and forecasting. David Appel, Global Head of Subscription & SaaS Vertical at Sage Intacct takes the stage to share exactly how you should be navigating the process amidst the downturn.
- KeynoteSales excellence: Effectively scaling your sales organization
How To Get my Clarity, Drive and Performance Without my Disease
Chad Vanags B2B SaaS Sales Trainer, Winning by Design
With a terminal diagnosis comes incredible clarity. With that clarity comes incredible drive. And, finally, with that drive properly aligned, comes incredible performance. The question is, how can one get all of that without having to get the terminal diagnosis? That's what we'll attempt to answer in this session. We'll look back on the events that to diagnosis, what can be done to prevent the same happening to you, and how you can apply these principles to improve all aspects of your life & business.
- KeynoteMarketing: Driving transitional growth
Why You Shouldn't Pay Influencers (like me) for Marketing
Caya Co-founder & CEO, Slidebean
Slidebean's Youtube channel is about to hit 500,000 subscribers, and it has become one the most popular tech startup-focused channels. Caya, the company CEO now operates in the middle of being a creator, and leading growth/marketing for the company: he'll be sharing unique insights on the economics of running a Youtube channel, as well as negotiating with influencers and tracking campaign success.
- KeynoteFunding: Bootstrapping vs Raising Capital
Lessons From $1 Billion in SaaS Acquisitions: Valuation and Process Insights
Thomas Smale CEO, FE International
Thomas Smale, Founder and CEO of global M&A advisory firm FE International, takes stage to share what he's learned from more than $1 billion in closed deals. Tune in as he offers behind-the-scenes insights into; which business models lead to the biggest exit prices, the business types that are most popular with buyers and how you can build a high-value business poised for a smooth exit.
- FiresideOperational efficiency: New foundations for successful scaling
Lessons From The Trenches: How To Grow in a Down Economy
Alison Murdock Founder & Chief Marketer, Trusted CMO
There aren't many SaaS companies who are able to innovate, pivot or grow their way through a down economy - not at least without a scar or two. So when the headwinds are strong, how can you level up during a slowdown? Whilst there isn't a cheat sheet with all of the answers, there are invaluable lessons from the trenches that can significantly improve your odds. From optimizing processes, smarter decision making to doubling down, SaaS veteran Sujan Patel takes the stage to share his top priorities to weather the storm.
- KeynotePLG: Unlocking serious growth opportunities
The Psychology of "Free" vs "Free Trial": A 60% Increase in B2B Conversions
Massimo Arrigoni CEO, BEE
Free trials or free plan? Dive deep into the reasons why a $10m ARR scaleup made the switch, and what happened next (spoiler alert: signups went up +50% to over 15,000 per month). Plus, the challenges of implementing a product-led sales motion on top of a self-service conversion model.
Pitch 1: [Company Name]
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Pitch 2: [Company Name]
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Pitch 3: [Company Name]
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Pitch 4: [Company Name]
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Pitch 5: [Company Name]
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Pitch 6: [Company Name]
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- MC address
MC Closing Address
Alison Murdock Founder & Chief Marketer, Trusted CMO
Closing address from Alison Murdock, Founder & Chief Marketer at Trusted CMO.
Podcast Stage
- Podcast
The SaaS Revolution Show
Jason Cohen, Founder & Chief Innovation Officer, WP Engine
Live podcast recording. Host: Alex Theuma, Founder & CEO, SaaStock. A live recording of The SaaS Revolution Show podcast as SaaStock's Founder & CEO Alex Theuma is joined by special guest Jason Cohen, Founder & Chief Innovation Officer at WP Engine.
- Podcast
The SaaS Revolution Show
Live podcast recording. Host: Alex Theuma, Founder & CEO, SaaStock. A live recording of The SaaS Revolution Show podcast as SaaStock's Founder & CEO Alex Theuma is joined by special guest Stevie Case, CRO at Vanta.
- Podcast
The SaaS Revolution Show
Noah Kagan, Founder & Chief Sumo, AppSumo
Live podcast recording. Host: Alex Theuma, Founder & CEO, SaaStock. A live recording of The SaaS Revolution Show podcast as SaaStock's Founder & CEO Alex Theuma is joined by special guest Noah Kagan, Founder & Chief Sumo at AppSumo.
