What to bring to Dreamforce

Well, if you told me in 2010 that I would be attending Dreamforce 4 times in row (2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015), I would have called you crazy. However, over the last 4 conferences, I have learned quite a bit about what plan, pack, and do to make one of the most intense weeks of your life a little easier. Are you attending Dreamforce this year? If so, here are my recommendations:

General

• Fly in early and leave late – maybe even stay over the weekend if you can. SFO is nuts without all of the extra people in town
• Uber is your friend but beware of surge pricing. Other options are Lyft or BART
• Be prepared to walk quite a bit so wear comfortable shoes and bring your fitness trackers!
  • Cannot stress comfy shoes enough
• While there will be food available at Dreamforce, you can easily get your meals close to Moscone if you want to skip the lines
  • Try Super Duper, La Boulange, The Melt, Sushiritto, and The Creamery to start
  • A couple blocks away from Moscone means less crowds
• If you want swag, show up on Tuesday for the Cloud Expo
  • The first day is the best chance to get great stuff
• If you like to run, there is an annual Dreamforce 5K fun run you can sign up for

Clothing

• I’ve seen everything from suits to jeans and t-shirts. Wear what is comfortable to you, however, you never know who you will meet
• Comfy shoes are a must. I highly recommend gel insoles!
• A hoodie or light jacket is great to carry with you – you never know what the temperature is going to be like.  The weather can change quickly! Bonus points if it has some Salesforce branding
• Sunglasses for the times you are outside

Electronics/Equipment

• A small bag (backpack or shoulder bag)
  • Full Conference members get a slick backpack at check in too
• A refillable water bottle is critical!
  • They will give you one, make sure to HYDRATE
• I recommend bringing the following cords/extras:
  • Small surge protector
  • Extra charging cords for your devices
  • Backup battery packs (the ones from the Mi Store are great)
  • Anker 5 port USB charger (saves bulk)
  • Grid-Its are great to organize your stuff
• Bring some form of entertainment- for me that’s a PS Vita
• A Ultrabook and/or a tablet to take notes
  • I recommend Evernote
  • Also used to keep up on emails, if you have time
• Stock up on business cards
• A pen and a Moleskine notebook is pretty useful even in the digital age
• Chewing gum/breath mints and snacks to munch on if you have back to back sessions
• Some sort of small camera if you have it
  • Even if it ends up being your phone, this can be super helpful for capturing slide decks to taking pictures of business cards
  • You never know when you might meet a celebrity
• Earbuds- it’s nice to zone out at times, especially walking to sessions
  • If you like Spotify, try out my Dreamforce 2015 playlist
• Highly recommend bringing a FireTV Stick/Chromecast for your hotel room
• A Kindle. Much easier than carrying a few books

Shameless plug: Please come visit me at the Cloud Expo in Moscone North (N1701). I’ll be at the Acumen Solutions booth showing some pretty awesome things in the Prototype Playground.

(p.s. this is our booth from last year but you get the idea)

Are you going to Dreamforce? What recommendations do you have- leave them in the comments!