Earlier in June, Gain Compliance showcased its product at the IASA Annual Conference in Nashville. It went very well – lots of customer interactions and great feedback. What culminated in a two-and-a-half day sprint on the tradeshow floor was months in the planning, but actually much longer in the making.
By way of background: we spent 18 months building, in relative obscurity, a software solution for insurance accountants to complete a specific regulatory report. The conference’s timing was ideal, as we had completed successful filings with both pilot customers and then in a limited, general release: the product was ready, and we had referenceable customers.
And, importantly, the conference itself featured our ideal audience – the “A” in “IASA” stands for “Accounting” – our target audience.
With these pieces in place, we were off to Nashville:
Much like the past two years, a good part of the role of entrepreneur is telling your story. First, the audience is investors, next to the first employees, then to the first pilot customers, and finally to the general market.
Over the course of the conference, the five of us who staffed the booth cumulatively told our story hundreds of times. At one point, as part of the Vendor Connect Tour, I presented a five-minute product synopsis to audiences of ten accountants, one group after another, for an hour.
While the logistics behind the tradeshow were significant – designing a booth, crafting a succinct marketing message, travelling the team – the event itself marked more the culmination of almost two years of effort, product building, and success with customers.
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