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Event Sponsorship & Participation

Go where your exact buyers gather in person — and make it count. Speak, launch on stage, run a side event or a well-planned booth, and eventually host the event your category goes to.

Cost
$$$
Time to results
Weeks
Difficulty
Medium
Best for
B2B
0/7

Proof first

8 companies already did this.

Event results are rarely published. These figures come from the companies' own posts, filings or the press that covered them.

Deep dives

Two case studies, start to finish.

Salesforce — borrow the room, then build your own

Salesforce · 2000–2019

Guerrilla, then dreamforce

What they built: a staged protest at Siebel's conference, then Dreamforce

What they didIn 2000, Salesforce hired actors to stage a mock protest with anti-software signs outside a conference run by Siebel Systems, its biggest rival. Fortune reports Salesforce soon won 1,000 new subscribers. In 2003 it started its own conference, Dreamforce, with just over 1,000 registered attendees.

Why it workedThe stunt put Salesforce in front of a room full of exactly its buyers — and the press — for the cost of a few actors. Owning an event later made Salesforce the centre of its own ecosystem: Dreamforce 2019 had more than 171,000 registered attendees.

Copy thisBefore you can afford a booth, find a creative (and legal) way to be noticed at your category's biggest event. Later, host your own.

Predictable Revenue — qualify, don't collect scans

Predictable Revenue · 2016 vs 2017

Same show, opposite results

What they built: a printed "Are we a fit?" checklist at the booth

What they didPredictable Revenue sponsored SaaStr Annual two years running. In 2016 it collected 327 badge scans and closed nothing within 60 days. In 2017 it trained everyone on the booth to run a printed "Are we a fit?" checklist and book a next step on the spot.

Why it workedThe second year produced only 67 scans — but 32 had a completed fit check and a meeting booked. Against a goal of $50K, the company says it closed more than $200K in the 56 days after the show (founder-reported).

Copy thisMeasure a booth by qualified next steps booked, not by badges scanned.

The guide

7 steps, each anchored to a real example.

Tick each step off as you go. Your progress is saved in this browser.

Step 1 · ~1 hour

Pick events where your exact buyers go

One small event full of your buyers beats a giant one full of everyone. Ask customers which events they actually attend, and check last year's attendee and speaker lists.

Customer surveyLinkedInLuma

How SaaStr did this step

"Any big event that's spot-on for your product should win you at least one customer."

Paraphrased — see source

SaaStr's founder puts the cheapest booth at $25K–$50K before travel, and says a large event that's spot-on for your product should get you at least one customer.

Source [12] ↓

Step 2 · ~1 day

Get noticed without a booth

Attend, ask good questions in sessions, host a dinner or meetup nearby, or do something memorable — legally and politely. Your buyers are in one place; you don't need a stand to meet them.

LumaDinner reservationSigns and swag

How Salesforce did this step

Illustration

In 2000 Salesforce hired actors to stage a mock protest outside rival Siebel's conference.

Source [1] ↓

Step 3 · ~2 weeks

Launch something on stage

Startup competitions and demo stages bring press and buyers to one moment. Have your sign-up flow ready for the spike.

TechCrunch DisruptDemo dayLaunch page

How Yammer did this step

Illustration

Yammer launched at TechCrunch50 and won. 10,000 people and 2,000 organisations signed up on the first day.

Source [5] ↓

Step 4 · ~1 week

Make your presence impossible to miss

Put the product itself where people walk past: screens, live demos, a challenge. Show it working rather than describing it.

ScreensLive demoQR codes

How Twitter did this step

Illustration

At SXSW 2007, Twitter set up screens in the conference hallways showing live tweets. Evan Williams says it cost about $11K, and the team set up the TVs themselves.

Source [6] ↓

Step 5 · ~1 day prep

Qualify at the booth, then follow up within 48 hours

Train everyone on the stand to ask three or four fit questions and book a next step on the spot. Follow up within two days, while they still remember you.

Printed checklistCalendlyBadge scanner

How Predictable Revenue did this step

Illustration

With a printed "Are we a fit?" checklist, 32 of 67 booth conversations ended with a next step booked — and more than $200K closed within 56 days (founder-reported).

Source [11] ↓

Step 6 · ~Half a day

Host your own small event

Invite 20–50 people who share one problem. Make it about the topic, not your product. A small gathering can become the category's meeting place.

LumaVenueSpeakers

How Gainsight did this step

Illustration

Gainsight's first customer-success conference in 2013 brought together about 300 executives from 30 companies. By 2018 it was a 5,000-person event.

