SaaStr Annual is quickly becoming the must attend event of the year for the who’s who of B2B SaaS. Will Fraser, CEO of Referral SaaSquatch, one of The Alacrity Foundation’s companies, was present, and collected some key takeaways to share.
The Annual SaaStr Conference is a great example of how diverse the people, ideas and tactics are in the industry. Jason Lemkin, a well known expert in SaaS is the driving force behind the conference, and he works hard to encourage participants to get involved and present in all the sessions.
Unlike so many conferences where the hallways are filled with so many “hallway hustlers,” and less “session sitters,” SaaStr is different. The strategy stage was packed with speakers who are at the top of the industry and willing to share much more than they normally should have at times. This level of sharing draws everyone into the sessions, leaving the hallways mostly vacant at times.
Will’s Takeaways
- – The key to growth is narrowing your focus into a niche you can really dominate and in which your company can be number one.– Complexity of sale, not complexity of product = business model / sale strategy.– Sales is the cocaine, but customer retention is the meth. – The market isn’t collapsing, the valuations are just coming back to earth. FOMO is dead but there is more money available than ever before for viable companies that showing real traction (series A,B,C)– Winner no longer takes most
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The great recommendation for a conference: Will notes that every attendee he spoke with learned something different based on their current situation.
Based on experience, if you’re involved in SaaS, we would highly recommend that you attend this event next year, and develop valuable new insights.