10 Best Entrepreneurial Events To Attend Before 2023 Is Over As we head into the latter half of 2023, there's still a great chance for you to get involved in some exciting startup events.
By John Rampton Edited by Mark Klekas
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
The 2023 calendar year is a little more than halfway done — but that doesn't mean it's too late to jump on one of these well-connected entrepreneurial events. This list is specifically for our subscribers, so if you are part of Entrepreneur+, then check out this exclusive list.
Startup conferences are an integral part of any entrepreneur in any industry. It's one of the best ways to get you and your team surrounded by professionals; to help network and meet knowledgeable potential partners and investors.
Here's a list of top startup conferences for your 2023 strategic plans.
1. INBOUND
- Sept 5-8, 2023
- Boston, Massachusetts
Brian Halligan and Dharmesh Shah, HubSpot's co-founders, launched INBOUND in 2011. It was created to counter the growing number of sales-focused marketing events. INBOUND unites marketing, sales, customer success, and revenue leaders from over 161 countries every year to discuss the latest trends in marketing, sales, and customer success.
With INBOUND, you'll take a deeper dive into marketing, tech, and the worlds built around them. The event gives you the chance to learn about the latest trends and developments in your field, network with like-minded people, and get inspired by some of the best of the best.
But INBOUND has much more to offer, such as:
- Take part in workshops and educational sessions.
- Expand your knowledge, skills, and expertise.
- Hear inspiring talks from executives, world leaders, and celebs.
- Connect and network with other businesspeople.
- Find new partners, leads, and business opportunities.
- Meet providers directly and learn about new tools, technologies, and solutions.
In addition, there's a lively nightlife scene to unwind after a long day.
2. Saastr Annual
- September 6-8, 2023
- San Francisco, California
SaaStr Annual is the world's largest gathering of Cloud and SaaS professionals. Each year, the top SaaS founders, VCs, and executives convene to exchange their best practices at this festival-style event. All the big names come to SaaStr Annual, including Slack and Zoom CEOs, Datadog and Atlassian founders, and breakout leaders like Grammarly and Flexport.
What can you expect in 2023? Well, here's a sampling:
- A full 3-day event with 100+ tactical sessions from world-renowned founders, new voices, and up-and-comers.
- Over 250 speakers from the best SaaS companies.
- 2000+ networking meetings, AMAs, mentoring sessions, and roundtables.
- More than a thousand VCs will be there, with 1:1 matchmaking.
- Over 150 sponsors are driving cloud innovation.
3. Dreamforce
- September 12-14
- San Francisco, California & Salesforce+
The Dreamforce conference is Salesforce's flagship conference, and it's also the highlight of the year for many professionals. And for good reason.
Here, you'll find countless workshops, networking opportunities, and parties at the event. Plus, there's always a famous musical artist headlining. No wonder Dreamforce is such a popular event that attracts tens of thousands of Trailblazers every year. In fact, this is one of the biggest tech events in the world, featuring a spectacle of Salesforce innovations and countless training sessions and keynotes.
What is the main goal of Dreamforce? Bring together the Salesforce community to learn, share, inspire, and give back.
4. TechCrunch Disrupt
- September 19-21
- San Francisco, California
TechCrunch is the original startup conference. But don't let that dissuade you. Disrupt is as relevant as ever since it focuses on tech's future, as well as founders and investors.
Here's what you can expect if you attend:
- Make meaningful connections. You'll find plenty of ways to network with the right people at Disrupt, whether you want to talk to founders or investors or find your next job.
- Get advice from seasoned founders. As you build your founder roadmap, founders will share their journeys, best practices, how-tos, and actionable tips to help you avoid mistakes and thrive.
- Tune up your tech talk. Attend a Disrupt conference track and hear from experts on Climate/Mobility, Fintech/DeFi, AI/ML, SaaS/Enterprise, Privacy/Security, and Hardware/Robotics.
- Experience innovative ideas. Disrupt showcases cutting-edge startups dedicated to making a difference.
5. CultureCon
- June 17, 2023, Los Angeles, California
- October 7-8, New York, New York
Founded by The Creative Collective NYC, CultureCon brings together creative entrepreneurs and change-makers looking to make an impact. Tastemakers, celebrities, and industry experts will be on hand for activations, fireside chats, and panels. At CultureCon's small business market, you can also find black-owned businesses.
Plus, you'll get to learn from industry experts at this event. The event provides the perfect opportunity for entrepreneurs to get strategies as well as meet collaborators.
