The Austinpreneur’s Guide to SXSW 2019
The biggest weekend in Austin is coming up! South by Southwest (SXSW) descends upon the city from March 8–16 and somehow keeps getting bigger and bigger. There is so much to do it can be hard to navigate so I like to make lists. Here are some of my picks that might stand out from the crowd — both official and unofficial. Did I miss something? Leave it in the comments!
Surrender to Serendipity
My general rule of thumb is to make a big calendar with everything I could possibly want to do on it and then in the moment do whichever of the things is easiest and aligns with the rest of the group I’m with. Doing what’s easy primarily means not waiting in lines and not waiting in traffic. You can’t fight SXSW… you have to surrender to serendipity.
Search the SXSW Schedule
Take a few hours and do your homework and it will pay off in spades. The entire schedule of panels, parties, and speakers is searchable so you can easily type in keywords and click the star to favorite the ones you’re most interested in. Search for technologies and industries you’re interested in, companies, people, topics… it’s easy.
What do I search for? Here are some examples that are all linked to the corresponding search — Startup — Entrepreneur — Innovation — Venture Capital — Virtual Reality — Augmented Reality — Robotics — Artificial Intelligence — Autonomous — Blockchain — Quantum — Defense — Military — Jeff Bezos — Elon Musk
Activations
Some of the best things at SXSW are the technology demonstrations and interactive experiences that expose you to the latest trends and connect you with the most interesting brands and people. Here are some that I’m looking forward to.
SXSW Startup Crawl
Time: Friday, March 8, 4:00pm-8:00pm
Location: Capital Factory, 701 Brazos Street
Register: SXSW Badge OR register at atxstartupcrawl.com
Kick things off at the biggest party of SXSW — The SXSW Startup Crawl! Grab a group of friends and tour the latest and greatest of Austin’s startup community. You’ll take the shuttle from stop to stop for a free beverage, to drop off a resume, see office space or explore Austin’s startup scene. For more information, visit atxstartupcrawl.com
Capital Factory VIP Lounge
Time: Friday, March 8 — Wednesday, March 13
Every day 10:00am-5:00pm.
Location: Capital Factory, 701 Brazos Street, 16th floor
Register: Apply for the guest list
Guests visiting from out of town can apply for access here. Capital Factory members and mentors are always VIP’s and can bring in a +1 with them so if you know someone at Capital Factory you’re a VIP, too. You never know who might roll through while you’re in there — it could be your next investor or a big customer or the next president of the U.S. or maybe just #GrumpyCat.
The 16th floor kitchen and coworking area will be buzzing with even more energy and excitement than normal. It’s stocked with free food, drinks and wifi but the real reason you want to be there is because we’ve curated all of the top entrepreneurs, investors, and innovators at SXSW and invited them to stop by. Sure, there will be celebrities and TV cameras but the real action will be the serendipity of the people you meet. You never know who you might bump into and how that might change your life!
Serendipity is what SXSW is all about.
Engineering Serendipity
Making real connections starts with having the right people in the room. We start by doing our homework and researching all of the most interesting people and companies coming from all over the world and add in all of the local entrepreneurs and investors that we know. Then we reach out to all of the venture capitalists, accelerators and coworking spaces to spread the word. We ask everyone to tell us when they are coming and who they want to meet. We pull that all into a big spreadsheet, share it with everyone, and offer to make introductions between everyone on the list and book a conference room. Our goal is to make 1,000 introductions in one week!
Opportunity Hub at SXSW
Time: Thursday, March 7 — Monday, March 11
Location: Capital Factory, 701 Brazos Street, 16th floor
Register: RSVP at opportunityhub.co/sxsw
There is nothing I love more than seeing Capital Factory packed full of young entrepreneurs of all different colors and backgrounds. I’m excited to partner with Rodney Sampson and Opportunity Hub this year to bring more than 250 Black and Latinx college students to SXSW and plug them into tech job opportunities!
SXSW Defense Innovation Lounge
Time: Saturday, March 9 — Tuesday, March 12
Every day 10:00am-5:00pm
Location: Capital Factory, 701 Brazos Street, 8th floor
Register: Open to the public
GEAR UP, Y’ALL. THE FUTURE IS NOW.
Come check out tech through a military lens. Whether you’re a veteran, active duty, family member, or not involved at all — don’t worry — we’ve got your six. Get ready to experience hands-on, cutting edge technology demos (and some wild future science stuff you never thought was possible). There will also be a constant stream of programming including official SXSW panels.
The Capital Factory Center for Defense Innovation is an unprecedented collaboration between the public and private sector that brings together entrepreneurs and government innovators shoulder-to-shoulder in a coworking environment where they can learn from each other.
We don’t know of any other location in DC or elsewhere in the country where multiple government innovation groups are colocated together with startups to create their own center of gravity.
We also don’t know of any other location where anyone can just walk up and talk to real soldiers from the Army, Air Force, and DOD. There are no secret rooms or classified materials at Capital Factory because we want this to be a place that’s open and accessible to innovators of all kinds. This is a place for collaboration, not for secrets.
