If you’ve spent time in the SaaS and tech world, you probably already know the power of a good meetup.
Sometimes you walk into a room and immediately find your people. You meet collaborators. You swap stories. You might leave with energy, a new perspective and a few connections you actually follow up with. That’s real value. But there are also plenty of SaaS founders and operators seeking something more: a place to brainstorm answers to real-world questions and leave with something they can immediately apply.
That’s the gap SaaS and Tech Growth Meetup is designed to fill.
Often, especially for people who are actively building, the real bottleneck is clarity. Founders are constantly asking practical questions like “How do I generate my first real pipeline?” “How do I build a repeatable go-to-market motion?” and “When should I hire my first sales or marketing role?”
These are not surface-level questions, so they’re not easily solved by small talk over drinks.
These are not surface-level questions, so they’re not easily solved by small talk over drinks. So instead of building another meetup centered around casual networking — which is great for community building, no doubt — we made a deliberate choice: programming first, networking second.
Each meetup is designed around one simple question: What will attendees learn that they can apply immediately? We strive for takeaways that actually move the needle, a clear framework, honest lessons and real playbooks.
Here are examples of programming we’re thinking about for future editions:
- Go-to-market (GTM) playbooks
- Lead generation and demand creation
- Sales strategy and execution
- Product-led and founder-led growth
- Product-market fit and MVP development
- Customer success and retention
- AI-first and technology stack strategy
- UI / UX and product experience
- Talent acquisition and team building
- Funding, legal and company foundations
Go-to-market strategy from speakers who teach instead of pitch
One thing we see repeatedly — in Philly and across ecosystems — is that go-to-market challenges may evolve, but they don’t go away.
Early on, it’s about getting your first customer. After that, it becomes a matter of consistency, efficiency and scale. And eventually, it’s about refining motion, messaging and team structure. That’s why go-to-market has become a recurring theme in our programming.
Again, this is a meetup for people who are actively building. Founders, operators and leaders who are in the middle of real work, who are shipping products, talking to customers, hiring teams and trying to grow responsibly.
Another intentional choice we made was around speakers. Like our attendees, our speakers are also founders, operators and leaders who are either currently in the trenches or have already been through scaling and exit cycles.
They’re not there to pitch — they’re there to teach. They talk openly about what worked, what didn’t, and what they wish they had done sooner.
Networking still happens, with actionable outcomes
Interestingly, when you lead with strong programming, the networking happens naturally, and conversations start with substance. People connect over real challenges, not just job titles.
So, yes, networking still happens at our meetup. It just often happens in a more directly actionable way.
At the end of the day, SaaS and Tech Growth Meetup exists because we wanted the meetup we wished we had earlier in our own journeys. We believe many founders want more than just another room full of business cards. They want real programming that respects their time and effort.
Follow on Luma to keep up to date on the programming schedule. Hope to see you there.