6. The National Women's Business Conference
- October 15-17, 2023
- Austin, Texas
Annually, the National Women's Business Conference is hosted by the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO). The event celebrates the progress and success of women entrepreneurs.
Among the past keynote speakers: Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love; Shabnam Mogharabi, CEO of SoulPancake; and Erin Brockovich, an environmental activist. For 2023, the keynote speaker will be Dr. Martha Beck, a New York Times bestselling author who has helped thousands of people live their best lives. Vera Jones, a motivational speaker, communication coach, author, and former ESPN and Big Ten Network basketball analyst, will serve as emcee.
Related: Women Business Owners, It's Time to Own Our Power
For female entrepreneurs who love celebrating each other's milestones, NAWBO's National Women's Business Conference is an ideal fit. What's more, attending the National Women's Business Conference will likely diversify your professional network and give you new perspectives, no matter what kind of business you run.
7. YPO Edge
- November 2023
- New York, New York
Now more than ever, we need bold leaders. To meet those needs, YPO created EDGE, the world's biggest CEO gathering. There's more to YPO EDGE than just a conference, however. It's an opportunity to get involved and create without limits.
Also, you'll learn more in a couple of days than you'd normally learn in a year about everything from commerce to geopolitics to technology. Furthermore, you'll hear from inspirational thought leaders on everything from future work trends to digital breakthroughs. In both cases, you can focus on business initiatives that deliver results.
EDGE is different in that you can curate programs that fit your personality. There's everything from illuminating masterclasses to interactive town halls to immersive workshops to peer-to-peer forums. Lastly, you're encouraged to use what you learned to make a difference in your community and company.
You do have to be a YPO member to attend.
8. Ernst and Young: Strategic Growth Forum
- November 9-12, 2023
- Palm Springs, California
The Strategic Growth Forum US is Ernst and Young's flagship conference and the country's most prestigious gathering of high-growth companies. The event brings together CEOs, high-growth entrepreneurs, C-suite executives from global market leaders, and investment fund managers. These individuals gather for keynotes, panels, meetings, and limitless, highly valuable networking to fuel economic growth.
You can expect the following if you attend:
- How to accelerate the growth of your company.
- Discover what's new in the strategic transaction market and how to raise capital.
Networking opportunities with possible clients, investors, partners, acquisition targets, and buyers. - Get inspired by game-changing entrepreneurs' success stories.
In the closing ceremonies, the Entrepreneur Of The Year® US National Awards will be presented, which is the largest gathering of entrepreneurs in the world.
Over the past four decades, the Entrepreneur Of The Year program has recognized visionaries who lead successful, innovative businesses. Over 10,000 entrepreneurs have been recognized in nearly 60 countries since the program's founding in 1986.
9. Web Summit
- November 13-16, 2023
- Lisbon, Portugal
From its humble beginnings as a 150-person conference in Dublin in 2009, Web Summit has grown to almost half a million people across the work. This includes Web Summit in Lisbon, Web Summit Rio in South America, Collision in North America, and RISE in Asia.
The mission of Web Summit is to make software that enables meaningful connections between CEOs, founders, investors, media, politicians, and cultural figureheads. in fact, CGTN has said that "Web Summit brings together the people and companies redefining the global tech industry."
Related: The Tech Landscape Has Changed and It's Time Tech Leadership Change With It.
But that's not all. Web Summit attracts some of the most talented speakers and facilitates inspiring and empowering content. And you'll get to take home valuable skills from Web Summit's educational content, masterclasses, and roundtables.
No wonder this conference has been called the "Glastonbury for geeks."
10. Slush
- November 30- December 1, 2023
- Helsinki, Finland
From a single meeting in Helsinki, Slush has grown into a global series of events. It is the annual Slush event, held at the Helsinki Expo and Convention Center (Messukeskus), that is the highlight of the calendar year. There are also smaller get-togethers around the world if you can't attend Slush.
The event began in Helsinki in 2008 with around 250 attendees. Even though the event has grown tremendously, the goal has remained the same. To serve startup ecosystems around the world.
The Slush conference is a concentrated gathering of entrepreneurs, investors, corporate professionals, and policymakers from around the world. The founder-centric event will attract nearly $1 trillion in assets under management by attracting the attention of 1,700 investors. Further, Slush will have mentoring chambers, and 200+ industries, along with theme-specific networking opportunities. There's even a pitching competition appropriately called Sush 100.
