Last week, the time finally came! The stage was ready for the first ARRtist Summit in Berlin. The venue was a dignified location in the middle of Prenzlauer Berg. Hard to believe, but the ARRtist Summit is the first event for the German-speaking Software-as-as-Service industry. So, it definitely was time to launch an event like this. The organizers, Julius Goellner, Matthias Ernst, and Jannis Bandorski, naturally defined an ICP (Ideal Customer Profile): SaaS companies in the DACH region with EUR 0-20 million ARR (Annual Recurring Revenue).
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Therefore, a clear framework was set, and the audience was impressive. Four hundred guests consisting of the most ambitious startups, the top 100 SaaS scale-ups, and the most active investors of the scene had come together for one day to do one thing above all: Networking. Due to a very homogeneous mixture of the three groups mentioned above, nobody should have missed out on this day.
Success at the ARRtist: Exceeding Goals and Building High-Calibre Contacts
It was not for nothing that the event was called the "B2B SaaS Networking Conference". My co-founder Dennis Hilger and I had set the goal of not having a conversation with everyone but at least with 10% of the participants. Our plan was more than successful. Thanks to a sophisticated networking concept, a working smartphone app, and many great networking-ready people. Probably the ARRtist Summit was the best networking event I have ever attended. With more than 40 conversations conducted with high-caliber contacts, we far surpassed the results of many previous two-day trade shows.
The communication for the ARRtist event was significant in advance. The only downside:
- The summit's agenda with master classes and presentations was already set before it was possible to network with other participants via the corresponding app and make appointments for this.
So, in the end, there was some overlapping of meetings with masterclasses or lectures. However, since networking worked so well, the latter would probably not have been necessary. A few keynotes as a framework and instead the complete focus on networking would be my recommendation for 2023. But this little thing did not detract from the premiere event in any way.
ARRtist - Speed-Networking instead of Speed-Dating
Once again, the networking area at the ARRtist event deserves special mention. With 400 guests, you might think it would be challenging to meet on time for stringently timed 20-minute meetings, especially if you have never met your contact person before. But even that went absolutely smoothly. The networking area resembled a speed dating zone, with each table clearly labelled with a number because of a clear automatic assignment of the pre-arranged meeting to one of the tables via the app. Almost all networking partners arrived at their assigned table on time.
In addition to the strong master classes and presentations, another highlight was the roasting sessions. During these sessions, startups could let themselves be roasted by the jury and the audience and thus take valuable home feedback on how to improve their sales or startup pitches.
Finally, the day ended with a dinner at Katz Orange, where networking with many other exciting people was also not neglected. At the same time, the after-party had already started at Clärchens Ballhaus, where we only made it for one last beer and to say goodbye.
We say thank you, ARRtist, and are already looking forward to 2023.
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