- Podcast
Fundraising Feasibility: Navigating the Choppy Waters of Capital Raising
An overview of the current fundraising market — identifying key indicators of your company's fundability, evaluating unit economics, assessing strengths and weaknesses, and (for companies that aren't immediately fundable) actionable strategies to improve standing and mitigate risk: pivoting, optimizing revenue streams, and refining the business model.
Day 2 · Friday, June 2
Scale Stage
- KeynoteMarketing: Driving transitional growth
Feelings of a Founder
Noah Kagan Founder & Chief Sumo, AppSumo
Founder and Chief Sumo, Noah Kagan opens the show with something different. A live marketing hack session with some of our very own SaaS founders on stage. This isn't one to be missed!
- FiresideOperational efficiency: New foundations for successful scaling
Fueling the New Age of B2B GTM with AI and Automation
Matt Cretzman Founder & CEO, Stormbreaker Digital
GPT is arguably the most common three-letter acronym we've seen across the internet in recent months. The launch of ChatGPT and other generative artificial intelligence (AI) advancements has forced business leaders to rethink the role AI plays in their industries. How can AI make businesses more efficient, and how does GPT differ from (and enhance) other artificial intelligence solutions on the market? SaaS is no exception and as a market fueled by innovation, we're no stranger to the power of AI as an accelerant in generating leads, closing deals and increasing revenue. In this fireside chat, Matt Cretzman, founder and CEO of Stormbreaker Digital, will interview Scott Ernst, CEO of Drift, the Conversation Cloud Company and a pioneer in Conversational AI. Scott will take the SaaStock stage to share how SaaS leaders can implement AI to fuel their broader go-to-market strategies, increase sales rep productivity and augment existing talent to start seeing more revenue, faster. Scott will share tangible actions and learnings from his own journey helping SaaS companies scale and win in competitive markets. When it comes to transforming B2B buying and personalizing digital experiences, humans and AI work better together to deliver the right conversation, in the right place at the right time. Don't miss the conversation.
- Deep diveOperational efficiency: New foundations for successful scaling
The Rise of Generative AI and its Implications for Marketing and Sales Teams
Meghan Keaney Anderson VP Marketing, Jasper
Artificial intelligence is transforming the way businesses operate across all industries. Generative AI - a type of artificial intelligence that creates new and innovative content - is poised to revolutionize the way marketers and sales teams think about content creation and distribution. In this session, Meghan Keaney Anderson, Head of Marketing at Jasper, will explore the rise of generative AI and its potential implications for marketing and sales teams. From understanding what generative AI is and how it works, to exploring potential creative use cases for this technology, attendees will gain a comprehensive understanding of how generative AI could transform the marketing and sales landscape. Join us to learn about the rise of generative AI and how it's poised to revolutionize marketing and sales, and what your business needs to know to stay ahead of the curve.
- KeynoteMarketing: Driving transitional growth
Unpacking Demand Efficiency: The North Star Metric to Reduce CAC
Eli Rubel CEO, Matter Made
At the end of 2022, Eli reviewed several years worth of engagement data from some of the best known companies in tech. The result? The strategies and tactics being used were all leading to one thing, a measurable reduction in CAC. The realization? We can in-fact have a simple KPI to measure and predict CAC reduction before it happens - Demand Efficiency. Having previously served as a Marketing Advisor to the like of Dropbox, Loom and Calm, Eli is now all in on helping B2B startups reduce CAC and drive ARR through marketing strategy and execution. He joins us on stage to share how your company can follow the best in the business and reduce cost to acquire whilst still achieving remarkable growth.
- KeynotePLG: Unlocking serious growth opportunities
The Roadmap to Successful Product-led Growth: Experimentation, Iteration & Speed to Value
Kelly O'Connell SVP Product Strategy, ActiveCampaign
In recent years, the term "product-led growth" has become increasingly popular, and frankly, somewhat of a buzzword. The idea is simple: instead of relying solely on traditional marketing and sales tactics to grow your business, you focus on building a powerful product that offers value to customers immediately and then they are empowered to share their excitement with others. The goal is for this customer advocacy to become what's filling your marketing funnel. While the concept of product-led growth seems straightforward, implementing it successfully doesn't happen by introducing a few new initiatives or touting it in your latest company meeting. Product-led is a structure and ideology that needs to be infused into your business' core. In this session, Kelly O'Connell from ActiveCampaign will outline how to create a product strategy that aligns to successful product-led growth, and how to make it the epicenter of all your processes.
