I’ve often heard people use the expression “learn from your mistakes.” It’s really valuable, but I am going to offer up a new one: learn from your successes. Often, we celebrate a win but don’t examine the reasons behind it. We ignore the reasons for success, especially the quiet, unseen roles others played in it.
I’ve tried to use that mantra often. Back in 2009, when I was younger and naive, I signed up to volunteer at NASSCOM’s product conclave. The program manager was a man called Rajan. He was a genius at organising conferences. He knew the levers to pull; he knew how to motivate and empower people. But in 2010, he pulled out of organising the event. And the responsibility fell to me. It was like my worst nightmare came to life. But then I met Vijay Rayapati. He was an entrepreneur trying to find his feet, and we connected. One evening, I persuaded Vijay to go out for a dinner with me. A few hours into that loud evening, I confessed to Vijay I was afraid I would mess this up.
“Don’t be. I am with you,” Vijay replied with all earnestness.
His belief in me energised me, and we managed to pull off a successful event. For the past 15 years, every time I’ve had the opportunity to organise an event, I try to look for a Vijay again.
The 2025 version of Vijay was Shruti and Ashwin. The two were earnest pillars of support that SaaSBoomi leaned on to successfully execute Annual 2025. Even if one was pulled away in meetings, the other stepped up and rallied the troops. Through our planning stages, I never felt alone. They were with me.
During our post-event week of rest, I scribbled down some of what I had learned from this conference.
Team work makes the conference work
For an event that drew over 1,350+ people worldwide, the core team is just NINE people and ~60 volunteers. These 60 volunteers have day jobs, companies and teams to run, products to perfect, and customers to placate. Without these champions, we couldn’t build and curate this community.
When we kicked off preparations for the Annual five months ago, almost everyone on the team juggled travel and other commitments.
But no matter how busy the week, the team showed up on Thursday evening calls to present updates with camaraderie and responsibility.
Without these champions, we couldn’t build and curate this community.
Many people tell me that the Annual’s ambitious programme — with speeches, mixers, performances, and networking sessions — feels like it is planned down to the second. Here’s the secret: It is not. The reason behind its success is simply that we keep things loosely and flexibly structured. It works because everyone is driven by the cause and excited about their part. And all the action flows freely and seamlessly.
SaasBoomi has always stood for accountability without pressure. The Annual is no different. We identified four or five essential tracks, assigned a WhatsApp group to each, and asked them to keep a red, yellow, or green dot in the status to indicate how work was progressing. Gamification meant everyone was playful and eager to move their dots to yellow or green. That is all the nudging it took.
For those involved, wrapping up the Annual is an emotional moment. A few shoutouts here: Krish for coming on board this year, Varun Shoor for co-designing the program, Keerthi for continuing to be a big support for the program team, Nivedha, and Sathya for programme management and ensuring slides were in order.
A year of doing things differently
SaasBoomi Annual has grown from a passion project into a self-sustaining event. It is one of the most important dates on the SaaS world calendar. This edition, I want to point out a few wins worth celebrating:
- About 55-75 people flew in from the US for the Annual.
- Close to 25-30 participants from the US were investors who came to meet Indian startups.
- From three women founders in the first edition of the Annual, participation has grown to 150-160 women founders, leaders and investors. (Yes, a long way to go, but we won’t stop)
Another matter of pride is that the industry’s enthusiasm for the Annual is not limited to getting a speaking slot. Everyone was keen to experience the energy, meet companies, and understand what was happening in India.
That comes down to the strength of our programming. Here are a few of my most memorable moments:
MindMixer
Mindmixer is not a new addition to the schedule. But its potential was 2-3x greater than what we managed in previous editions. This is the year this fixture came into its own. It was the most buzzing part of the conference. Anyone who experienced these close-knit networking sessions left happy that we had introduced them.
Ocean’s 300
About 300 of us gathered to listen to the Indian Ocean, easily one of the country’s longest-surviving and best-known rock groups. It was our first time organising something purely for entertainment, so we lived and learned from glitches and delays. But performers and guests alike were gracious about it, and the musical evening took us to a different plane of existence.
Whistle podu
Krish had a brainwave about adding some Chennai flavour to the Annual. He wanted me to wear a veshti for at least an hour. I agreed so long as we made it a group-wide activity. So we convened one relatively relaxed afternoon, the men in kurtas and pristine white dhotis, the women in sarees. We have a picture to remember that heritage high-point by. Here it is:
To give you a sense of how Annual is curated and delivered, the core team is like a head chef who wants to taste each dish before it is served to diners. If the salt or spice levels are off, they make the proper adjustments to balance flavours. In the Annual’s case, those adjustments include creative scheduling and presentation deck checks. That is how you end up with a lip-smacking event that nourishes SaaS industry minds for weeks and months later. It is the little things that add up to big wins.
Good work leads to good word
I decided to save the most heartening statistic of all for last.
At least 40% of the founders were first-timers at the Annual. Many belong to New India beyond metro cities—Kochi, Coimbatore, Jaipur, and northeastern states.
That is because we have been gradually laying the groundwork with visits to up-and-coming cities, where we meet young entrepreneurs and invite them to connect with their counterparts. Word of mouth continues after the Annual. No one is asked to leave a review, but we see and love the outpouring of messages that follows on social media.
SaasBoomi’s community is expanding steadily, and the Annual’s flag is rising purposefully. We are learning from our mistakes and, more importantly, we are learning from our successes.
