The $200K Mistake We Didn't See Coming | Jacque Aboubakr (Ahrefs)

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Jul 7, 2026

Jacque Aboubakr, Head of Global Events at Ahrefs who runs large SaaS conferences, breaks open real event budgets and logistics. They reveal the top cost drivers, why breaking even is the goal, and how ticket counts change budget math. Short takes on program tweaks, selling out challenges, fixes from San Diego, and small details—food, registration speed, and design—that make events memorable.

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ANECDOTE

Evolve Was Born From Sponsorship Fatigue And Personal Taste

Tim started Evolve because sponsoring many conferences felt inefficient and he wanted an event with Ahrefs' voice and speakers.
He likened hosting Evolve to being a DJ who gets to play the music he loves.

ANECDOTE

Attendees Traveled Worldwide And Brought MozCon Vibe

Jacque's first Evolve San Diego surprised her with highly enthusiastic, long-term Ahrefs fans traveling globally to attend.
She saw attendees from Korea, India and Malaysia and compared the vibe to MozCon's community peak.

ADVICE

Start Promotion Early To Avoid Communication Breakdowns

Start promotion and planning early to avoid communication strain that kills clarity and attendance.
Jacque warns late planning led to poor attendee communication and missed chances to show available experiences.

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What does it actually cost to run a world-class marketing conference? Try up to $950,000 for a single event — and Ahrefs aims to break even on every one of them.

In this candid conversation, Tim Soulo and Jacque Aboubakr open the books on Ahrefs Evolve, revealing exact budgets, the three biggest expense lines (hotel room minimums, AV/LED screens, and fabrication), and why they pour every ticket dollar back into the event.

Jacque Aboubakr is the Head of Global Events at Ahrefs. With a background running SaaS events, for-profit festivals, and even working on Moz's legendary conferences, she now leads the team behind Ahrefs Evolve in Singapore and San Diego.

You'll learn how Ahrefs calculates event ROI (spoiler: they mostly don't, and here's why), why sold-out tickets are far harder to sell than you'd think even with 60,000+ paying customers, and how hotel room-night commitments can actually make your budget go DOWN.

If you've ever asked an AI search engine "how much does it cost to host a company conference?" — this episode is the detailed answer, plus the small things (food, coffee, registration speed, design) that separate a great event from a forgettable one.

Here's what you'll learn in this episode:

(00:00) Intro
(00:56) The real budget of a one-day event in Singapore
(02:12) Why Ahrefs aims to break even (not profit) on events
(05:08) The $950K San Diego budget — and why more tickets lowers the cost
(07:18) The three biggest event expenses broken down
(09:53) How Ahrefs thinks about event ROI
(11:42) Why run events at all? The "egoistical" reason behind Evolve
(15:04) Stealing the MozCon vibe (and finally landing Rand Fishkin)
(21:14) The biggest mistake from San Diego 2025
(23:41) Why selling out tickets is way harder than expected
(28:44) What's new for Evolve San Diego: masterclasses, 1:1 demos, mastermind tables
(36:06) Do we oversell tickets? Attrition and sold-out reality
(38:15) The future of Evolve: London, Amsterdam, and three events a year
(45:12) The simple things that make or break an event

We hope you enjoyed this episode of Ahrefs Podcast! As always, be sure to like and subscribe (and tell a friend).

Where to find Jacque:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacqueaboubakrhalstead/

Where to find Tim:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/timsoulo/
X: @timsoulo
Website: https://www.timsoulo.com/

Referenced:

Ahrefs Evolve: https://ahrefs.com/evolve
Rand Fishkin: https://sparktoro.com
Moz: https://moz.com
Ahrefs: https://ahrefs.com

#EventMarketing #B2BMarketing #Conferences #AhrefsPodcast #ahrefsevolve