Episode 769 | Key Insights from MicroConf 2025 in New Orleans

Welcome back to Startups with the Rest of Us. I'm Rob Walling. And in this episode, I welcome Derek Reimer back to the show, and we talk through our takeaways from MicroConf in New Orleans, what's happened, well, just last week as we're recording this, but it's a couple weeks ago as this episode is released. Before we dive into our takeaways, applications are open for MicroConf Connect, and they're open until tomorrow, April 9. MicroConf Connect is our online community of hundreds of b to b SaaS founders who are sharing the journey, helping each other out, asking for advice. If you want to extend the MicroConf hallway track to a year round online community, that's MicroConf Connect. And if you are accepted, we have an application process. But if you are accepted, you will have access to a MicroConf Connect live session with Wes Bush, author of product led growth. And you can also join me for another ask me anything that I'm doing, I believe, in April. You can learn more and apply at microconfconnect.com. In addition, we have an in person event coming up in London, May 2025. This is our MicroConf growth retreat. It's a smaller, more intimate event designed to inspire deeper conversations. Between forty and sixty founders will be in attendance. We will sell this event out. It's gonna have morning work sessions and afternoon excursions. Head to microconf.com/retreat if you're interested in attending that in London. And with that, let's dive into my conversation with Derek. Eric Reimer, welcome back to Startups with the Rest of Us. Thanks for having me. Yeah. I'm so excited to talk about MicroConf in New Orleans. Took place just last week. This is your thirteenth. My like, we we just lost count. I'm losing count. I get every time I check-in now, they ask me because there's a little bit of little piece of swag you get for, you know, being a repeat attender. It's like, how many microcoms? I'm like, I have no idea. I start saying, it's like 15. I don't know. Some number. Yeah. That's that's really high. So it was it was great to see you as well as I guess we had about 230 ish founder attendees, and then a lot of those folks brought guests, significant others who, you know, attended the evening events. So we're up around 260, 265 total people through the event, which gets us almost back to our peak, which is pre COVID. 2019 in Vegas, the last year at the Tropicana, I believe, was 300 all told. I'm curious as someone who's attended so many of these, the size of the the crowd or the audience, you know, however we wanna phrase it. What did it feel like to you? Did it feel like a good size? Did it feel smaller than you think? You know, when you're going to a MicroConf, you have a picture in your head. Right? Was it, like, more people …