We’ve hit the homestretch for our annual gathering of recurring revenue phenoms at SaaSFest 2017.

With two weeks left to go, I wanted to share a few pointers for maximizing your time with some of the best and brightest in the subscription community.

If you’re still on the fence about whether to join us in Boston on December 13 - 15, this is the final call. You can grab one of the final spots right here (at last count, we had 8 tickets left). 

Let’s jump right into some tips we’ve heard from our friends who have been part of the SaaSFest community for the last two years.

Open up to new friends

Something strange happens to otherwise normal people at conferences. You’re having an interesting conversation with someone you’ve just met and then boom – they launch into a well-worn sales pitch. Your new friend has transmogrified into a sales robot and no amount of checking your watch can save you.   

This kind of interaction is supremely un-fun for everyone involved. Yet, it happens all the time at conferences I’ve attended.    

SaaSFest is a different kind of gathering - one where the focus is on learnings over pitches. We don’t offer corporate sponsorships or an exhibition hall for companies to hawk their products. Our goal has always been to create a community of people working together to deepen their understanding of the three pillars of subscription businesses. 

We’ve succeeded in large part because people have been willing to open up to one another and take a real interest in each other’s experiences.

Going beyond the pitch sometimes requires getting a little bit vulnerable. If you’re able to share your struggles alongside your successes, you’ll walk away from SaaSFest with a wealth of new info from your peers, many of whom have faced the same challenges. Plus, you’ll leave with a few new friends instead of a stack of business cards.

Luckily, learnings don’t only come from other SaaSFest goers – your speakers can be a tremendous resource for you both onstage and off.

Get to know your speakers

If you want to see into the future of the subscription economy, your SaaSFest speakers are a good place to start. We’re hosting leaders at the forefront of their respective spaces to discuss how they’ve built profitable subscription companies.

Our speakers aren’t giving talks to burnish their brand – they’re coming to share proven strategies while picking up new tactics from you and others in the SaaSFest community. 

If you hear something during a talk that makes you think or gives you pause, ask about it. Even if your question isn’t answered in post-talk Q&A, we’ve scheduled plenty of time in between sessions for you to chat with your speakers. There’s no need to be bashful, here – everyone speaking at SaaSFest wants to help you succeed. 

You can check out the full list of subscription leaders who will be speaking below:

Guillaume Cabane, VP of Growth at Drift

David Hauser, Founder of Grasshopper & Chargify

Kate Moore, VP of Marketing at LeanKit

Suneet Bhatt, Chief Growth Officer at Help Scout

Katie Rogers, VP of Customer Success at SalesLoft

Monika Saha, GM at Zuora

Hiten Shah, Co-Founder of CrazyEgg and Kissmetrics

Marie Prokopets, Founder of Draftsend

Ed Byrne, Founder of Scaleworks 

Nate Walkingshaw, Chief Experience Officer at Pluralsight

Jonathan Kim, Co-Founder of Appcues

If you miss an insight during a talk, no need to stress – we’ll be posting videos of the full talks online right here on the ProfitWell blog. And if you need a breather after a few days of deep dives and sharing sessions.we have one final tip in s tore.

Take some time to see Boston

We make no secret of the fact that we love our city (even in December). If you manage to snag some time before or after the conference, head over to the North End for some of the best pizza (though it's debatable) and best cannoli (it's not debatable) money can buy. Or, find me or someone from Price Intelligently and ProfitWell to get some recommendations for things to do. 

If your schedule is a little tighter, just make sure you join us for our afterparty at Whiskey Priest after the main event on December 14th. 

Boston is an incredibly rewarding city to explore. Just remember to bring a coat.

SaaSFest 2017: Last Call for Tickets

Here in the final two weeks before SaaSFest, we’re finalizing our preparations for another incredible gathering. We’re also readying some special announcements about Price Intelligently and ProfitWell that we'll be able to share at the conference. 

If you haven't secured your spot and don't want to miss out, get one of the last tickets remaining before they're gone. To stay up to date with all things SaaSFest, follow #saasfest17. We can't wait for you to join us.