Your SaaStr Survival Guide

Posted by jason on January 25, 2018 Data, Opinion, Data Analytics

Three days, over ten thousand attendees, 40 hours of content and at least five things all happening at once.

Welcome to SaaStr Annual! We’ve been scouring the official schedule for the best SaaStr events and dedicated many nights and mornings taste testing food and sipping coffee nearby the conference venue - all in the name of saving you time. We’re locals to San Francisco and we’d like you to feel like one when you’re here. 😄

Most notably: Don’t miss #DataParty - our happy hour on Tuesday, Feb 6th from 6:30 - 8:30pm at Waystone.

Check out our picks below for the best sessions, restaurants, cafes and events during SaaStr.

Sessions

Wondering what’s best at the SaaStr Annual conference? We’ve scoured the SaaStr agenda and here are the sessions that excite us the most, especially as data-minded individuals. 📊🤓

“Why I Now Love B2B More Than B2C” by Justin Kan
Sure, B2C product building and marketing is fun and allows you to be experimental, but B2B challenges you to truly think like the persona types you’re trying to reach. At the end of the the day, B2B buying decisions are made by individuals, aka consumers, so we’re excited to hear Justin’s learnings and see how he’s brought them to B2B.

“Challenge Yourself and Your Data to Do More - What I’ve Learned as a Serial Tech Entrepreneur “ by Roman Stanek
While the title is self explanatory, we’re looking forward to hearing from Roman about using data in new and innovative ways, especially as he’s a repeat founder and leader in our business world.

“Realizing the Business Impact of Partnerships” with Karen Page and Aaron Levie
We’re firm believers in the power of partnerships to share audiences, drive leads together and build products it that can exist in harmony. In fact, Chartio and Panoply are examples of companies that have built products together.

In this session, Levie will share his perspective on building out strategic partnerships and give a glimpse into how Box runs their successful partnership program.

“Secrets of Building an Engaged User Base” with Sara Mauskopf and Anne Halsall of Winnie
Customer engagement is the key to success when it comes to building an audience and converting interest to sales. We’re excited to hear from Sara and Anne, co-founders of Winnie on how they’ve maintained audience interest throughout their hyper-growth periods.

Cafes & Restaurants

Need a break from the conference hustle? Head to one of these cafes or restaurants to refuel and relax. While there are many delicious restaurants and cafes in San Francisco, we’ve picked the top locations closest to the SaaStr venue at the Hilton.

Farm : Table While quite small, this is a great place close to the venue to relax and watch the city bustle before heading back into your own conference craze. Delicious coffee and espresso specialty drinks plus healthy breakfast options and juice are available.

Check out Taylor Street Coffee Shop to start your day off right with a filling breakfast before a long day of sessions and networking. While seating is limited, they open at 7am, so you can be first in line to enjoy a classic breakfast to fuel your day.

Tilden Cafe Close to the venue, this place will get you your coffee fix - but don’t expect too much (free WIFI available).

**Brewroom **is close to the venue and offers coffee specialty drinks from drip to espresso and sells the SF favorite, avocado toast.

Need a mid-afternoon pick-me-up? Try Iron Horse. Here you can get a choice of “coffee that doesn’t suck” as well as “adult coffee” (perfect to get through the long hours of networking ahead).

Want to catch up on work or schedule a business meeting or demo? Head over to Covo. Their space is made for entrepreneurs who need a place to work. There’s free WIFI, space for laptops and conference rooms in the back.

Then there’s Cafe X. While the coffee might not be worth the walk, the barista certainly is. Further from the venue, this cafe offers a taste of the future with local coffee options prepared by a robot barista (plus a great photo opp).

Del Popolo Del Popolo started as a food truck serving fresh, wood-fired pizzas. It became so popular in the SF food truck scene, that they opened their first store front here on Bush Street. Check it out for yourself for delicious pizza and a solid wine selection.

Tacorea Korean Mexican fusion. Great for a quick (but large) bite in between sessions.

LihoLiho Yacht Club is an inventive, Hawaiian and Asian inspired restaurant and it’s definitely worth planning ahead of time to include LihoLiho in your itinerary. Note: This is a highly seafood focused menu with little to offer for vegans or vegetarians. Be sure to make a reservation.

For a nice place close to SaaStr to grab a drink and continue the conversation with your colleagues, we recommend Bourbon and Branch. It has a speakeasy feel with a wide variety of tasty cocktails and space to sit.

Events

Tuesday:

Data Party - the happiest hour hosted by Chartio and Panoply
Come join Panoply and Chartio for an intimate happy hour during SaaStr 2018 at Waystone from 6:30 to 8:30pm. This mix and mingle event will be your opportunity to meet like-minded leaders in SaaS.
We’re looking forwarding to you JOINing us!

Wednesday

7pm-10pm: The Big Party

Thursday:

5pm-6pm: Out-of-Towners Party, Hosted by Insight Venture Partners

Other Goings-on:

Adult Nights at the Exploratorium

The SF Independent Film Festival

Like Museums? Here is a list of some free museum nights in SF while you are here: