1.
How SaaStr Built an Energized Community
of Evangelists From Scratch
GRETCHEN DEKNIKKER, COO / SAASTR

2.
WHAT IS

3.
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 LEVIE
CEO, COFOUNDER & CHAIRMAN / BOX
“
@saastr #liveMKTG@gretchende

4.
VPS
EXECS
VCS
@saastr #liveMKTG@gretchende
FOUNDERS
WE ENTERPRISE SOFTWARE

5.
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

6.
COO
Startup junkie, 1x founder, 5x early employee
Joined SaaStr in 2014
Gretchen DeKnikker
@saastr #liveMKTG@gretchende

7.
TWO YEARS
OF
GROWTH

8.
2014
2016 10,000
3M
VIEWS/
MONTH
1M
VIEWS/
MONTH
TRAFFIC
25,000
500
SUBSCRIBERS
30,000
5,000
FOLLOWERS
2,000
SAASTR ANNUAL
@saastr #liveMKTG@gretchende

9.
WHAT IS
SAASTR ANNUAL?

10.
2015 2016 2017
10,000 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

11.
Learning via blog - but
one voice, one direction1
Gathering in person - more
voices, connecting with others2
@saastr #liveMKTG@gretchende
3
Education platform - packaging
lessons for every stage of journey
HOW THE CONFERENCE INTEGRATES

12.
HOW DID WE
DO IT?

13.
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

14.
HOW DO WE DO IT?
Pick an outcome and work backwards
@saastr #liveMKTG@gretchende
4

15.
WHAT WE’VE
LEARNED… SO FAR

16.
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…
@saastr #liveMKTG@gretchende
1
2
3
4

17.
HOW
DOUBLEDUTCH
HELPS

18.
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

19.
HOW WE MEASURE
EVERYTHING

20.
METRICS
@saastr #liveMKTG@gretchende
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

21.
HOW WE
USE THE DATA

22.
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
@saastr #liveMKTG@gretchende

23.
HOW WE
MEASURE
SUCCESS

24.
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
@saastr #liveMKTG@gretchende

25.
…AND QUALITATIVE FEEDBACK
@saastr #liveMKTG@gretchende

26.
WHERE DO WE
STILL NEED TO
IMPROVE?

27.
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

28.
SAASTR
WHAT’S NEXT FOR

29.
WHAT’S NEXT?
SaaStr Academy
More events
Co-selling Space
SaaStr Jobs
SaaStr Fund
@saastr #liveMKTG@gretchende

30.
WE’REHIRING!
jobs@saastrinc.com