So, let's review. Potential "rockstars" from companies with multiple employees & big revenue: Peldi, Tom P-W. Single founders who have stayed single and/or turn

So, let's review. Potential "rockstars" from companies with multiple employees & big revenue: Peldi, Tom P-W. Single founders who have stayed single and/or turned mom&pop (husband+wife team): Geoff, Garrett. Not that there's a thing with G's or anything, but I think it's pretty clear from the get-go that I've (handpicked) a real mix of speakers, and only half are announced so far! Additionally, if you want to get a perspective of how these "rockstar" guys act, think, and teach, they have essays online very clearly demonstrating that they do not think like rockstars, or talk like rockstars, but like everyday, thoughtful, smart, friendly people who want to help others succeed: http://tom.preston-werner.com/2008/11/03/how-to-meet-your-next-cofounder.html http://tom.preston-werner.com/2008/11/03/how-to-meet-your-ne... http://www.balsamiq.com/blog/2009/08/13/donating/ http://www.balsamiq.com/blog/2009/08/13/donating/ And before you go "OH, well, one of those is a year old and one is almost two" - be serious. These are personal values at stake here, and they don't change overnight. If they had, I wouldn't be inviting these guys to speak. As for the ROI - well. I can't tell you what ROI you'll get because I can't tell if you're going to sit in the back and read HN comments, or pay attention and take notes. I can't tell if you'll stare at the speakers without working up the nerve to say hello, or if you'll buy them a beer and strike up a conversation. Those things are beyond my control as an organizer. But I can tell you that there is a tremendous amount of POTENTIAL ROI. That's how we designed the conference. EDIT: By the way, do you think the only valuable thing is "knowledge"? Cuz I bet you know what you have to do, but you're not doing it. That's not "knowledge" - all you need for "knowledge" is books. But it is something you can get from being around people who are doing exactly what you want to do, and hearing them tell war stories. We have one speaker, who you've never heard of, who runs more than 3 SaaSes you've undoubtedly heard of. We have another who is just starting his SaaS journey now and I picked deliberately for his approachability. (But all others are living off their products.) And then, of course, there's me - veteran procrastinator, one SaaS in the world, another couple in the oven, one ebook, multiple training courses, and a veteran speaker of many conferences and former committee member of OSCON. Trust me - it's not possible that you've put more thought into questioning this type of event than I have.