Source [8] ↓

Step 7 · ~Yearly

Grow it into the event your category attends

Repeat it every year, bring in customers and partners as speakers, and keep the focus on learning. Your conference becomes the place your market gathers.

Event platformSponsorsCommunity

How HubSpot did this step

Illustration

HubSpot replaced its user summit with INBOUND. The 2012 event drew nearly 2,800 people — about three times the summit it replaced.

Source [4] ↓

Before you start

Pros & cons.

Works in your favour

  • Your exact buyers, in one place, for a few days
  • Face-to-face trust shortens sales
  • Press, partners and investors are often there too
  • A stage gives you a launch moment
  • Your own event can become the centre of your category

Go in with eyes open

  • Expensive — a booth can cost $25K–$50K before travel
  • Badge scans aren't pipeline (327 scans, 0 deals in one example)
  • Hard to track what came from the event
  • Takes the team away from building and selling
  • Stunts can backfire if they cross a legal or ethical line

Make it yours

Three ways to run it.

The Salesforce model

Guerrilla at a rival's event

Be noticed at the biggest event in your category without paying for a booth. Best for a challenger with a sharp message.

The Predictable Revenue model

Qualify at the booth

Sponsor, but measure booked next steps, not scans. Best for B2B with a clear buyer profile.

The Gainsight model

Host the category's event

Start small and become the meeting place for your market. Best when you're defining a new category.

Copy and paste

Templates & resources.

Event scorecard

decide before you spend

Event: {name} · Date: {date} · Cost all-in: ${x}

How many of our exact buyers attend? __
Do our customers go? (ask 5) __/5
Can we speak or launch there? Y / N
Competitors sponsoring? __

Break-even: we need {n} customers at ${value} to cover the cost.
Go / No go: ____

Booth qualification checklist

modeled on Predictable Revenue's "Are we a fit?"

□ Role: {buyer role}? 
□ Company size: {range}?
□ Problem: do they {pain} today?
□ Timing: looking in the next {6 months}?

3–4 ticks → book a call now (Calendly on the tablet)
1–2 ticks → add to newsletter
0 → thank them, give them a sticker

Post-event follow-up

send within 48 hours

Subject: Great to meet you at {event}

Hi {name},

Thanks for stopping by — you mentioned {specific problem}.

{One useful thing: a link, a template, a short answer}.

We pencilled in {day, time} to look at it together — here's the invite: {link}. Happy to move it.

{You}

From the showcase

Be the first founder featured here.

The famous examples above are proof it works. The next founder reading this wants proof it works for someone like them — that could be you.

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Discussion

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Share a result, ask a question, or say what you'd do differently. The next founder to try this will thank you.

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Receipts

Sources & references.

Last reviewed

  1. 1.
    The history of Salesforce (the 2000 mock protest; Dreamforce 2003) (opens in a new tab)

    Salesforce

  2. 2.
    Salesforce's happy workforce ("soon won 1,000 new subscribers") (opens in a new tab)

    Fortune, 2012

  3. 3.
    Dreamforce 2019 by the numbers: 171,000+ registered attendees (opens in a new tab)

    Salesforce, 2019

  4. 4.
    INBOUND 2012: a sold-out crowd of 2,800 marketers (opens in a new tab)

    HubSpot, via PR Newswire, 2012

  5. 5.
    Yammer takes TechCrunch50's top prize (opens in a new tab)

    TechCrunch, 2008

  6. 6.
    How Twitter and Foursquare used SXSW (opens in a new tab)

    TechCrunch, 2011

  7. 7.
    Foursquare signed up ~75,000 new users during SXSW 2010 (opens in a new tab)

    GigaOm, 2010

  8. 8.
    The journey to hybrid: 20 things we learned transforming Pulse (opens in a new tab)

    Gainsight, 2021

  9. 9.
    Reflections on Config, our first user conference (opens in a new tab)

    Dylan Field, Figma, 2020

  10. 10.
    Config 2025 (opens in a new tab)

    Figma, 2025

  11. 11.
    The secret to getting ROI from your conference sponsorship (Predictable Revenue) (opens in a new tab)

    SaaStr

  12. 12.
    How to think about the huge expenses of events and trade shows (opens in a new tab)

    Jason Lemkin, SaaStr

  13. 13.
    14 takeaways from our 5,000-person customer success conference (opens in a new tab)

    Nick Mehta, Gainsight, 2018

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