# Speaker agency for IT and software companies: how tech experts get onto developer conferences

Author: Marin Niehues, Stage Starter · Published: 2026-04-21
Topic: Speaker Agency (https://www.stage-starter.de/en/blog/topic/speaker-agency/)
Source: https://www.stage-starter.de/en/blog/speaker-agency-for-it-and-software-companies/

A speaker agency for IT and software companies researches tech conferences, submits talks in your name through open calls for papers and accompanies you to the stage. A call for papers is the public announcement with which a conference collects talk proposals, and in our database of around 22,700 conferences around 1,500 of them are open. Developers and founders without a well-known name can win a speaking slot this way, because the programme committee judges the proposal and an agency submits it on time. This article uses our figures to show where the calls are, how short the lead time is and how much work an agency takes off your desk.

**At software and developer conferences, a programme committee decides on the talks, the calls run internationally and the lead time is short. An agency pays off there because it prepares talks in series and submits them on time, while your calendar stays free for client projects.**

## How do I become a speaker at a tech or developer conference?

You become a speaker at a tech or developer conference through its call for papers, in which you submit an abstract, the short description of a planned talk with title and bio. A programme committee, the group that selects the submissions for a conference, decides on it. At technology conferences this committee often consists of practitioners from the community, some of whom review anonymously without seeing the submitter's name. It judges what a talk offers the audience, and that is why experts without a well-known name have a real chance when their abstract addresses a concrete problem the audience has. Well-known examples in Germany are the WeAreDevelopers World Congress and JavaLand, both of which fill their programmes through open calls. What committees expect from tech talks is described in [speaking at developer conferences](/en/blog/speaking-at-developer-conferences/).

The room is full of developers and architects with a task on their desk, and they notice quickly when a talk wants to sell a product. Committees filter out such proposals early, and where the audience draws the line is described in [specialist talk or sales pitch](/en/blog/expert-talk-or-sales-pitch/). A software company therefore covers a problem from practice and shows its own product at most as an example. The conversations from which assignments arise follow after the talk, and you hold them yourself.

## Where are the open calls for tech conferences?

Most open calls for tech conferences are outside the German-speaking region. In our analysis of 2,415 conferences that publicly advertise speaking slots for 2026, the USA leads with 391 conferences, followed by India with 120, Italy with 108, the UK with 90 and Germany with 88. Germany thus accounts for just under four per cent of the conferences, and anyone who searches only in the German-speaking region sees a small section of the field. International calls require an abstract in English, and a talk in English opens the larger part of the market to a software company.

In terms of topics, these conferences clearly lean towards technology. AI and data account for 356 conferences or 14.7 per cent, cloud and DevOps for 281 or 11.6 per cent, software architecture and backend for 99 and security for 86. The largest block, at 65.3 per cent, consists of conferences with a general or mixed programme, where technical talks sit alongside topics from product, leadership and business. Where to find calls is shown in the article on [submission platforms for speakers](/en/blog/submission-platforms-for-speakers/).

## How far in advance do I need to submit?

In our analysis, the median time between submission deadline and the start of the conference is 50 days, the average 65 days. The median is the more robust figure here, because individual conferences keep their calls open for years and pull the average up. For half of the conferences analysed, at most 50 days lie between deadline and stage, and the shortest lead time is zero days.

For planning, what matters is when the conferences take place. In our analysis the second quarter counts 717 conferences, the fourth 824, the first 417 and the third 457. With a lead time of around seven weeks, the calls for the strong months of April to June close between February and May, and those for the autumn quarter in summer, when holidays and releases coincide at many software companies. A missed deadline usually means a year's wait for the next edition, and many conferences reply only weeks after the deadline.

**Tech conferences in figures**
- around 1,500 calls | open in our database of around 22,700 conferences
- 50 days | median between submission deadline and conference start
- 14.7 per cent | of the analysed conferences focus on AI and data

## Starting quantitatively: how many submissions a talk needs

In software and technology, with an active call-for-papers landscape, the work starts quantitatively: a fixed set of prepared talks is only adapted to the form for each conference, rather than writing every proposal from scratch. Each submission takes minutes instead of hours, and on submission platforms fifteen to twenty submissions in one day are realistic. In the first month this means at least a hundred submissions to around twenty conferences, and at least fifty a month after that. Alongside these sit individual submissions tailored in depth to a top-tier conference.

Our own submissions show why the volume is necessary. We have submitted 2,189 abstracts for clients, of which 1,374 have been decided, and 94 of those were accepted, around 7 per cent per abstract. At conference level the rate is higher, because we often submit several abstracts per conference and one acceptance is enough. We reach up to 19 per cent per conference, while 5 per cent at most is typical in the market at this volume of submissions.

**At 19 per cent per conference, the chance of at least one acceptance across fifteen decided conferences is around 96 per cent by calculation, and at the typical 5 per cent it is around 54 per cent. Anyone aiming for three talks a year needs around fifteen decided conferences on average, and correspondingly more submissions.**

No agency can guarantee an acceptance, because the programme committee decides. In the first year one to three talks are realistic, later four to six. The preparatory work on topic and abstracts and the follow-up after submission, which stretches over months, lie with the agency.

