According to Teerlink, she designed RootsTech was after the JavaOne conference, including the elements of unconferencing, gaming and fun in the expo hall, competitions and prizes offered to developers for solving genealogy-related problems, and primarily unpaid presenters.

Clarke was at every meeting of the inaugural RootsTech and developed the initial call-for-papers system for speakers overnight among other essential roles.

Teerlink had previously worked with Christophe Giraud-Carrier, [9] who chaired the annual Family History Technology Workshop.

Teerlink built a business model for RootsTech that was not common in 2011, forever changing the face of genealogy conferences.

"Sometimes the only way to sell a delicious peach pie is to give everyone a free sample so that they want to buy more," Teerlink said, using Chick-fil-A as a model.

Microsoft set up a gaming station working with Expo Hall Chair Carol Smith, and offered free operating systems and prizes for drawings.

Matthew and Brian Monahan, owners of Inflection offered leather journals and pens as speaker gifts.

Meetingplaces were set up in the expo hall where genealogists and software developers could meet on equal ground to try to find solutions together.

Computer labs, scanning stations, and research consultants were also incorporated in the expo hall to allow attendees to use the FamilySearch Library without leaving the conference.

Keynote Speakers included Hewlett–Packard's Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy and Technology Officer Shane Robison, Internet Archive Founder Brewster Kahle, Allen County Public Library Historical Genealogy Department Manager Curt B. Witcher, and FamilySearch International CEO Jay Verkler.

It was attended by over 1 million participants from 242 countries who were able to watch approximately 2,000 genealogical class sessions on-demand taught by experts, archivists and companies.