Speaking
I talk about what happens when AI, content, and composable architecture collide. I also talk about what it means to build the same company for 21 years without taking a dollar of outside funding. Sometimes I talk about both at once.
I've spoken at conferences, on podcasts, and in rooms full of people who care deeply about where digital experience is headed. I bring technical depth, honest opinions, and the occasional Star Trek reference.
Talk Topics
AI-Native Content: What Happens When Machines Become the Primary Consumers of Your CMS
The CMS industry is building AI features for humans. But the bigger shift is that AI agents are becoming the primary creators AND consumers of content. I've built an MCP server that lets AI agents interact directly with a headless CMS, and I've seen firsthand what this unlocks. This talk covers where content infrastructure needs to go, what "AI-native" actually means beyond the marketing buzzwords, and why the companies that figure this out first will own the next decade.
Best for: Technology conferences, AI/ML events, digital experience summits, developer conferences
The 21-Year Startup: Building a Software Company That Lasts
In a world of blitz-scaling and burn rates, I've been building the same bootstrapped company since 2005. No venture capital. Profitable every year. Competing against companies that have raised hundreds of millions. This talk is about the decisions that made that possible, the moments we almost got it wrong, and why long-term thinking is the ultimate competitive advantage in SaaS.
Best for: SaaS conferences, founder/CEO events, bootstrapped and indie communities, leadership summits
Composable Architecture: The Honest Version
I've been building composable solutions for years and I'll tell you what the MACH Alliance brochure won't: it's harder than it looks, it takes longer than vendors promise, and most companies aren't ready for it. But when it works, it's transformational. This talk separates the hype from the reality and gives practical guidance for teams considering the composable path.
Best for: CMS and DXP conferences, enterprise architecture events, digital transformation summits
Vibe Coding: What CTOs Need to Know About AI-Assisted Development
I won the CMS Idol 2025 competition by building a working AI-powered solution in six minutes using Claude, GitHub Copilot, and an MCP server I built myself. This wasn't a party trick. It was a preview of how software gets built now. This talk covers what AI-assisted development actually looks like in production, where it accelerates you, where it lies to you, and what it means for engineering leadership.
Best for: CTO/engineering leadership events, developer conferences, DevRel events
Complete Speaking History
2026
- MACH Alliance Agent Ecosystem Show & Tell (Jan 2026) - "Agility CMS's Agentic Capabilities" - live MCP server demo
- Boye & Company CMS Kickoff 26 (Jan 2026, St. Petersburg, FL) - Attendee/participant
- CMS Experts Toronto (Mar 2026, Havas, Toronto) - Recurring participant
2025
- FITC Web Unleashed 2025 (Oct 2025, Toronto) - "Real-Time AI Components In Next.js: Copilot + Claude Meets MCP And CMS"
- FITC CODEWORD 2025 (Sep 2025, Toronto) - Speaker. Watch on YouTube
- Boye & Company CMS Connect 25 (Aug 2025, Montreal) - "Skating to Where the Puck Will Be: CMS in the Age of AI" + CMS Idol 2025 Winner (live AI demo competition, audience vote)
- Boye Aarhus 25 (Nov 2025, Aarhus, Denmark) - Speaker (confirmed via internal email, Jina: "Joel will be speaking at Aarhus")
- CMS Kickoff 25 (Jan 2025, St. Petersburg, FL) - Speaker at The James Museum
2024
- FITC PixelPalooza (Nov 2024) - "Boost Your Next.js and Astro Projects: Effortless OpenGraph Image Automation"
- FITC Web Unleashed 2024 (Oct 2024, Toronto) - "Next.js vs. Astro: FIGHT"
- Boye Aarhus 24 (Nov 2024, Aarhus, Denmark) - Two sessions: "Designing Content Models for the Future" (CMS Track) + "Pages and Components as an Orchestrator for Web Experience" (Digital Communications Track). Also previewed unreleased AI features.
