I was lucky enough to attend my first WooConf earlier this month and wanted to share my experience getting to know the lovely and multi-faceted WooCommerce community!
In no particular order, here’s my list of fun/awesome things that occurred in Austin between April 6th and 8th:
1.) I discovered (again) how accessible the WooCommerce team is
We’ve worked with the WooCommerce team by phone and email for a long while now, and always had a blast doing it. But this was the first time I met most of the team in person and I was happy to say they are just as accessible, genuine, resourceful and professional in person as they were by phone and email. Pretty much the entire WooCommerce team was at WooConf and they were all so darn outgoing and friendly that you couldn’t help walking away and wanting to be a part of what they have going on. I’m looking forward to a long, fruitful and fun relationship with the WooCommerce team!
2.) These guys know how to put on a show (and a party!)
The main stage also happened to be the setting for Austin City Limits. Anybody with excellent taste in music couldn’t help but to be excited about that! But the WooCommerce team definitely created their own vibe on that hallowed stage. The sessions were short – mostly 15 minutes – so there was plenty of time to pack in the most diverse speakers. And the time limit meant that speakers really had to work to make every word, slide and gesture count.
The after party was just as fun, though I’ll just say that what happens at the after party stays at the after party.
3.) The audience was enthusiastic about sales tax
Founder and CEO Mark Faggiano on the Austin City Limits/WooConf stage
I have to say, the reaction to our Founder Mark Faggiano’s talk blew us away. We do a lot of talks and presentations, and we get it – learning about sales tax is like taking your medicine. You know you need to understand at least the elements of this stuff, but you really don’t want to be there.
But at WooConf, the audience was engaged and even – get this – laughed in all the right places. We don’t know if you guys were being polite or what, but the reaction from the audience was amazing, both during and after Mark’s talk. A big shout out to WooConf attendees for making our sales tax session a huge success!
If you want to know more about what Mark talked about, check out our Sales Tax 101 Guide for WooCommerce Store Owners and Developers.
4.) We had some deep conversations
TaxJar Tom manning the TaxJar booth
I always tell people that anything becomes interesting to you the more you come to know about it. And yes, that includes sales tax. As a self-admitted tax geek I was in my element at the TaxJar table talking to WooCommerce developers and store owners about everything from what creates sales tax nexus to the latest federal sales tax legislation. And it’s always awesome to catch up with TaxJar customers and partners in person rather than digitally.
We had a great time sponsoring WooConf this year and will most definitely be back for more WooCommerce events. Thanks to the WooCommerce team and all the attendees for making this a great outing for TaxJar!
