My top 5 takeaways from SaaStr Europa 2024
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After stints in Paris and Barcelona, this year SaaStr Europa came to London for the very first time, so I headed along to connect with a few familiar faces, make some new connections and of course, hear from some of the brightest minds in the SaaS industry.
Here are my thoughts and key takeaways from my first SaaStr Europa...
SaaStr Europa was a great event to connect with peers in the software and technology industry. Braindate facilitated targeted, meaningful conversations throughout the conference and I’ll certainly be looking into how we can use it here at Leighton. Like with any conference, I think you get the most value out of networking with peers, industry leaders and potential partners, so my advice is to actively seek out those opportunities and make the most of them.
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Of course, AI dominated the conversation, as it does at most events these days. However, there was some interesting conversation around AI’s potential in transforming the sales process. With typically 75% of time spent on non-sales activities, detracting from time better spent with customers and prospects, AI has the potential to remove the drudgery from the sales process by automating routine tasks, enhancing customer interactions and integrating data into CRMs.
Speech technology, driven by AI, looks to become a major driver in sales. The days of extensive clicking and manual data entry are gone, with AI able to listen to customer interactions, transcribe conversations and analyse data to provide value insights. This capability not only streamlines interactions but also ensures valuable information is captured and utilised effectively.
On the subject of AI, first, let me shamelessly plug our upcoming TechNExt fringe event ‘AI Transformation: Exploring the Role of AI in Business’. Now back to it. Another point that came out of SaaStr Europa was the need to embrace and experiment with AI. AI is here, and it looks like it’s here to stay, so get experimenting. AI certainly isn’t the solution to every business problem, but it offers heaps of opportunities for those willing to experiment. Identify specific areas where you think AI can add value and start small. For example, can you use it to simplify software development or prototype a new idea?
Of course, you still need to be mindful of the time and resources required to implement AI successfully. It’s a continuous learning process, and although it might be easy to prototype with AI, it can be more challenging to take something into production.
It also became clear that AI services are becoming a significant industry on their own, often more lucrative than developing AI products. So, I’m sure we’ll see a lot more AI service companies popping up over the next few months and years.
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It’s no secret that the growth rates many organisations have previously enjoyed in the past have slowed, leading to increased pressure on sales pipelines. A common theme at the conference was the need to increase pipeline value to achieve targets. Although this tougher landscape is driving innovation and efficiency, particularly around the use of AI and automation. Autonomous systems leveraging AI are predicted to be the next major revolution, even surpassing the cloud revolution.
Given the economic climate, there’s a lack of dedicated AI funding and AI initiatives are often funded across different budgets, so if your business is in the fortunate position to create a dedicated AI budget to kickstart your experimentation (see point 3), then it’s highly recommended.
In challenging times, it's crucial to focus on building resilient, adaptable teams and processes. Recruiting the right talent, especially those with curiosity and adaptability, is more important than ever. But just know, we’re all in the same boat.
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Another point that stuck with me, sometimes, achieving scale requires doing things that aren’t scalable. It’s easy to get into the mindset that everything should be scalable to accommodate future growth, and although that’s the ideal, it’s not always possible. A practical example shared was the idea of reviewing 1,000 customer tickets to understand pain points. Whilst this time-consuming exercise isn't sustainable long-term or something you want to repeat daily; it could provide invaluable insights that can help streamline processes and improve customer satisfaction. Unsaleable tasks like these will bring insight into how to scale more effectively so you can put the right systems in place. Of course, there’s always AI to review your customer tickets for you, so perhaps it’s scalable after all!
A recurring theme across the talks and discussions was the power of mindset. Too often, we hesitate to ask for help or feedback and make our own assumptions (or reasons not to ask). However, asking questions and seeking advice can lead to significant breakthroughs. Whether it's reaching out to customers, team members, or industry experts, adopting a proactive mindset can open doors and provide critical support. This mindset is particularly important for founders facing the uncertainty of product launches or market outreach. If you don’t ask, you’ll never know. Or as they say in Leighton’s native Newcastle, shy bairns get nowt.
I’d say my first SaaStr Europa conference was a success. I’ve come back to Leighton full of ideas that I can’t wait to explore. I’ll certainly be attending again next year (hopefully in sunnier climes). If you’re tempted to attend SaaStr Europa 2025 and want to meet for a coffee, let me know, which brings us nicely back to point 1...
