How do you sum up Sage Summit in three words?
Interactive. Transformative. Global.
How many years has Sage been running Sage Summit and how has it grown over the years?
Sage Summit has been running since 2005, so this is our 10th year. It started as a customer conference, then in 2008, we combined Sage Summit with our annual partner conference, putting the two together into one event. Last year, we changed the format, making Sage Summit a destination for small and medium businesses across North America. We invited in top-tier speakers and business thought leaders across a variety of industries to generate conversations to help small and medium businesses transform themselves, and we’re doing the same thing this year, but on a bigger, global scale.
Who normally attends Sage Summit and what do they get out of attending?
Small and medium sized businesses, Sage customers and prospects and Sage business partners.
They get conversations on a variety of topics. Practical tips on how to run their business more efficiently. Networking and new relationships with leaders in their field, other businesses like their own, businesses that have grown and succeeded. Most people who attend Sage Summit walk away with new contacts, new helpful hints, and new ways to transform their business.
What are you looking forward to most this year?
I’m most looking forward to moderating the ‘Finding your Fan Base’ featured conversation between Trevor Noah, Tony Hawk, and Matthew Weiner. But seriously, have you seen the speakers? I’m looking forward to all of them!
Can you give us an idea of the scale of the event? (How many people are you expecting to attend, numbers of exhibitors, speakers etc.)
We expect around 6,000 total in attendance. As of today (7/7), we have 525 sponsors, 67 external speakers, 118 media and analysts, and nearly 850 business partners. It’s going to be huge!
If you can’t attend in person how can you get involved?
We will be livestreaming the keynotes on www.sagesummit.com. Keep your eyes on the @Sage_Summit, @SageNAmerica and @SageAlchmex Twitter feeds. To follow the social conversation you can watch the #SageSummit stream on Twitter. We will be periscoping live from the event as well. See behind the scenes photos on Instagram: @Sage_Cares
What’s your favourite Sage Summit memory?
Hands down, my favourite memory is moderating the featured conversation between Karl Rove and Robert Gibbs at last year’s Sage Summit. The audience was very engaged, and I remember having my questions beforehand- I had seven, but only got through three. Those guys were great!
How will this year’s Summit be different to previous year’s?
It will be bigger than ever, with 6,000 attendees from around the world. What won’t change, however, is the quality of the content and the conversations. We want to create an engaging, collaborative environment for attendees, so that they go back energized and ready to conquer the world!
For more information on Sage Summit visit SageSummit.com or follow us on Twitter at @Sage_Summit and @SageAlchemex.