- Deep diveOperational efficiency: New foundations for successful scaling
Unlocking Growth by Finding Your Go-To-Market Fit
Tae Hea Nahm Co-founder & Managing Director, Storm Ventures
When many enterprise startups get to Product-Market-Fit, they feel they're ready to take off. "We have product-market fit! Let's grow! Hire sales! Invest in marketing! Spend!" The unfortunate frequent reality kicks in. Instead of sales taking off, sales just bump along. The number of new customers grows sporadically, painfully disproportionate to the rapid increase in sales and marketing. Many enterprise startups get to PMF but don't achieve growth and acceleration. Why? Because there's a "missing link" between PMF and accelerated growth for the enterprise startup journey. Tae Hea takes the stage to share the all important missing link and unveils the framework that could unlock your next wave of growth.
- KeynoteOperational efficiency: New foundations for successful scaling
How to Make Your Onboarding Suck Less (and get out of the acquisition trap)
Asia Orangio Founder & CEO, DemandMaven
Hyper-focus on acquisition is a trap. There I said it. But seriously, in the early-stage SaaS growth journey, it becomes so much more about generating leads, trials, and demos than it is about providing incredible activation experiences that create customers. The result? Onboarding and activation experiences that result in low user retention rates and low trialist-to-customer conversion rates. But we can do better.
- KeynotePLG: Unlocking serious growth opportunities
A New Era for PLG: How to Survive and Thrive in a Recession
Sanjiv Kalevar Partner, OpenView
In all recessions there's a range of responses from companies in the same industry: some thrive and come out with increased market share, while others falter or even go out of business. So what role could PLG play to help beat the headwinds? Is it the answer to turning painful market conditions into practical action? Cathy Gao, Partner at Sapphire Ventures and Sanjiv Kalevar, Partner at OpenView take the stage to shed light on how PLG could be your star player when building a recession proof SaaS.
Live Final - Pitch 1: [Company Name]
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Live Final - Pitch 2: [Company Name]
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Live Final - Pitch 3: [Company Name]
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Winner announced: SaaStock USA Pitch Competition 2023
Alex Theuma Founder & CEO, SaaStock
- MC address
MC Closing Address
Matt Cretzman Founder & CEO, Stormbreaker Digital
Closing address from Matt Cretzman, Founder & CEO at Stormbreaker Digital.
Growth Stage
- KeynoteSales excellence: Effectively scaling your sales organization
The Founder's Digital Journey: The Importance of Leveraging Technology to Scale your Strategy and Growth
Patricia McLaren Co-founder & CEO, RevShoppe
Patricia McLaren is the co-founder of a small startup who knows all of the joys and challenges of scaling a business. She'll provide invaluable insights from her personal experience, as well as the Fortune 500 companies she consults, on what it takes to grow and scale to 10M, and the importance of leveraging technology to get there.
- KeynotePLG: Unlocking serious growth opportunities
PLG Alphabet Soup: PQAs, PQLs, MQAs, SQLs, SQOs & MQLMNOPs
Jen Igartua CEO, Go Nimbly
How do you balance your product-led growth, marketing, and sales activities? By truly understanding the customer journey and changing your mindset from one that's internally focused to one that puts the customer experience first. Go Nimbly has worked with some of the world's most successful SaaS companies, such as Intercom, Twilio, and Zendesk, and in this session, CEO Jen Igartua leverages insights from that experience to break down the definitions you need to know and how to set yourself up to scale.
- LightningOperational efficiency: New foundations for successful scaling
The End of Silos: A Case for a Leaner SaaS Organization
Esben Friis-Jensen Co-founder & Chief Growth Officer, Userflow
In today's self-service and inbound-driven market, SaaS organizations must re-evaluate their structures to keep up with empowered end-users. In this talk, we'll explore why the traditional SaaS organizational model of multiple departments, or "silos," is no longer effective and how a unified Product and GTM team can deliver a seamless customer experience, drive innovation and growth, and foster collaboration across functions.
