SaaS is changing fast. Risk is up, change is accelerating, and the old playbooks are under pressure. But for SaaS companies in Aotearoa New Zealand, the opportunities are bigger than ever.

SaaSpocalypse Now Auckland brings together 150 SaaS people for a focused half-day of practical learning, peer connection, and honest conversation about what it takes to win in the next era of SaaS.

This is not a sit-and-nod event. Expect practical frameworks, real examples, and useful conversations with people facing similar challenges — whether they’re in your function, at your stage, or just a step ahead. You’ll leave with a clearer sense of what’s changing, where your company and function sit today, and what to do next.

What to expect:

Connect and learn with your community
- Spend the morning with SaaS founders, leaders, and senior operators from across Auckland and beyond. Make better-than-usual connections with people who understand the market, the pressure, and the opportunity.
Understand your strategic options
- Explore new market strategies for wild times including new moats, sharper choices and the hunt for durable advantages.
Reimagine your operating model
- Challenge your thinking with examples of how leaders are shifting their teams, structures, and ways of working for the next era of SaaS.
Level your functional teams
- See where you’re leading vs lagging across sales, marketing, GTM, product, engineering, people, and ops — and what your function should be pushing into next.

You’ll walk away with:

A shared understanding of what’s changing (and what’s not) in SaaS right now
A practical sense-check of ‘good vs great vs late’ for your function
Real examples from peers on how AI is being used today and what’s coming
Better-than-usual connections with people at your stage, in your role, or just beyond
A clearer plan of action to take back to your team

Who should come?
This half-day event is designed for SaaS founders, leaders, and senior operators who want practical insight and useful connection. It is especially relevant for people working across:

Marketing, sales and GTM
Product and engineering
People, ops and leadership

Speakers:

Charlie Marsh

Senior Customers & Sales Leader

Serge van Dam

Investor/director, Re-Leased, Cogo and Tapi

Simon Young

CTO, Serko

David Clearwater

Executive Director, KiwiSaaS

Jenae Turner

Head of People, Ideally

Agenda

9:00am	Welcome
9:05am	New market strategies + New operating models + New capital environment Market strategy in wild times: new moats + durable advantages Operating models: teams, tools, and ways of working for the next chapter Valuations, capital, M&A: the investor lens on SaaS
10:15am	Morning tea
10:30am	What does leadings vs lagging look like by functional area? Sales/Marketing What is the state of AI-assisted selling? Who does what, and what's working? How is AI working for marketing teams? Who does what, and what's working? Engineering How far along are we on agentic development? Learnings on accelerators and risks. How are engineering teams changing? Roles, processes, culture. People/Ops/Leadership How are we going operationalising AI across our teams? What's working and why? Structure, culture + leadership: What teams are thriving and why?
12:15-1:30pm	Lunch and networking

EVENT DETAILS:
Date: Thursday 15 October 2026
Time: 9.00am – 1.30pm
Location: Pipiri Lane, 124 Halsey Street, Wynyard Quarter, Auckland.
Format: In-person half-day event
Cost: $75

Ngā mihi

The KiwiSaaS Team

Supported by:

Contact the host of SaaSpocalypse Now Auckland

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