Bleed for the Throne
Time: Thursday, March 7 — Saturday, March 9
Every day 12:00pm-5:00pm
Location: Multiple locations
Register: Open to the public
From March 7th to 9th, HBO and The American Red Cross invite you to stand with the living in the great war to come. Join us in Austin for a blood drive and an immersive experience inspired by iconic characters and moments from Game of Thrones. Who doesn’t like sitting on the Iron Throne?
Bose Augmented Audio Experience
Time: Saturday, March 9 — Monday, March 11
Every day 10:00pm-6:00pm
Location: Multiple locations
Register: SXSW Badge Required
Bose is back at SXSW 2019 with the world’s first audio augmented reality platform, Bose AR. They are showcasing new Bose AR-enabled wearables, new tools to code and create, and the first Bose AR-enhanced apps. They launched the platform last year at SXSW and have been working with the developer community at Capital Factory since.
Come meet the people behind Bose AR, experience what they’ve built, and join our growing developer community. On Sunday, March 10 watch the final pitch competition to see who wins $25,000 and what the most innovative applications of augmented audio are!
Capital One House
Time: Friday, March 8 — Monday, March 11
Every day 12:00pm-5:00pm
Location: Multiple locations
Register: SXSW Badge Required
For years, SXSW has been an incubator for original music, independent films and emerging technologies — a hub for connection across industries. Inspired by SXSW’s quest for innovation and advancement, Capital One is returning to Austin once again.
For the fourth year in a row, they’re transforming the historic Antone’s Nightclub — which helped Austin claim its title as the “Live Music Capital of the World” — into the Capital One House from March 8–11. Beyond their exciting lineup of talks, Capital One is turning back to SXSW’s artistic roots with an entertaining music lineup.
The Deep End by Vox Media
Time: Friday, March 8 — Sunday, March 10
Every day 11:00am-6:00pm
Location: The Belmont, 305 W 6th Street, Austin, TX 78701
Register: Open to the public
3 days of live podcasts + unfiltered conversations + interactive experiences + Eater-curated food & drink. Vox always does it up. This year they have Kara Swisher from Recode in town doing interviews and are doing a Future of Music event at night.
Sony WOW Studio
Time: Saturday, March 10, 1:00–9:00pm
Sunday, March 11 — Wednesday, March 13, 12:00–8:00pm
Location: 99 Trinity Street
Register: SXSW badge required
This was one of my favorite activations last year so I’m hoping that this year brings new demonstrations and fun. Sony will introduce various ongoing projects, incorporating cutting-edge technologies and its latest prototypes. At this exhibit, titled the “WOW Studio”, visitors are invited to enjoy and experience Sony’s playful and interactive exhibits. Sony is committed to developing products and technologies that exist at the closest point of contact with its customers around the world and delivering kando (experiences that resonate at an emotional level) by combining those products and technologies with content.
GovCity
Time: Sunday, March 11 — Tuesday March 13
Location: Capital Factory Center for Defense Innovation, 701 Brazos Street, 8th floor
Register: Registration required at GovCity.com
In March 2019, GovCity will saddle up, head off into the southern sunset and set up camp for three disruptive days in one of the most popular and beautiful major cities in Texas for one of the weirdest, most innovative tech conferences you’ve ever seen.
The ABC’s of SXSW
Don’t forget the ABC’s of SXSW — Always Be Charging!
Here are my two current charging accessories I keep nearby at all times.
The Trade Show
Time: March 10–13
Location: Austin Convention Center
Register: SXSW Badge Required
Make sure to leave yourself at least 2 hours to wander around the SXSW trade show floor — it’s always eye opening. See hundreds of exhibitors and demonstrations across every industry and technology. Bring a bag for collecting swag!
Getting Around
I think that SXSW will be amazing with scooters this year — while not allowed on 6th street (probably a smart idea) they will cut down dramatically on the downtown congestion making it easier to get around (as long as it doesn’t rain) and probably making the ridesharing apps work better as well. I predict the roads will be overrun with scooters downtown and it will be almost impossible to drive but most of us will think it’s a huge improvement.
Get the SXSW GO app on your phone
Thank you to Hugh Forrest, Katie King, Chris Valentine, Dhinuka Perera, and the entire SXSW staff
There are hundreds of people who work all year round to make this week happen for all of Austin. Hugh is the Chief Programming Officer, Katie runs the partnerships, Chris runs SXSW Pitch (formerly SXSW Accelerator), and Dhinuka runs the startup programming. It’s no charity, but it has external effects that benefit us all and bring an international spotlight to Austin every Spring. I don’t think the SXSW crew gets enough credit for all they do all year round and especially this week so I want to give them all a big shoutout here. Thank you!
What are you most interested in seeing? Leave a comment below with a link.
If you’re interested in working with Capital Factory on your SXSW activations next year, swing by and ask to talk to Audrey Ullman our year-round SXSW Coordinator.
