Our conference season watchlist
The ultimate guide to all destinations that should be a part of your Techtember pilgrimage.
It started off innocently enough.
A conference here, a tech summit there. Until September became Techtember and established its monopoly over the conference calendar.
In the mid-1800s, the early wave of gold miners realized that September was when for the first time in the year, the streams ran clear and gold became easy to pan. September was when fortunes changed, motherlodes were struck, and millionaires became billionaires.
200 years later, not much has changed. Turns out, whether you're hunting for gold, your next enterprise deal, or just some branded Slack socks, September is the season to be out and about.
Eventually, other cities joined in on the fun that was set afoot in San Francisco. And although the gold reserves have run (almost) dry, there’s still a rich vein of the 2023 equivalent of - we don’t want to say the new gold - but yes - the new gold: conference badge QR codes.
This is our ultimate guide to all of the events from the conference calendar. We’ll continue to update these over time, adding mixers, dinners, and other extraordinarily branded events (we’re part of this particular problem - stay tuned) that happen around the main conferences.
Watch this space and share it with a friend who’s in these towns on these dates.
We set sail on the East Coast. The first week of September.
1. Inbound
By HubSpot | Boston Convention & Exhibition Center | 5th-8th September 2023
The Superbowl of Software brings together sales, business, and marketing folks every year for the flagship event for everything, well, inbound. With over 180+ sessions, from Reese Witherspoon to the founders of HubSpot, and heavy hitters like Andrew Huberman, Sam Jacobs, and Guy Raz, Inbound's speaker lineup is a cannot miss.
Who from my team should make the trip? While this event is for all business teams, the content and programming are oriented largely toward your marketing teams - who will find the most bang for their buck.
2. SaaStr Annual
By SaaStr | San Mateo County Events Center | 6th-8th September
The Coachella of SaaS returns this year with 12,500+ SaaS executives, founders, and VCs for the world’s largest cloud event. Focused on teams hitting the ARR milestone from 10M to 100M, SaaStr Annual promises the best in SaaS with 250+ speakers, 2000+ networking meetings, and 100+ tactical sessions.
Who from my team should make the trip? While your marketing peers immerse themselves in the Inbound experience, sales teams can bring home tonnes of qualified meetings from this annual SaaS event.
3. Dreamforce
By Salesforce | Moscone Center, San Francisco | 12th-14th September
Scale is the name of this game where 100M+ ARR companies come together in the Disneyland of SaaS - Dreamforce. Spread across 3 days, 1500+ sessions, Dreamforce brings all sales trailblazers under one roof to learn, connect, and give back, all while having fun.
Who from my team should make the trip? Dreamforce is a must-attend for all sales and revenue folks from the team. If you left in-person events back in 2019, Salesforce+ is all you need to experience the magic that is, Dreamforce.
Need help convincing your boss? Here's a template by Salesforce to help you with it.
4. The Trifecta of Summits
The trifecta of sales, revenue, and product tech events come together at Oakland Marriott City Center on the 19th and 20th of September.
(a) Sales Enablement Summit
By the Sales Enablement Collective | Oakland Marriott City Center | 19th-20th September
Speakers include senior sales enablement leaders from Amazon, Stripe, MongoDB, LinkedIn, and many others.
Who from my team should make the trip? While the name does give it all away, sales enablement folks from your team should make a trip to this conference.
How do I convince my boss? Here's a template provided by SEC
(b) Revenue Operations Summit
By Revenue Operations Alliance | Oakland Marriott City Center | 19th-20th September
Join 25+ speakers and 75+ companies for a cornerstone event in the function of RevOps.
Who from my team should make the trip? RevOps.
How do I convince my boss? Keep this template provided by the ROA handy
(c) Product-Led Summit
By Product-led Alliance | Oakland Marriott City Center | 19th-20th September
Join senior leaders from Google, Zoom, Salesforce, and the likes in a two-day summit that focuses on everything product-led.
Who from my team should make the trip? This event is most suited for product teams.
5. Disrupt
By Tech Crunch | San Francisco | 19th-21st September
The OG event that gave us the iconic Pied Piper (grateful; always), Disrupt is the mecca for early-stage startups. The Tomorrowland of tech events rather literally brings together the trailblazers of tomorrow. 10k+ startup leaders, disruptors, and VCs come together across eight industry tracks to discuss everything from news to networking. The place to be if you are planning to or have begun your journey of building a startup.
Who from my team should make the trip? Early-stage founders, this is your time to shine.
6. GTM 2023
By Pavilion | Nashville | 10-12 October
Organized by one of the most raving communities of the revenue world - Pavilion. GTM 2023 is the event for all things B2B go-to-market motions. If GTM executives are Avengers, think of GTM 2023 to be the "Avengers Tower". 3 days filled with learning from the best in the biz, networking, and *checks notes* celebrating the top GTM leaders with GTM awards. If you are a Pavilion member, this is a no-brainer must-attend event. Even if you aren't, all the more reason to attend.
Who from my team should make the trip? This is an event exclusively for founders, C-level execs. And VPs of sales, marketing, customer success, and RevOps.
7. SaaStock
RDS, Dublin | 16th-18th October
Arguably the largest event for European SaaS. Over 6,000 SaaS founders, operators, and investors come together in a WoodStock-style celebration of software. With speakers from Jasper, Paddle, and the likes making up the speaker line-up, SaaStock makes a flight across the pond worth it.
Who from my team should make the trip? The leadership team from your org. should make this trip.
8. Pendomonium
By Pendo | Martin Marietta Center for the Performing Arts, Raleigh | 17th-19th October
The Lollapalooza of Tech Events, Pendomonium is the festival of Product. With 30+ breakout sessions along 5 learning tracks (read: themes - “lead in Product”, “build for a digital-first world”, “accelerate your Pendo initiatives”, “drive workplace efficiency”, and “prove product value”) Pendomonium is for anyone looking to learn about the latest trends in product, improve their Pendo knowledge and skills, or bring a product-led approach to their organization.
Who from my team should make the trip? While a broad set of teams across marketing, design, and customer success can benefit from the event, it is largely focused to serve product teams.
How do I convince my manager? The Pendo template for the same.
We’re also watching the mixers, dinners, and meet-ups that happen around the main conferences in our afterparty watchlist.
The afterparties:
Dreamforce
Marketers Welcome Bash by Sercante
San Francisco | 11th September
MSP Happy Hour by Modern Sales Pros
San Francisco | 12th September
An Intergalactic Night Party by Sercante
San Francisco | 12th September
The Groove Lounge by The Groove
San Francisco | 12th & 13th September
Dreamforce pump-up party by Sercante
San Francisco | 13th September
Marketer's Afterglow Party by Sercante
San Francisco | 14th September
We update this list every week. Watch this space for more.