- CFE.dev CodeWord Conf (Sep 2024) - "Building Your Website's AI Brain: Creating Custom Agents with Headless CMS Content"
- CFE.dev TheJam.dev 2024 (Jan 2024) - "Caching and Revalidation with Headless CMS Content in Next.js 14"
- DX3 Canada (2024) - Featured Speaker
2023
- Boye Aarhus 23 (Nov 2023, Aarhus, Denmark) - "Next-Gen Headless CMS" - collaborative content environments, content architecture
- FITC Web Unleashed 2023 (Oct 2023, Toronto) - "MACH: The Future Of Cutting-Edge Webdev" + "Exploring Layout Composition With Headless CMS And Next.js" (Workshop)
2021
- GatsbyConf (Jan 2021) - "Architecting Fullstack Solutions in a Jamstack World"
2020
- CFE.dev (Nov 2020) - "Jamstack 101: Getting Started with Eleventy"
- CFE.dev (Oct 2020) - "Jamstack 101: Getting Started with Next.js and Vercel"
- CFE.dev (Oct 2020) - "Jamstack 101: Using Gatsby and Netlify for Blazing-fast Websites"
Ongoing / Recurring
- CMS Experts Toronto (Boye & Company) - Regular participant across multiple years
- Agility CMS Webinars - Numerous product demos, customer workshops, and educational webinars hosted through Agility's own channels
Podcasts & Interviews
- Beyond the CMS Podcast (Apr 2026, Jul 2026, Oct 2026) - Quarterly guest, hosted by Chris Bryce / Dotfusion. Also on Spotify and Apple Podcasts
- Sales Leader's Playbook: In Their Words (Jan 2026) - Hosted by Justine Tindall, Phoenix Coaching Works / Sandler Training. Business building, leadership, and the bootstrapped Agility story.
- CMS Critic "The Critic's Corner" (Nov 2025) - "The Headless Holodeck: Warp-Speed Demos, AI, and the Next Generation of CMS." Watch on YouTube | Apple Podcasts
- CMS Critic (Oct 2025) - "Playing to Win in the Headless CMS Game"
- Across The Funnel (May 2025) - Ep #145: "The Death of Websites? Exploring the Agent-Driven Internet"
- GatsbyConf Q&A (Jan 2021) - "On the State of the Jamstack"
Video Series (CMS Critic)
- Varty's Videos: Where AI Meets Code (5 episodes) - AI-assisted coding, Copilot vs. Cursor vs. Claude
- Varty's Videos: All About Composable (5 episodes) - composable fundamentals, cost savings, migration
- Varty's Videos: A CTO's Take on Next.js (8 episodes) - Next.js + Agility CMS deep dive
Upcoming
- Boye Aarhus 26 (Nov 2026, Aarhus, Denmark) - Invitation received (Feb 2026)
- FITC Toronto 2026 (Apr 27-28, 2026) - 25th anniversary event (potential)
As Seen In
FITC | CMS Critic | MACH Alliance | Boye & Company | GatsbyConf | CFE.dev | DX3 Canada | DEV Community
The Details
Based in: Greater Toronto Area, Ontario, Canada. Available worldwide.
Format: Keynotes, panels, fireside chats, podcast interviews, workshops, live demos.
Duration: 20-60 minutes depending on format. I'm flexible.
AV needs: Minimal. A screen for slides/demos, a mic, and an internet connection for live coding. I travel light.
Bio (short):
Joel Varty is CTO of Agility CMS, a bootstrapped headless CMS company he's helped build for over 21 years. He's a MACH Alliance member, CMS Idol 2025 winner, and a builder working at the intersection of AI and content infrastructure. When he's not writing code, he's coached high school football, directed musical theatre, and spent considerable time on stage as an actor and singer. He lives in Port Hope, Ontario.
Bio (long):
Joel Varty is CTO of Agility CMS, where he's spent over 21 years building one of the longest-running headless content management platforms in the industry, all without taking a dollar of venture capital. Under his technical leadership, Agility has been named Best Cloud CMS by CMS Critic, a leader on G2 for headless CMS, and a leader in customer experience on Gartner Peer Insights. Joel is a member of the MACH Alliance, the 2025 CMS Idol winner (a live demo competition at Boye & Company's CMS Connect conference in Montreal), and a frequent speaker and writer on AI-native content architecture, composable design, and the future of digital experience. He's produced over 18 episodes of educational video content for CMS Critic, written 57+ articles on DEV Community, and spoken at GatsbyConf, DX3 Canada, CFE.dev, and MACH Alliance events. Joel holds a BA in English from the University of Guelph and believes the hardest problems in technology are communication problems. Outside of work, he has coached high school football, directed musical theatre, and spent considerable time on stage as an actor and singer. He lives in Port Hope, Ontario with his two kids.
Book Me
Interested in having me speak at your event, join your podcast, or participate in a panel? I'd love to hear from you.
Email: joel@agilitycms.com
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/joelvarty
I respond to every inquiry. If it's a good fit, I'll make it work.