The problems you’re facing right now aren’t new. But the solutions that actually work are rarely found in blog posts or LinkedIn thought leadership.
They’re found in honest conversations with people who’ve been exactly where you are, and figured out what works. That’s what Business of Software Europe 2026 is about.
Cambridge. April 13-14. Two days with founders and leaders who’ve built real companies and are willing to tell you the truth about what worked, what didn’t, and what they wish they’d known sooner.
The Talks That Matter
Most conference talks are recycled best practices delivered by people who’ve never actually run the thing they’re talking about. BoS Europe isn’t that.
Every speaker on this stage has done the work. They’ve scaled companies, made expensive mistakes, figured out what actually moves the needle, and distilled those lessons into something you can use immediately.
Here’s what’s on the agenda:
April Dunford – Differentiated Value: The Hardest Part of Positioning
You know positioning matters. You’ve probably even done a positioning exercise. But if you’re being honest, you quietly skipped the hardest part: articulating genuine differentiated value.
April wrote the book on positioning (Obviously Awesome), and even she’s had to update her thinking after working with dozens of complex, multi-product companies. This session goes deep on the part most companies avoid because it’s uncomfortable—and it’s the part that actually determines whether you win or lose deals.
Why this matters for you: If your pipeline feels unpredictable, if your win rates are lower than they should be, if prospects keep saying “we need to think about it,” the problem is probably here.
Ton Dobbe – Is Your Company Remarkable?
Ask any software CEO how differentiated their company is and they’ll say 7 out of 10. Then ask how long it would take a competitor to replicate their unique value. Answer: three weeks.
We fool ourselves constantly.
Ton has spent 30 years in enterprise software finding what actually makes companies remarkable—the ones customers talk about, pay premiums for, and call at midnight when something breaks. He’s identified 10 traits that separate them from everyone else.
In this session, you’ll score yourself live on the three foundational traits: who you’re really for, what makes you desirable, and what makes you genuinely different.
Why this matters for you: If you’re competing on features and price instead of value, this session will show you where the real leverage is.
Lizzie Lawley – What Happens When Non-Developers Code
At Memrise, Lizzie’s team went from an 18-month feature freeze to shipping multiple AI-driven products (some built entirely by non-technical staff), generating meaningful revenue.
It wasn’t clean. There was developer resistance. Fear of replacement. Plenty of messy experimentation. But the culture shifted from siloed, waterfall-style teams to one where everyone builds and developers evolve from gatekeepers to system supervisors.
Why this matters for you: If AI is changing how your team works (and it is), this session shows you how to change culture, teams, and roles without blowing up quality or morale.
Joanna Wiebe – The Art and Science of Copywriting
Joanna basically invented conversion copywriting. If you’ve ever written a homepage, a product page, an email campaign, or landing page copy and wondered why it didn’t convert, this is the session.
It’s not about being clever. It’s about understanding what customers are actually trying to achieve and speaking to that clearly.
Why this matters for you: Your positioning might be solid, but if your copy doesn’t land, you’re leaving money on the table.
Melanie Rieback – Stop Profit Corrupting Product
Melanie runs Radically Open Security, a non-profit pentesting company. Her argument: chasing profit often quietly corrupts your product, your culture, and your values – and most founders don’t notice until it’s too late.
This isn’t anti-capitalism. It’s a hard look at what happens when short-term financial pressure starts driving product decisions instead of customer value.
Why this matters for you: If you’ve ever felt the tension between doing what’s right for customers and doing what hits quarterly targets, this session will make you think.
Shawn Anderson – Building B2B Ecosystems
Shawn co-founded PDQ and scaled it to a successful exit. His talk focuses on how to build ecosystems in B2B, the partnerships, integrations, and network effects that turn your product into infrastructure customers can’t easily leave.
Why this matters for you: If you’re wondering how to create defensible competitive advantage in a world where features get copied in weeks, ecosystems are the answer.
Adam Bird – Company Culture Is Never Done
Adam is CEO and co-founder of Cronofy. His message: culture isn’t something you build once and maintain. It’s something that requires constant attention, iteration, and care, especially as you scale.
Why this matters for you: If your team is growing and culture feels like it’s slipping, this session gives you a framework for keeping it intact without becoming bureaucratic.
Vince Darley – Extreme Clarity. Relentless Focus.
Vince has worked in product and growth at Meta, Deliveroo, and King. His talk distills lessons from these high-velocity, high-stakes environments into something you can apply: how to create extreme clarity on what matters and focus relentlessly on getting it done.
Why this matters for you: If your roadmap feels cluttered, if your team is spread thin, if you’re shipping a lot but not moving the needle, this is the session.
Stephen Allott – Financial Planning and the Theory of Constraints 2.0
Stephen is Chairman of Tarigo and brings a fresh take on financial planning using the Theory of Constraints. This isn’t accounting. It’s about identifying where your business is actually constrained and allocating resources to unlock growth.
Why this matters for you: If you’re reinvesting revenue but not seeing corresponding growth, this session will show you where the bottleneck actually is.
But the Talks Are Just the Beginning…
Here’s the truth about BoS: the talks are excellent. You’ll learn a lot. But they’re not the reason people come back year after year. The real value is in the room with you.
The founder at lunch who’s already solved what you’re stuck on.
You’re wrestling with churn in a specific segment. Someone two tables over dealt with the exact same problem 18 months ago and figured out what actually worked. That conversation happens at lunch, not on a stage.
The Lightning Talk that gives you the exact framework you needed.
7.5 minutes. One idea. Delivered by someone who’s been in the trenches. No fluff. Just the thing that worked for them that might work for you.
The dinner conversation that goes until midnight.
You sit down with four other founders. Someone mentions pricing. Three hours later, you’re still talking, and you’ve completely rethought your approach to packaging.
The realization that you’re not the only one who feels like you’re making it up as you go.
This might be the most valuable part. You’re surrounded by people running successful companies, and they’re all dealing with the same uncertainty, the same trade-offs, the same impossible decisions. It’s weirdly comforting. And it’s why the community lasts long after the conference ends.
The BoS Guarantee
We’re confident enough in the value that we offer a no-quibble guarantee: attend BoS Europe and if you don’t get value, we’ll refund your ticket.
No questions asked. No forms to fill out. Just email us and we’ll refund you.
That’s how sure we are that these two days will be worth your time.
Cambridge. April 13-14, 2026.
Two days. Churchill College. Some of the best minds in software sharing what they’ve learned.
More importantly: a room full of founders and leaders who understand what you’re dealing with because they’re dealing with it too.
What’s included:
- Pre-registration drinks (Sunday evening)
- Monday and Tuesday breakfast, lunch, and networking drinks
- Monday dinner
- Access to all talks, Lightning Talks, and Birds of a Feather sessions
- The BoS community (which lasts far longer than two days)
The no-quibble guarantee: If you attend and don’t get value, we’ll refund your ticket. No questions asked.
See you in Cambridge.