Sessions · Advisor session
Turning Conferences into Customers: Founder-Led Selling Before, During and After the Show.
Tuesday, October 13, 2026 · 4–5 PM PDT
This session has ended.
About this session
A trade show can eat a big share of an early-stage budget and a full week of a founder's time, and too often it ends with badge scans instead of pipeline. In this session, founders work through their event plans with a go-to-market leader who has built sales teams at scale.
Josh Lillie is Director, Startups at Databricks and leads the Databricks for Startups program. At Microsoft, he built an account-based sales motion that grew the SMB business to $150M and the sales team from 5 to 100+. He also runs startup programming at Databricks' Data + AI Summit and founder events across Seattle.
Josh opens with 10–15 minutes, then we work through the questions founders bring and close with takeaways for the room. What founders share stays in the room.
What you'll take away:
Which conferences are worth the time and money for your market
How to book meetings with target accounts before the show
How to work the floor with a team of one or two
How to follow up so conversations become pilots, customers and design partners
If you're about to invest in an industry event, or still hunting for your first customers, join us.
Hosting this session
Josh Lillie
Databricks
Josh Lillie leads Databricks' work with early-stage founders as Director, Startups, including the Databricks for Startups program. Before that, he led the company's Growth and Startups sales team. There he helped young companies build their products on Databricks and coached sellers on a consumption-first sales motion.
Earlier, Josh spent six years at Microsoft. In his last role there, he built a digital sales motion around account-based marketing. It grew Microsoft's SMB business to $150M and its sales team from 5 account executives to more than 100 worldwide.
He also sees the conference circuit from the inside. Josh takes the stage at the Startup Forum at Databricks' Data + AI Summit in San Francisco, and he co-hosts founder and investor events across Seattle. He is also a limited partner in Stage 2 Capital's Catalyst fund.
Next step
Have a question behind the session?
Share what you’re working through. If your company qualifies, we’ll reply personally within 24 hours.
For companies that have raised at least $1M from venture firms.