- LightningOperational efficiency: New foundations for successful scaling
5 Ways to Turn Your Customer Support Strategy into a Revenue Stream
Emily G.-Cebrian Lomban Co-founder & CEO, Froged
Did you know that engaged customers bring 37% more revenue than customers who are active but disengaged? Or what if we told you that engaged customers generate an average 23% higher share of wallet, profitability, revenue, and relationship growth compared to average customers? Interesting, right? Emily G. Cebrian Lomban, Co-founder & CEO at Froged unravels how a well oiled customer support strategy could boost revenue streams in ways you probably never realised.
- KeynoteOperational efficiency: New foundations for successful scaling
Measuring the Value You're Providing Customers
Patrick Vatterott Co-founder & CTO, Vitally
In this keynote presentation, we will explore how to measure the value that your product provides to customers by leveraging customer data. We will cover topics such as customer data tracking, unifying customer data, and measuring the value that a customer receives from a product or platform. By identifying the most valuable features of your product and measuring what your customers find valuable, you can become more data-driven in your approach to measuring customer value. Additionally, we will discuss the importance of measuring value before trying to impact it. Attendees will gain a better understanding of how to measure the value their product provides and how to become more data-driven in their approach to customer data.
- PanelOperational efficiency: New foundations for successful scaling
Uniting Business and Data Silos: The Path to Agile and Responsive Organizations
Olman Quesada Head of Partnerships, AppSumo
In today's rapidly evolving business landscape, the ability to harness data in different applications and break down silos has become a critical factor for organizations striving to achieve agility and responsiveness. This panel session delves into the journey of uniting business apps and data silos and explores how it paves the way for creating agile and responsive organizations. The panelists will explore the benefits organizations can unlock by liberating their applications and data and fostering collaboration and cross-functional alignment. They will investigate where breaking down data silos leads to improved decision-making, operational efficiency, and enhanced customer experiences.
- LightningSales excellence: Effectively scaling your sales organization
4 Key Levers to Pull to Scale Up Your Sales Organization
Werner Schmidt Co-founder & CEO, Lative
In this session, you'll learn about 4 key levers you can pull to scale up your sales organization and hit your growth goals faster and more efficiently. You'll learn why these are important, how and when to focus on them, and how to measure their impact on your business.
- FiresidePLG: Unlocking serious growth opportunities
How to Harness PLG: Which Growth Experiments Are Worth Running?
Jonathan Anderson Co-founder & CEO, Candu
PLG, first coined back in 2016 and since then has popped up... everywhere. But is your product driving your growth? Jonathan Anderson, Co-founder & CEO at Candu will help you break down how to audit your own PLG motion and identify the quick wins most likely to move the needle. With a bucketload of takeaways around what to do (and what to skip), you'll leave this session with a couple winning experiments to turn your product into a growth engine.
- LightningMarketing: Driving transitional growth
3 Keys To Turn Your SaaS Website Traffic Into Customers
Rhami Aboud CEO, Arch Web Design
Rhami will discuss the 3 most common mistakes SaaS Companies make when designing their website which kills their user signup rate. And THEN we'll show you how SaaS Companies can double, or even triple their amount of user signups.
- LightningPLG: Unlocking serious growth opportunities
Pitfalls and Bridges in User-Driven Discovery
Bret Siers CEO, Training Layers
Explore the pitfalls that arise when users are responsible for uncovering the crucial "Ah-Ha" and "It Clicked" moments in Product-Led Growth (PLG). Discover the essential bridges that can be built to strengthen the user journey, ensuring a seamless and engaging experience. Gain actionable insights and strategies to empower users and unlock the full potential of your PLG strategy. Join us as we navigate the challenges and opportunities in user-driven discovery.
- MC address
MC Closing Address
Alison Murdock Founder & Chief Marketer, Trusted CMO
Closing address from Alison Murdock, Founder & Chief Marketer at Trusted CMO.
Podcast Stage
- Podcast
In Demand with Asia Orangio
Peep Laja, Founder & CEO, Wynter
Live podcast recording. Host: Asia Orangio, Founder & CEO, DemandMaven. A live recording of the In Demand podcast as host and Founder & CEO of DemandMaven, Asia Orangio, is joined by a special guest.
- Podcast
Demand Efficiency
Live podcast recording. Host: Eli Rubel, CEO, Matter Made. A live recording of the Demand Efficiency podcast as host and CEO of Matter Made, Eli Rubel, is joined by a special guest.