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After stints in Paris and Barcelona, this year SaaStr Europa came to London for the very first time, so I headed along to connect with a few familiar faces, make some new connections and of course, hear from some of the brightest minds in the SaaS industry.
Here are my thoughts and key takeaways from my first SaaStr Europa...
SaaStr Europa was a great event to connect with peers in the software and technology industry. Braindate facilitated targeted, meaningful conversations throughout the conference and I’ll certainly be looking into how we can use it here at Leighton. Like with any conference, I think you get the most value out of networking with peers, industry leaders and potential partners, so my advice is to actively seek out those opportunities and make the most of them.
Of course, AI dominated the conversation, as it does at most events these days. However, there was some interesting conversation around AI’s potential in transforming the sales process. With typically 75% of time spent on non-sales activities, detracting from time better spent with customers and prospects, AI has the potential to remove the drudgery from the sales process by automating routine tasks, enhancing customer interactions and integrating data into CRMs.
Speech technology, driven by AI, looks to become a major driver in sales. The days of extensive clicking and manual data entry are gone, with AI able to listen to customer interactions, transcribe conversations and analyse data to provide value insights. This capability not only streamlines interactions but also ensures valuable information is captured and utilised effectively.
On the subject of AI, first, let me shamelessly plug our upcoming TechNExt fringe event ‘AI Transformation: Exploring the Role of AI in Business’. Now back to it. Another point that came out of SaaStr Europa was the need to embrace and experiment with AI. AI is here, and it looks like it’s here to stay, so get experimenting. AI certainly isn’t the solution to every business problem, but it offers heaps of opportunities for those willing to experiment. Identify specific areas where you think AI can add value and start small. For example, can you use it to simplify software development or prototype a new idea?
Of course, you still need to be mindful of the time and resources required to implement AI successfully. It’s a continuous learning process, and although it might be easy to prototype with AI, it can be more challenging to take something into production.
It also became clear that AI services are becoming a significant industry on their own, often more lucrative than developing AI products. So, I’m sure we’ll see a lot more AI service companies popping up over the next few months and years.
It’s no secret that the growth rates many organisations have previously enjoyed in the past have slowed, leading to increased pressure on sales pipelines. A common theme at the conference was the need to increase pipeline value to achieve targets. Although this tougher landscape is driving innovation and efficiency, particularly around the use of AI and automation. Autonomous systems leveraging AI are predicted to be the next major revolution, even surpassing the cloud revolution.
Given the economic climate, there’s a lack of dedicated AI funding and AI initiatives are often funded across different budgets, so if your business is in the fortunate position to create a dedicated AI budget to kickstart your experimentation (see point 3), then it’s highly recommended.
In challenging times, it's crucial to focus on building resilient, adaptable teams and processes. Recruiting the right talent, especially those with curiosity and adaptability, is more important than ever. But just know, we’re all in the same boat.
Another point that stuck with me, sometimes, achieving scale requires doing things that aren’t scalable. It’s easy to get into the mindset that everything should be scalable to accommodate future growth, and although that’s the ideal, it’s not always possible. A practical example shared was the idea of reviewing 1,000 customer tickets to understand pain points. Whilst this time-consuming exercise isn't sustainable long-term or something you want to repeat daily; it could provide invaluable insights that can help streamline processes and improve customer satisfaction. Unsaleable tasks like these will bring insight into how to scale more effectively so you can put the right systems in place. Of course, there’s always AI to review your customer tickets for you, so perhaps it’s scalable after all!
A recurring theme across the talks and discussions was the power of mindset. Too often, we hesitate to ask for help or feedback and make our own assumptions (or reasons not to ask). However, asking questions and seeking advice can lead to significant breakthroughs. Whether it's reaching out to customers, team members, or industry experts, adopting a proactive mindset can open doors and provide critical support. This mindset is particularly important for founders facing the uncertainty of product launches or market outreach. If you don’t ask, you’ll never know. Or as they say in Leighton’s native Newcastle, shy bairns get nowt.
I’d say my first SaaStr Europa conference was a success. I’ve come back to Leighton full of ideas that I can’t wait to explore. I’ll certainly be attending again next year (hopefully in sunnier climes). If you’re tempted to attend SaaStr Europa 2025 and want to meet for a coffee, let me know, which brings us nicely back to point 1...
