Expandi’s ARRtist Circus Experience: Circus Suits, Cold Outreach & Founder Insights

When I launched Expandi back in 2019, running a circus was the last thing I expected.

This was not on the roadmap. Yet, five years later, I somehow found myself dancing at 9AM in a rocket suit, surrounded by the biggest sales leaders and founders in neon wigs. At what was easily one of the most unconventional B2B events I’ve ever been part of – ARRtist Circus.

We:

• Sponsored a Boiler Room rave in Berlin.
• Dropped a LinkedIn benchmark report that vanished in minutes like a well-rehearsed sleight of hand trick.
• Interviewed 18 SaaS leaders in a single day.

In short, we brought a level of chaos and color to the SaaS world that still has my inbox buzzing.

But let’s rewind for a second. Because, even now, I still ask myself: “How did we go from bootstrapping Expandi… to sponsoring a circus?” Time to pull back the curtain, reveal the behind-the-scenes madness, share some founder lessons, and talk about my favorite topic (LinkedIn cold outreach).

Here’s what I’ll be covering:

• How we ended up sponsoring ARRtist Circus
• How ARRtist Circus compared to your usual SaaS event
• The biggest moments that defined the event
• What’s next for us at Expandi

From Lean, Bootstrapped SaaS To Raving At 9AM At A SaaS Event

After 1.5 years of politely saying “no”, I finally gave in to the most persistent man in SaaS: Julis Göllner. For context, the intro came from our mutual friend Manuel Hartmann from SalesPlayBook via WhatsApp. 

“You two need to talk.”

This is where it all began. So, we jumped on a call. Julius was somewhere mid-road trip – sunshine in the background, big ideas in the foreground. This led to me appearing on the ARRtist On Air podcast:

Bootstrapped to 8M ARR – How to Leverage LinkedIn to Grow

But the real pitch came months later:

“You have got to come to ARRtist Circus. It’s not just an event. It’s the Tomorrowland of SaaS.”

Sounds exciting. But at the time, I was swamped with travel and was busy scaling Expandi. So, I passed… But like I said, Julius is very persistent. He followed up. Then he followed up again and again. Eventually, I cracked and decided to do something we’d never done before:

Sponsor an in-person SaaS event.

Yes, after years of being bootstrapped, lean, and ROI-obsessed for the longest time, we decided to sponsor the Sales Stage and the now-infamous Boiler Room Morning Rave. 

Now, you might be wondering: “Is sponsoring an in-person event worth it?” What’s the ROI on that!?”

If you’ve ever run a lean, bootstrapped SaaS, those are the kind of questions that keep you up at night. We asked them too. We’d always asked them. And now, here’s what we’ve learned:

Markets shift and outreach evolves. What worked 6 months ago might flop tomorrow. 

If you want different results, you have to do things differently. And different is EXACTLY what ARRtist Circus does best. They didn’t just host a conference. They threw a rave, built a brand playground for SaaS founders, and created a space where creativity and community actually mattered. 

So, here are some of my insights from sponsoring ARRtist Circus.

Relationships > ROI

Instead of calculating ROI on a spreadsheet, we showed up. Loudly. Authentically. And in full circus attire.

This led to a few powerful reminders:

• Saying “yes” to sponsorships opened new doors for Expandi.
• Founder energy still outperforms any over-polished marketing deck.
• The LinkedIn Benchmark report (more on this later) hit a nerve in the market.
• Relationships > ROI (but the ROI followed too).

Let’s zoom in on that last point for a second – Relationships > ROI.

I didn’t walk in chasing a pipeline. Meanwhile, I walked out with partnerships, collabs, and of course, new friends. The ROI didn’t show up directly. It followed the relationships we built by being present, human, and a little loud. 

This is what most brands miss, but it’s where the real leverage lives. 

Your network is your leverage. Especially in a market where trust and access matter more than ever. People are sending millions of cold emails every day. Real connection is what cuts through the noise, and it’s what lasts.

So what actually happened on the ground?

Let’s break it down.

ARRtist Circus Overview: What We Expected And What We Got

Going in, I expected the usual SaaS conference checklist. Some decent talks. A sea of navy blazers. Maybe some espresso shots between product demos.

What did we get instead?

A full-blown immersive experience. It was clear this wasn’t your typical SaaS conference. It was all color, sound, and velocity. DJs spinning at 9AM. Founders in full costume. Neon rocket logos glowing across the venue. And a crowd that felt like they were actually excited to be there.

Before the main event kicked off, Glenn and I attended the Leadership Dinner on April 3rd at Bar jeder Vernunft. A gorgeous, old-school Berlin theater turned into a circus-themed wonderland for the night.

One conversation that stuck with me was a raw chat with Tanja Hagelganz (co-founder of Kevox). It wasn’t small talk or pitch decks. It was two founders trading real stories about what it takes to keep going when no one’s clapping. 

We talked about the late nights, the doubts, the emotional whiplash of building something from nothing, with no safety net and no funding cushion. It didn’t feel like “networking”. It was just two founders actually being honest with each other.

Here’s what else stood out.