## Pay to speak on tech stages: a slot for money

Besides the open call, there are conferences that sell speaking slots. With pay to speak, the speaker pays the organiser for the slot, often as part of a sponsorship package, and that quickly costs €10,000 or more for a single speaking slot. The audience decides whether it pays off: sponsored sessions are often not labelled in the programme, yet a developer audience recognises them by their content, and a talk recognised as advertising loses weight. The article [sponsored talks and pay to speak](/en/blog/do-speakers-have-to-pay-for-the-stage/) places both forms in context.

**Three routes onto a tech stage**
Criterion | Submitting yourself | Pay to speak | Stage Starter
Who does the work | you, alongside your day job | the organiser sells, you prepare | the agency, after your one-time approval of talk and abstracts
How you get on stage | through the call, with your own submission | through a purchased slot | through calls, with submissions in your name
What it costs | days of your working time per month | quickly €10,000 or more for a single speaking slot | from €990 net per month for the whole operation
Pays off most if | you free up days for forms | you want to buy a specific appearance | your calendar is full and a client won is worth a lot

## Is developer relations through conference talks worth it?

Developer relations through conference talks is worth it for software companies whose product is chosen or recommended by developers. Developer relations, or DevRel, is the work with which a company builds trust in the developer community, and a talk at a community conference is one of the most effective channels for it. A developer who has heard an honest talk about a migration problem is more likely to try the tool that solved it. DevRel through conferences becomes effective with volume, because a single talk a year reaches an audience once, while a series anchors the company in the community.

## Speaker agency for software and IT: what it takes on and what stays with you

A speaker agency takes on the work between expertise and stage for IT and software companies. This is the work [Stage Starter](/en/) takes on for you: we find the right calls, write the submission and submit it. We also develop the talk and abstracts and follow up until you are on stage. Software companies often already have the raw material for a good talk, for instance in architecture decisions and migrations, and from it comes a talk that solves a problem for the audience. From you we need your expertise and one approval of the talk and abstracts, which you give once before the start, after which not every submission crosses your desk again.

The collaboration starts from €990 net per month. Anyone who wants a written roadmap first starts with the Speaker Audit from €2,000 net, which is credited when you book the agency. How the services of a speaker agency fit together is shown in the [guide to speaker agencies](/en/blog/speaker-agency-guide/).

**What Stage Starter needs from you**
From you come your expertise and a one-time approval of the talk and abstracts before the start. Everything else from submission to accompanying you on stage then runs with us, and you hold the conversations after the talk yourself.

**A speaker agency for IT and software companies pays off from the point at which lead times and volume demand more time than your calendar allows: at 19 per cent per conference, one talk needs a good five decided conferences on average, and from €990 net per month Stage Starter takes on this work.**

**Sources**
The figures on countries, topics, quarters and lead times come from Stage Starter's analysis of 2,415 conferences that publicly advertise speaking slots for 2026. The number of conferences and open calls comes from our conference database, and the acceptance rates from our own submissions for clients. The submission volumes are experience values from our work.

## Frequently asked questions

### Is there a speaker agency for software companies?

Stage Starter is a speaker agency for experts and submits to professional conferences for IT and software companies. We develop the talk and abstracts, submit in your name and follow up. The figures in this article come from our submissions for clients.

### What does a speaker agency for an IT company cost?

The collaboration with Stage Starter starts from €990 net per month, and the Speaker Audit as an entry point costs from €2,000 net and is credited when you book the agency. For comparison, a single pay-to-speak slot quickly costs €10,000 or more.

### Can I talk about my product at a developer conference?

In a talk selected by the programme committee, a technical problem is at the centre, and the product appears at most as an example. With a sponsored talk, the company buys the talk as a sponsor, and the audience judges it accordingly.

### Which developer conferences are there in Germany?

Well-known developer conferences in Germany include the WeAreDevelopers World Congress and JavaLand, both of which award their speaking slots through a call for papers. There are also numerous professional conferences on individual languages, platforms and topics such as cloud, security or AI. In our analysis, 88 German conferences publicly advertise their speaking slots for 2026.

### Where can I find open calls for papers for tech conferences?

You find open calls on conference websites and on submission platforms such as Sessionize or Papercall, through which many tech conferences handle their submissions. An agency keeps the calls in its own database and tracks the deadlines. With us that is around 1,500 open calls.

### How do I write an abstract for a tech conference?

An abstract for a tech conference names a concrete technical problem, says what the audience will be able to do after the talk and states the level. Product advertising fails with the committee, while an honest experience report with figures convinces. At Stage Starter we write the abstracts from a conversation with you.

### Are speakers paid at developer conferences?

Speakers at developer conferences usually receive no fee for regular talks, but often a free ticket and, at larger conferences, travel and hotel. Fees are paid mainly for keynotes by well-known names. For a software company, the assignment from the audience counts in any case, and it is worth more than any fee.

### Is developer relations through conference talks worth it?

For companies whose product developers choose or recommend, the conference talk is one of the most effective DevRel channels. It builds trust in the community before any sales conversation begins. It unfolds its effect through a series of talks over the year.

## Doing it yourself or with an agency

Anyone weighing up whether to do it themselves or use an agency compares the days for research and forms in their own calendar with the price of an operation that submits continuously. If you want to know which tech conferences suit your topic and your clients, talk to us in an [initial consultation](/en/erstgespraech/).