The SaaStr Annual conference is always an incredible venue for the team at Boast to connect with leaders driving the latest software innovation. With our mission to help teams develop stronger solutions and unlock growth through R&D, there’s no better place for us to share our vision than with the hundreds of industry experts and leaders in San Mateo each year.
Day 1 was abbreviated, but the energy was anything but. Along with cookies courtesy of our pals at Carta, we met great folks from Allegrow, Flatfile, ChurnZero, Beefree, Drata, Workato, Workiva, Dialpad, Remote, Mogul AI, Insight Assurance, and many more in the first few hours!
SaaStr 2024 Day 2 kicked off with an all-star panel on—you guessed it—AI ??
While AI is the hot topic throughout SaaStr, the insights around how to maximize your success using AI for product development and design bears repeating.
As Diego Zaks put it, “AI is not the product—the product is the product.”
Using AI to create velocity around new solutions and to “make magic” happen always comes back to problem solving. It’s an ethos we share at Boast as we aim to maximize our platform’s ability to derive powerful R&D insights and accelerate our customers’ own product development.
Solutions for SaaS at SaaStr 2024
SaaStr 2024 was also chock full of entrepreneurs with solutions that can truly help SaaS businesses capture velocity and work smarter. It’s an ethos we hold close to our hearts here at Boast, and the team at Insight Assurance shares that passion.
Just like how Boast is committed to helping our customers tap into every dollar of funding they deserve to maximize their R&D—without overextending their teams— Brett Himes and the crew at Insight Assurance take the guesswork out of compliance.
It was great catching up with Brett, Craig Saldanha, and the rest of the Insight Assurance crew so far at this amazing innovation showcase.
AI leaders on the floor
Whether at SaaStr in California, SAAS NORTH Conference in Ottawa, or literally any event on the planet where software innovation is on display, you’ll run into David Brennan MBA and the Arkeo Ai crew.
David and his team have built a SaaS copilot that helps teams work smarter, scale effectively, and use AI to drive greater efficiency.
It’s always a pleasure when we can connect—and if you like what you hear, you have to check out David’s SaaS Founder Stories podcast for more proof-in-action of the passion behind this product.
At Boast we want to help businesses driving world-changing innovation by maximizing their capabilities just like Arkeo Ai.
Solution-specific AI in action
Caitlin Cuccio and the Dialpad team are all about helping businesses put AI to work through powerful business integrations.
It’s perfectly aligned with our mission at Boast to help teams enhance processes and unlock growth by developing stronger research and development and drive greater innovation.
While it was loud and energetic in the hall when our teams caught up on Day 2 at SaaStr 2024, our shared message is clear: Businesses must tap into these amazing SaaS and AI solutions to achieve the growth and scale they deserve.
Keynotes from founders who “go long”
How do founders like Jason M. Lemkin and René Lacerte maintain momentum for the long haul? As Rene explained during one of the early keynotes on SaaStr Day 3, “stay constructively dissatisfied.”
That means honing in on your WHY from Day 1, and sticking with it for the long haul. For Rene, he didn’t just want to build a game-changing finance toolkit—he wants to help SMBs succeed, and build a great workplace.
While the product suite at BILL has expanded to serve stakeholders at organizations of all sizes, not losing focus on why he built the business in the first place has made Rene the rare founder who has stuck around for the long haul.
And never accepting “good enough” will ensure positive, “constructive dissatisfaction.”
Along with this great session, the Boast team showed up bright and early to hear insights from Matt Plank, who shared how Rippling has captured market share while keeping customer service and satisfaction at the center of their product strategy.
A key message Matt delivered was having a full, accurate understanding of all the stakeholders you serve. When Rippling launched 8 years ago with 4 products, segmenting between the different users and decision makers quickly became a priority—and earned Rippling the opportunity to capture more market and deliver more services as a result.
While these are just two of the MANY amazing sessions taking place on the last day in San Mateo, they impart important messages for the members of Boast’s innovation ecosystem.
By focusing on your WHY and striving to solve real, acute problems for your customers, you’re better poised to achieve long-term growth.
At the heart of this is maximizing your research and development capabilities to ensure you’re not just fully understanding your problem space, but delivering something truly effective and innovative to your ICP.
That’s our WHY here at Boast, and we hope we can help you capture the R&D optimization you deserve to stick it out for the long haul.
Saving the best for last on Day 3
SaaStr maybe saved the best for last on Day 3!
Lots of laughs with partners and prospects, but also some valuable, hard truths about the state of SaaS.
Despite seeing 103% YoY growth SaaStr didn’t meet its DEI goals for the first time this year—even with the number of non-U.S.-based businesses exceeding 50% (ie: in 2021, it was almost all US-based).
The paradigm is shifting, and the hard truths seem more elastic than ever, but community, honesty and support that teams like SaaStr foster are invaluable—regardless of the market.
It was a fantastic event, and the Boast team loved having the chance to meet so many great innovators in such an honest, constructive and collaborative setting.
Stay tuned to our Youtube, LinkedIn, Instagram and blog for more event updates all year round.
To learn more about how Boast helps teams drive world-changing innovation by maximizing their R&D, talk to an expert today.