- Podcast
Live Podcast with Paddle's Christian Owens and Caya of Slidebean
Christian Owens, Founder & Executive Chairman, Paddle
Live podcast recording. Host: Caya, Co-founder & CEO, Slidebean. A live podcast recording with special guest Christian Owens, Founder and Executive Chairman at Paddle and Caya, Co-founder & CEO at Slidebean.
Tracks & themes
What we covered
Bootstrapped and capital-efficient scaling
Boast AI to $10M with 30 people, the bootstrapped path when VCs say no, and the operator stories from founders who proved the venture-backed playbook is not the only one that works.
The arrival of generative AI
Six months after ChatGPT's launch, Jasper's Meghan Keaney Anderson and the operators thinking through what generative AI actually does to marketing, sales, and product motions in 2023.
Scaling stories at $100M+ ARR
Aircall to $100M (Mark Roberge), BroadSoft to a $2B exit (Michael Tessler), WP Engine's practical strategy work (Jason Cohen), and the operators who built durable B2B SaaS through multiple cycles.
Sales, positioning & marketing in 2023
April Dunford on building a game-changing sales pitch, Dave Gerhardt (Exit Five) on power-brand integration, Chris Walker (Refine Labs) on revenue attribution, and Peep Laja (Wynter) on winning in saturated markets.
Venue
Austin Marriott Downtown
304 E Cesar Chavez St
Austin, Texas, USA
Three days of programming across two main stages (Scale + Growth), a Podcast Stage for live SaaS Revolution Show recordings, an expo hall, four SaaS.City bootcamp rooms (402/403/404/405), and Startup Day programming at Inn Cahoots — all centred on Austin Marriott Downtown.
Recap
What happened at SaaStock USA 2023.
SaaStock USA 2023 ran May 31 – June 2, 2023 in Austin, Texas — three days at Austin Marriott Downtown with 776 attendees representing 56 named speakers, 58 mainstage sessions, and a 17-startup Global Pitch Competition. It was the first proper SaaStock USA flagship after the 2022 Austin pilot, structured across three distinct programs: Wednesday's SaaS.City bootcamps and Startup Program Day at Inn Cahoots, Thursday and Friday's Scale Stage + Growth Stage + Podcast Stage main conference, and the Pitch Competition that spanned both main-conference days.
The runaway talk of the conference — and the most-watched SaaStock talk ever published, at 12,622 YouTube views — was Lloyed Lobo (Co-founder, Boast AI) on 11 lessons from bootstrapping to $10M ARR with 30 people and no marketing team. Lobo's framing was personal: a Gulf War refugee who built Boast AI on community after VCs told him the market was "too niche," sold a majority stake to a growth-equity firm, then surprised himself by ending up depressed at the top — and used the talk to walk the room through the operating decisions he made along the way. April Dunford (Founder, Ambient Strategy) followed with the SaaStock debut of the positioning framework she would return to in 2024 — "buying is harder than selling" — anchored on the now-classic "April buys a toilet" example before flipping it to B2B SaaS.
On the Scale Stage, Nathan Latka (Founder & CEO, Founderpath) opened day one with nine growth tactics top founders had used to add $1M in revenue the month prior. Jason Cohen (WP Engine) followed with his "water molecule" framing of team alignment, Chris Walker (Refine Labs) on revenue attribution, Godard Abel (G2) on smart growth in a tougher market, and Dave Kellogg on connecting C-suite vision to ground reality. Day two opened with Noah Kagan (AppSumo) on "Feelings of a Founder" and closed with Meghan Keaney Anderson (Jasper) bringing the first generative-AI track to any SaaStock — six months after ChatGPT launched. Tae Hea Nahm (Storm Ventures) gave the operator-classic on finding go-to-market fit, and Mark Roberge (Stage 2 Capital, former CRO of HubSpot) walked the audience through the zero-to-$100M ARR Aircall playbook.