AI for outreach in 2025

Of course, AI was everything. But what stood out the most wasn’t the volume of AI talk, it was how intentional the conversations felt. Less buzzword lingo, more “here’s how we’re using AI in our GTM stack.”

It wasn’t hype-driven, it was about application. And that’s a shift I think the whole industry needs.

The new game isn’t just “automate more” with AI anymore. In 20225, using AI to scale personalization, sharpen targeting, and speed up workflows without losing the human touch is what drives conversions.  It automates smarter, and blends technology with trust.

The people (and teams) who get that balance right are the ones who will win the next chapter of outbound.

If you’re looking to close more deals with AI in 2025,  check out our list of the top 10 AI sales tools.

Lara Acosta on winning on LinkedIn in 2025

Another standout moment for me was watching Lara Acosta break down how creators can dominate on LinkedIn in 2025. Lara, founder of Literally Academy and one of LinkedIn’s top creators, took the stage to share how even niche voices can build massive reach and real influence on the platform. Her message was clear:

Consistency, authenticity, and intentionality still win on LinkedIn, especially in 2025.

Lara broke down what makes content go viral, how to position your brand without feeling salesy, and why trust-building beats growth hacks every time. It was tactical, clear, and 100% aligned with how we approach outreach at Expandi. Create value, lead with story, and scale relationships, not mindless outreach.

My keynote: Launching the state of LinkedIn outreach 2025 report

At 3PM on April 4th, I hit the sales stage to launch something we’d been working on for months:

The State of LinkedIn Outreach – a deep dive into what’s actually working right now in B2B prospecting. 

We analyzed over 70,000 real campaigns run through Expandi to uncover:

• The most effective messaging formats.
• Optimal connection strategies.
• Follow-up frameworks that convert.
• And how top-performing teams are adapting to LinkedIn’s evolving algorithm.

Our goal was to give sales leaders, SDRs, and outbound pros real benchmarks, not just best guesses. The entire room was packed. Standing-room only with the audience in full circus attire leaning in for every insight. 

In true Expandi fashion, we barely made it in time for the presentation. The printed reports had just arrived in Berlin after a 9-hour road trip. We stacked them at the booth and it felt like they disappeared in minutes.

It was one of those moments where all the late nights, testing, iterating, and obsessing over outreach paid off.

The Big Moments That Defined ARRtist Circus for Me

My keynote wasn’t the end of the Circus. In fact, that’s when things really started moving. Instead of hiding behind a booth and handing out swag, we brought presence. 

I then spent the rest of that day interviewing 18 SaaS founders, GTM leaders, and operators for a new video series we’re launching called LinkedIn Playbook Talks.

These weren’t your typical, surface-level chats either. I captured real stories about what’s working right now on LinkedIn. Outbound tactics, content strategies, audience-building tactics, and much more – straight from the people in the trenches.

Meanwhile, Glenn and our Customer Success Team were in full swing. 

Shoutout to Matteo and Erik, who held it down at the booth right next to our Dutch friends from WebinarGeek. People didn’t just stop by to “learn more about Expandi”. They stayed, asked deep questions, swapped ideas, and left energized about outreach.

This whole time, we were testing, filming, connecting, and turning real conversations into future strategy. 

Insights from learning by doing

This whole thing, from the rave to the rocket suits, was like one big science experiment. We’ve never done anything like this before. And we certainly didn’t show up with a 100-slide deck or a $100K brand campaign. 

We showed up with founder energy, curiosity, and a willingness to try something different by embracing the chaos over at ARRtist Circus. 

And it worked!

I’m not saying sponsoring an in-person event is for everyone. But for us, it unlocked something bigger. The real takeaway wasn’t in the booth metrics or report downloads. It was how we showed up and the relationships we built. And that mindset is 100% transferable to any stage, screen, or strategy.

You don’t need polish. You need presence. You don’t need a massive budget. You need conviction and execution.

That shift is something we’re bringing into every part of Expandi right now. From producing content to how we build relationships in 2025.

Where Do We Go From Here

We’re already kicking off new GTM partnerships with ColdIQ and Scripe. The team behind the latter is building one of the most interesting tools out there for turning voice into LinkedIn content.  

Other people who also made this experience unforgettable:

• Julius Göllner, Jannis Bandorski, Dominic Klingberg – for having the guts to do something radically different.
• The ColdIQ and Scripe teams – for the post-circus convos and collabs.
• Willem, our videographer – for capturing the chaos.
• The Expandi team – for going all-in (yes, in full circus attire).
• And everyone who danced, downloaded, and made this feel like more than an event.

As for what’s next for us, we’re taking this momentum and putting it to work by:

• Launching the LinkedIn Playbook Talks (around May 9).
• Doubling down on content-led growth.
• Turning new relationships into real GTM strategy.

ARRtist Circus reminded us that SaaS doesn’t have to be stiff. 

The brands that will break through will be the ones that aren’t afraid to show up loud, lead from the front, and build with people. And sometimes, you just have to put on a circus outfit and dance with your audience at 9AM.

Download the PDF version of this report

Get all of our insights about the State of LinkedIn Outreach in a beautiful, shareable PDF by using the link below.

Download the PDF version

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