Information Technology & Services

How The Machine Learning Conference Attracted Needle-Moving Attendees

· Updated April 1, 2026 · By David Dulany
Key Takeaways

Machine Learning Conference partnered with CIENCE to reach 50–100 companies per week, securing 33 scheduled calls and exceeding sales opportunity goals every month. Cold email open rates ran more than double the 18% industry average, generating strong ROI and new revenue. The two-year partnership ran from September 2017 through September 2019 with consistently successful results.

From Courtney Burton, Founder and Event Producer: "Not only did their results exceed the cost of investment in their services, but their team was also easy to work with, highly professional, and prompt in communications throughout."

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Sales Development

Machine Learning Conference Case Study

About Machine Learning Conference

Machine Learning Conference (ML Conference) is an AI consultancy and product studio focused on life sciences. Their team of data science experts partners with clients to integrate machine learning capabilities to improve care, enhance discoveries, and enable data-driven decisions.

ML Conference’s data scientists offer clients domain expertise in many areas of life sciences: computational biology, omics, bioinformatics, digital health, medical devices, insurance. They combine data science with full-stack product development experience to get clients’ solutions to production.

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Courtney Burton

Founder and Event Producer

Industry

Information Technology & Services

Website

mlconference.ai

Challenges & Scope

Challenge: The Machine Learning Conference team was looking to overcome already-stretched resources with a dedicated support team focused on lead generation and outbound messaging.  

ICP: Start-ups involved in the Machine Learning (ML) industry (platforms, developers, talent, etc) who would be good fits for attending (and even sponsoring) the conferences. 

Solution: CIENCE Technologies coordinated lead generation and outbound efforts for ML Conference to supplement its current marketing team’s efforts. After researching appropriate industries and clients, CIENCE conducted cold email and cold calling campaigns.

How The Machine Learning Conference Attr — industry scene

Why CIENCE

“Not only did their results exceed the cost of investment in their services, but their team was also easy to work with, highly professional, and prompt in communications throughout.” – Founder, Machine Learning Conference Courtney Burton.

In September 2017, ML Conference asked CIENCE to supplement their company’s already-stretched resources with a dedicated support team focused on lead generation and outbound messaging.

“I spoke to CIENCE’s CEO about the kind of services his team offers and thought we could benefit from them, so I asked him to connect me to his sales team.”

During the contract, CIENCE conducted marketing research targeting prospective clients and crafted and directed cold email outreach campaigns directed at the leads generated for ML Conference based on their ideal customer profile (ML startups) on Burton’s behalf. 

In the end, ML Conference worked with CIENCE on multiple projects through the end of September 2019 with successful results.

Results

After generating and targeting leads through outbound campaigns for ML Conference, CIENCE was able to secure dozens of appointments, building useful client relationships that brought in much-needed revenue for their company.

“CIENCE’s team reached out to 50–100 companies per week on my behalf, scheduling 33 calls in the process,” said Burton back in July 2018. 

By the end of the partnership, ML Conference was able to generate great ROI from CIENCE’s leads, meeting their client appointment goals and gained a noteworthy boost in cash flow as a result of new successful business partnerships made during the email outreach.

CIENCE’s cold email campaigns were very successful with strong open rates at more than double the industry averages of 18%, which reflected in higher than average appointment rates and overperforming based on ROI Calculations for ML Conference. The ML Conference increased the sales pipeline and at-bats for their sales team with sales opportunity goals met or exceeded in each month of partnership.

Throughout the process, ML Conference’s team noted CIENCE was very friendly and easy to work with, expressing earnest praise for the account manager and customer experience manager who were always on hand to help. Burton said the team was especially well-coordinated in their communications through email, Zoom, and spreadsheets. CIENCE also made sure to loop her team into the process once the leads turned into potential clients.

How The Machine Learning Conference Attr team using graph8 platform

“They were always on time and prompt in communications,” said Burton. “CIENCE quickly educated themselves on my business and customized the types of leads they reached out to accordingly”.

At the conclusion of these successful projects, ML Conference recommended CIENCE wholeheartedly to its peers, offering sage advice for future clients to ensure a seamless partnership:

“Give their team as many details as possible to give them a better understanding of your targeted audience.”

Frequently Asked Questions

How many appointments did Machine Learning Conference book with CIENCE?

CIENCE scheduled 33 calls on behalf of Machine Learning Conference, reaching 50–100 companies per week during the campaign. These appointments built client relationships that brought in new revenue and exceeded ML Conference’s monthly sales opportunity goals.

What results did Machine Learning Conference achieve with CIENCE?

ML Conference achieved strong ROI through CIENCE’s outbound campaigns, with cold email open rates more than double the 18% industry average. Sales opportunity goals were met or exceeded each month of the partnership, and the engagement led to a notable boost in cash flow from new business partnerships.

What services did CIENCE provide to Machine Learning Conference?

CIENCE provided lead generation, market research, cold email outreach, and cold calling campaigns targeting ML startups — platforms, developers, and talent — that fit ML Conference’s ideal customer profile. CIENCE also handled prospect communication and looped the ML Conference team in once leads became potential clients.

How long did Machine Learning Conference work with CIENCE?

ML Conference and CIENCE partnered from September 2017 through September 2019 — approximately two years — completing multiple projects over that period with consistently successful outcomes.

[Click here to Download this Case Study](/blog-images/hubspot/Machine Learning Conference - Case Study.pdf)

What happened since at CIENCE

AI Now Handles Meeting Booking Automatically

Since this case study, CIENCE has added AI-powered appointment setting through the graph8 Platform. Voice AI answers inbound calls and books meetings without human intervention. The Sequencer and Campaign Builder handle multi-channel outreach with automatic follow-ups. Managed appointment setting is still available — now powered by graph8's automation layer, with 4x more qualified meetings per rep.

See how appointment setting works today →

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