This is a guest blog post from Mark Stephens, the original posting of which can be found here. Mark is a previous BoS Lightning Talk speaker and Systems Architect/Lead Developer at IDR Solutions and took a few moments to note why he will be coming back to BoS in 2016.
Software conferences consume lots of time, money and emotional energy. So you need a good reason to include one in your agenda. I tend to limit mine to really important sales events (JavaOne), things I believe passionately in and want to support (NetBeans days) or the chance to go somewhere amazing and be part of an awesome event (DevFest Istanbul).
In the past, I have also been to Business of Software. I first attended in 2008 (which was a real eyeopener for me on how to run a business. In 2009, I did the Lightning talks (still the most scary event in my life) and in 2010 I was lucky enough to go back as a speaker. Since then the date has clashed with JavaOne and I have got out of the habit of attending.
This year I have decided that it is time to return. There are of reasons to go (we have several clients in Boston, I love the city, etc) but my 3 main reasons are:
1. Mix with my peers.
The reason I first choose to attend was that I wanted a chance to mix with others trying to create and build software companies. I wanted the chance to compare their experiences to mine (sometimes you just need to know that this is something all people find hard or know how they handled it) and get the benefit of their advice and experience. We also got several of our key customers and suppliers from contacts made at the conference.
2. Workout my roadmap.
IDRsolutions is now 17 years old and successful but no longer really a startup. It is time for me to figure out and many of the talks/people at Business of Software are focused on this topic. I have noticed the theme of the conference has very much changed to how you move to the next level and this is what I need to focus on as the CEO.
3. Renew some old friendships.
I have met lots of really amazing people at the previous conferences and many of them are still attending. A catch-up over some beers in long overdue.
So if you are going in 2016, I really look forward to seeing you there. What makes you attend?
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