After stints in Paris and Barcelona, this year SaaStr Europa came to London for the very first time, so I headed along to connect with a few familiar faces, make some new connections and of course, hear from some of the brightest minds in the SaaS industry.
Here are my thoughts and key takeaways from my first SaaStr Europa...
SaaStr Europa was a great event to connect with peers in the software and technology industry. Braindate facilitated targeted, meaningful conversations throughout the conference and I’ll certainly be looking into how we can use it here at Leighton. Like with any conference, I think you get the most value out of networking with peers, industry leaders and potential partners, so my advice is to actively seek out those opportunities and make the most of them.
Of course, AI dominated the conversation, as it does at most events these days. However, there was some interesting conversation around AI’s potential in transforming the sales process. With typically 75% of time spent on non-sales activities, detracting from time better spent with customers and prospects, AI has the potential to remove the drudgery from the sales process by automating routine tasks, enhancing customer interactions and integrating data into CRMs.
Speech technology, driven by AI, looks to become a major driver in sales. The days of extensive clicking and manual data entry are gone, with AI able to listen to customer interactions, transcribe conversations and analyse data to provide value insights. This capability not only streamlines interactions but also ensures valuable information is captured and utilised effectively.
On the subject of AI, first, let me shamelessly plug our upcoming TechNExt fringe event ‘AI Transformation: Exploring the Role of AI in Business’. Now back to it. Another point that came out of SaaStr Europa was the need to embrace and experiment with AI. AI is here, and it looks like it’s here to stay, so get experimenting. AI certainly isn’t the solution to every business problem, but it offers heaps of opportunities for those willing to experiment. Identify specific areas where you think AI can add value and start small. For example, can you use it to simplify software development or prototype a new idea?
Of course, you still need to be mindful of the time and resources required to implement AI successfully. It’s a continuous learning process, and although it might be easy to prototype with AI, it can be more challenging to take something into production.
It also became clear that AI services are becoming a significant industry on their own, often more lucrative than developing AI products. So, I’m sure we’ll see a lot more AI service companies popping up over the next few months and years.
It’s no secret that the growth rates many organisations have previously enjoyed in the past have slowed, leading to increased pressure on sales pipelines. A common theme at the conference was the need to increase pipeline value to achieve targets. Although this tougher landscape is driving innovation and efficiency, particularly around the use of AI and automation. Autonomous systems leveraging AI are predicted to be the next major revolution, even surpassing the cloud revolution.
Given the economic climate, there’s a lack of dedicated AI funding and AI initiatives are often funded across different budgets, so if your business is in the fortunate position to create a dedicated AI budget to kickstart your experimentation (see point 3), then it’s highly recommended.
In challenging times, it's crucial to focus on building resilient, adaptable teams and processes. Recruiting the right talent, especially those with curiosity and adaptability, is more important than ever. But just know, we’re all in the same boat.
Another point that stuck with me, sometimes, achieving scale requires doing things that aren’t scalable. It’s easy to get into the mindset that everything should be scalable to accommodate future growth, and although that’s the ideal, it’s not always possible. A practical example shared was the idea of reviewing 1,000 customer tickets to understand pain points. Whilst this time-consuming exercise isn't sustainable long-term or something you want to repeat daily; it could provide invaluable insights that can help streamline processes and improve customer satisfaction. Unsaleable tasks like these will bring insight into how to scale more effectively so you can put the right systems in place. Of course, there’s always AI to review your customer tickets for you, so perhaps it’s scalable after all!
A recurring theme across the talks and discussions was the power of mindset. Too often, we hesitate to ask for help or feedback and make our own assumptions (or reasons not to ask). However, asking questions and seeking advice can lead to significant breakthroughs. Whether it's reaching out to customers, team members, or industry experts, adopting a proactive mindset can open doors and provide critical support. This mindset is particularly important for founders facing the uncertainty of product launches or market outreach. If you don’t ask, you’ll never know. Or as they say in Leighton’s native Newcastle, shy bairns get nowt.
I’d say my first SaaStr Europa conference was a success. I’ve come back to Leighton full of ideas that I can’t wait to explore. I’ll certainly be attending again next year (hopefully in sunnier climes). If you’re tempted to attend SaaStr Europa 2025 and want to meet for a coffee, let me know, which brings us nicely back to point 1...