The Growth Stage carried the GTM track: Kevin Dorsey (Bench) on leading and selling through tough times, Peep Laja (Wynter) on winning in saturated markets, Caya (Slidebean) on why you shouldn't pay influencers for marketing, Thomas Smale (FE International) on lessons from $1B in SaaS acquisitions, Massimo Arrigoni (BEE) on the 60% conversion lift from changing "free trial" to "free," Asia Orangio (DemandMaven) on onboarding, and Sanjiv Kalevar (OpenView) on PLG in a recession. The Podcast Stage hosted live SaaS Revolution Show recordings with Jason Cohen (WP Engine), Stevie Case (CRO, Vanta), and Noah Kagan (AppSumo) on day one; Asia Orangio's In Demand with Peep Laja (Wynter), Eli Rubel's Demand Efficiency with Drift CEO Scott Ernst, and a live podcast with Paddle's Christian Owens on day two.
The Global Pitch Competition ran across both main-conference days with 17 startups in the field — DisCover Technologies, OneUp Sales, CloudOffix, FROGED, Insynctive, Mentessa, Laxis, Uspacy, Corrily, Training Layers, Allegrow, Peaka, Userflow, Terralytiq, Sentauro, Zenskar, and Getjop. Userflow took the trophy in the Friday final. The Official Party drew 355 founders, operators, and investors after day one. SaaStock USA returned to Austin in May 2024 with 1,194 attendees — the second American edition and the first to break 1,000.
FAQ
Frequently asked about SaaStock USA 2023.
When was SaaStock USA 2023?
SaaStock USA 2023 took place May 31 – June 2, 2023 in Austin, Texas. It was a three-day program: Wednesday May 31 hosted SaaS.City bootcamps and Startup Program Day at Inn Cahoots; Thursday June 1 and Friday June 2 hosted the main conference and the Global Pitch Competition at Austin Marriott Downtown.
How many people attended SaaStock USA 2023?
776 attendees gathered at SaaStock USA 2023 in Austin across three days, with 56 named speakers and 58 mainstage sessions across the Scale, Growth, and Podcast stages.
Where was SaaStock USA 2023 held?
SaaStock USA 2023 was held at Austin Marriott Downtown, 304 E Cesar Chavez St, Austin, Texas. Wednesday's Startup Program Day was hosted at Inn Cahoots. (SaaStock USA 2024 and 2025 later moved to the Palmer Events Center.)
Who won the SaaStock USA 2023 Global Pitch Competition?
Userflow won the SaaStock USA 2023 Global Pitch Competition in the Friday June 2 final. The 17-startup field included DisCover Technologies, OneUp Sales, CloudOffix, FROGED, Insynctive, Mentessa, Laxis, Uspacy, Corrily, Training Layers, Allegrow, Peaka, Userflow, Terralytiq, Sentauro, Zenskar, and Getjop.
Who spoke at SaaStock USA 2023?
The most-watched keynotes and firesides at SaaStock USA 2023 included Lloyed Lobo (Co-founder, Boast AI) on 11 lessons from bootstrapping to $10M, April Dunford (Founder, Ambient Strategy) on building a game-changing sales pitch, Michael Tessler (Co-founder, BroadSoft) on the $2B exit story, Mark Roberge (Co-founder, Stage 2 Capital; former CRO, HubSpot) on building Aircall to $100M ARR, Meghan Keaney Anderson (VP Marketing, Jasper) on the rise of generative AI, and Jason Cohen (Founder, WP Engine) on practical strategy with the whole team.
What was the theme of SaaStock USA 2023?
SaaStock USA 2023 leaned into two registers: bootstrapped and capital-efficient scaling (Boast AI to $10M, the operator stories from founders who built without venture capital), and the first deep working of the generative-AI shift that had landed six months earlier with the launch of ChatGPT.
What was on the SaaStock USA 2023 agenda?
SaaStock USA 2023 ran a full schedule across three stages over two days: the Scale Stage (covering operational efficiency, talent, funding, and scaling beyond $10M ARR), the Growth Stage (covering marketing, sales, customer success, and product-led growth), and the Podcast Stage (live SaaS Revolution Show recordings with Jason Cohen of WP Engine, Stevie Case of Vanta, Noah Kagan of AppSumo, and others). The full schedule of 58 sessions — every talk title, speaker, format, and description — is published on the SaaStock USA 2023 event page.
When is the next SaaStock USA?
SaaStock USA 2024 followed on May 13–15, 2024 with 1,194 attendees — the first American edition to break 1,000 attendees. SaaStock USA 2025 ran May 13–14, 2025, and SaaStock USA 2026 is the next upcoming edition.
See also