Business of Software

Name

Business of Software

Legal name

Business of Software

Website

https://businessofsoftware.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Software Industry Conferences

NAICS

Convention and Trade Show Organizers (56192)

akta.pro primary industry

Sponsorship, Exhibitor & Partnership Management Services (THAHACAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Customer/User Conferences & Client Advisory Boards (THAHAMAD), Virtual/Hybrid Conference Production & Platform Management (THAHACAM), Association & Society Conference Management (Nonprofit, Professional Bodies) (THAHACAA)

Keywords

• Software conferences
• Founder education
• SaaS events
• Online workshops
• Content subscriptions

Headquarters

HQ city

Cambridge

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Conference Tickets: Primary revenue from selling tickets to flagship annual conferences (BoS Europe and BoS USA) featuring talks from successful software founders and leaders
2. Online Workshops: Revenue from AI-focused workshops delivered in cohort format (e.g., AI in Your Business: Where to Start; Building Your AI Company Operating System)
3. Newsletter Subscriptions: Newsletter delivering weekly insights from BoS talks and speakers to thousands of founders and product leaders

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Business of Software (BoS) operates single-track annual conferences (BoS Europe at Churchill College, Cambridge, UK and BoS USA in Raleigh, NC) for software founders, CXOs, and product leaders, featuring brand-new talks created specifically for BoS with no sponsor pitches. The conferences are complemented by an on-demand library of 400+ recorded talks spanning 18 years, cohort-based online workshops on AI operating systems, a weekly newsletter, and a podcast, all built around the company's single-track, no-FOMO format and 18-year community of software founders.

Product overview

Business of Software (BoS) operates as a content and events company for software founders and product leaders. Its core offerings consist of two annual flagship conferences — BoS Europe (Cambridge, UK) and BoS USA — featuring single-track talks from practitioners who have built real software companies. Complementing the conferences, BoS provides an on-demand library of 400+ talks spanning 18 years, a podcast, weekly newsletter, and a blog. BoS also offers online workshops (cohort-based, max 12 participants) on topics including AI operating systems and hiring. The BoS OS framework provides a methodology for building AI-native company operating systems. In addition, BoS publishes a library of free guides and templates covering Jobs-to-be-Done (JTBD) interviews, hiring, software pricing, repositioning for AI, and related business-building topics, all derived from BoS speaker insights.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• BoS Europe Conference A two-day, single-track annual conference held at Churchill College, Cambridge, UK, for software founders, CXOs, and emerging leaders, featuring brand-new talks created specifically for BoS attendees with no sponsor pitches or VIP speakers. Tickets include pre-registration drinks, breakfast and lunch both days, Monday dinner, and networking drinks.
• BoS USA Conference An annual conference in the USA (Raleigh, NC) for software founders, CXOs, and emerging leaders, with curated single-track talks on pricing, strategy, product-market fit, leadership, and hiring by practitioners who have built real software companies.
• BoS Talks Library An on-demand library of 400+ video talks from 18 years of Business of Software conferences, searchable and browsable by year, speaker, topic, and playlist, covering pricing, strategy, product-market fit, hiring, leadership, JTBD, and AI. Some talks are released exclusively to subscribers.
• AI in Your Business: Where to Start Workshop A two-session cohort-based online workshop (cohort of 12) for founders new to AI, designed to help them set up their AI company operating system using the BoS OS framework.
• Building Your AI Company Operating System Workshop A four-week cohort-based online workshop (cohort of 12) for founders already set up with basic AI tools, focused on building a comprehensive AI company operating system using Tim Barker's systems-engineering approach, delivered with Mark Littlewood.
• BoS Online Workshops (Cohort Program) The umbrella program of focused online workshop sessions run in cohort format (typically 12 participants) covering AI operating systems for businesses, with both beginner and advanced tracks and one-on-one options.

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability7 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• QuietLightcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerQuietLight is a BoS Conference supporter, providing sponsorship for BoS Europe 2026 events.
• GearsetcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerGearset is a supporter of BoS Europe 2026, sponsoring the conference as part of the supporter packages available.
• Churchill CollegecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBoS Europe 2026 venue at Churchill College, Cambridge. The college provides conference facilities including meeting rooms, dining, and accommodation in Cowan Court building.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Startup Grind: Startup Grind operates a global community and conference network for early-stage startup founders in 600+ cities. Comparable as a founder-focused community and event business; broader geographic footprint but less premium/cultivated curation than BoS.
• Web Summit: Web Summit operates one of the world's largest technology conferences (Lisbon, plus regional events) reaching founders, investors, and tech executives at vastly greater scale. Comparable in the conference business model and founder/operator audience, but very large, multi-track, and sponsor-heavy — opposite of BoS's positioning.
• TechCrunch Disrupt: TechCrunch Disrupt is a large technology startup conference with significant startup founder and investor attendance, plus on-site content. Overlaps with BoS on founder/early-stage audience but operates with venture-backed scale and very different (sponsor-heavy, multi-track) format.

Direct peers

• SaaStock: SaaStock hosts annual SaaS-focused conferences (Dublin and other locations) for software founders and executives, alongside podcast and content products. Comparable as a software founder events and content business serving a similar persona to BoS's audience.
• Mind the Product: Mind the Product runs conferences and content for product managers and product leaders globally. Comparable as a community-led product/people conference business with strong editorial content library, closely overlapping BoS's 'product leaders' segment.
• SaaStr: SaaStr runs the largest annual SaaS founder conference (SaaStr Annual) along with community content and a podcast targeting software/SaaS executives. Directly comparable to BoS as a software founder event and content business, though SaaStr operates at significantly larger scale with venture backing.
• MicroConf: MicroConf organizes small, curated conferences for self-funded SaaS and bootstrapped software founders, emphasizing a no-sponsor, peer-driven format. Closely mirrors BoS's single-track, no-pitch positioning, audience (indie SaaS founders), and small-team operating model.

Emerging players

• Indie Hackers: Indie Hackers operates a community, podcast, and content platform for independent software founders and bootstrappers. Comparable as a content/community platform serving BoS's indie SaaS founder segment, though Indie Hackers focuses on digital community rather than live conferences.
• First Round Capital (Founder Summit / Review): First Round Capital runs exclusive founder events, summits, and a content/review platform targeting early-stage startup operators. Comparable in serving the founder learning community with curated events and content, though gated/VC-adjacent vs. BoS's open-attendance model.
• Lenny's Newsletter / PMHQ Community: Lenny Rachitsky's newsletter and related PMHQ community serve senior product leaders with paid subscriptions and events. Comparable in monetizing premium content/community for senior SaaS product leaders — directly overlapping BoS's product-leader segment, though the format is digital-first rather than conference-led.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/bosconference
• GitHubgithub.com/BoSMark/BoS_OS_Start
• YouTubepodcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/business-of-software
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/business-of-software-conference
• Facebookfacebook.com/BusinessOfSoftwareConference

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Business of Software