Social Impact at SXSW 2024
Conference sessions for social entrepreneurs and high impact startup founders
Choosing what to focus on at the SXSW Conference can be overwhelming. In this guide, we offer entrepreneurs a curated selection of social impact activities and provide select session recaps.
Social Impact Sessions
- Tech Innovators With Lived Experience Solve The Big Problems
READ OUR RECAP - Masterclass: Storytelling for Social Impact
READ OUR RECAP - How VC Can Repair The Broken Rungs Of The Tech Ladder
READ OUR RECAP - Industry, Civil Society, and the Coming AI Revolution
READ OUR RECAP - Innovation Unleashed: Solving Global Challenges Through Technology and Leadership
READ OUR RECAP
Speaker Highlights
- Arlan Hamilton, Backstage Capital
READ OUR RECAP - Arian Simone, Fearless Fund
READ OUR RECAP
In-person Meetups
- Social Impact Founders Meet Up
- Tech for Good Meet Up
- Capital Factory House
*** SXSW has posted recordings of select sessions on its YouTube channel and has made audio recordings of many sessions available on the SXSW schedule website.
Social Impact Sessions
There are over 100 sessions tagged as covering “Social Impact”, with additional tags for Sustainability, Climate, Equity, Community, DEIB, and Healthcare. We’ve identified the top five sessions that every social entrepreneur would benefit from, regardless of the industry or sector you work in.
Tech Innovators With Lived Experience Solve The Big Problems
Friday 8 March | 2:30pm — 3:30pm CT
Black, Latinx, and Justice-impacted tech entrepreneurs have a lived-experience that offers perspective and promise for tackling society’s biggest problems: prisons, pollution and poverty. Yet, these founders face significant barriers bringing their solutions to market. The panel will discuss the latest market research, investment strategies and new infrastructure being built to support underrepresented tech entrepreneurs to actualize an equitable future for all.
Featuring:
- Natrina Gandana, Salesforce
- Elizabeth Nguyen, Village Capital
- Topeka Sam, FRSH
- Kasheef Wyzard, Dream.Org
Featured Session: Masterclass: Storytelling for Social Impact
Saturday 9 March | 11:30am — 12:30pm CT
If you want to know how to turn a story into a movement, this session is for you. Dr. Ibram X. Kendi and The Emancipator’s Amber Payne… have the template for how to take a single, powerful idea and reimagine it to reach entirely new audiences. Join them to learn practical insights on how you can unleash the power of storytelling to create transformative change.
Featuring:
- Dr. Ibram X. Kendi, Boston University Center for Antiracist Research
- Amber Payne, The Emancipator
How VC Can Repair The Broken Rungs Of The Tech Ladder
Saturday 9 March |4:00pm — 5:00pm CT
This impressive panel of women in venture capital will bring to light the importance of community building, injecting culture into the next generation of VCs and LPs, and take a hard look at the biggest obstacles to making an equitable tech & investment landscape a reality.
Featuring:
- Jenny He, Position Ventures
- Gabie Kur, Codeword
- Judene Small, Andreesen Horowitz
- Dana Wildeboer, All Raise
Industry, Civil Society, and the Coming AI Revolution
Sunday 10 March | 4:00pm — 5:00pm CT
AI is here to stay, and precious few experts with hands-on experience are in the policymaking space to help shape the future AI landscape. With four panelists having made the rare pivot from big tech to civil society, the conversation will focus on lessons learned and lessons needed (on both the industry and civil society side), building bridges to craft more effective and equitable AI policy, and upleveling the type of engagements between the two.
Featuring:
- Adam Conner, Center for American Progress
- Katie Harbath, Duco Experts
- Megan Shahi, Center for American Progress
- Dave Willner, OpenAI
Innovation Unleashed: Solving Global Challenges Through Technology and Leadership
Friday 14 March | 10:00am — 11:00am CT
If we are going to get serious about solving global challenges, we need new ideas and voices. In this panel, you will hear about MIT Solve, a marketplace for social impact innovation with a mission to address the world’s biggest problems. Solve’s Executive Director, Hala Hanna, and fellow panelists from The Big Idea, an award-winning docuseries following Solve innovators, will discuss how they’re using technology to create systemic change.
Featuring:
- Danielle Boyer, Steam Connection
- Hala Hanna, MIT Solve
- Kitty Liao, Ideabatic
- Kimberly Seals Allers, irth
Speaker Highlights
SXSW sessions feature numerous top-notch experts. Here are two social impact speakers not to miss.
Featured Session: Your First Million: Why You Don’t Have to be Born into a Legacy of Wealth to Leave One Behind
Friday 8 March | 4:00pm — 5:00pm CT
Description:
Join Arlan Hamilton, venture capitalist and founder of Backstage Capital, as she explores the power of wealth as a tool for options and change. Reflecting on her journey from poverty to leading a multi-million dollar VC firm, Hamilton debunks wealth myths and emphasizes entrepreneurship as a means to achieve financial empowerment… Whether you’re an aspiring entrepreneur, an established business owner, or someone looking to shift your financial mindset, this session promises to be a transformative experience.
Featuring:
- Bridgid Coulter Cheadle, Blackbird Collective PBC
- Arlan Hamilton, Backstage Capital
Money Talks: How Arian Simone’s Fearless Fund Amplifies Women
Sunday 10 March | 11:30am — 12:30pm CT
In this session, founder and President Arian Simone will cover the ins and outs of the startup world. Touching on important points such as startup funding, industry trends, notable investors, and pitching practices, in order for audience members to have a full lay of the land and leave with a clear understanding of the role venture capital plays in startup culture and how to best navigate as entrepreneurs.
Featuring:
- Arian Simone, Fearless Fund
In-person Meetups
SXSW is a networker’s dream. Don’t miss these opportunities for social entrepreneurs to expand their professional networks.
Social Impact Founders Meet Up
Friday 8 March | 2:30pm — 3:30pm CT
In this speed dating type of event we are going to have several impact founders and investors…Investors will share more about their funds, startup founders will get to hear from each other, and get a chance to participate in ice breaker activities to build community.
Featuring:
- Sergio Marrero, Robin Hood Foundation
- Phillip Sanders, New Media Ventures & Power Capital
Tech for Good Meet Up
Thursday 14 March | 2:30pm — 3:30pm CT
During this networking event, participants will have the opportunity to meet other practitioners in the Tech for Good space including tech companies, nonprofit organizations, and ecosystem collaborators. Participants will be introduced to new ideas, potential partners, and collaboration opportunities.
Featuring:
- Alana Ramo, Zendesk
- Megan Trotter, Zendesk
Capital Factory House @ SXSW 2024
8–12 March
While not solely for social entrepreneurs, the Capital Factory House brings entrepreneurs together “for five days of educational sessions, networking opportunities, our legendary Startup Crawl.” Access is free with RSVP.
Our recommended social impact activities at SXSW are not tied to any specific industry. With the wide range of topics at SXSW, you’re likely to find sessions more closely aligned with your social enterprise’s focus than what we’ve highlighted here. For a comprehensive look, register with SXSW for free. This lets you search for sessions by track, tag, or keyword without needing to buy a badge. You can also refine your search by combining tags and tracks (e.g., Climate Change & AI) to tailor the session list to your interests.
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