Preparing for SXSW 2015
It’s the Monday before SXSW, so you should have already pulled the trigger as far as convincing your boss/significant other that it’s worth going, buying a badge (or not), and figuring out a place to stay. Now you need to decided what to pack for Austin (besides your ‘formal’ hoodie) since weather is going to be between the low of 47 degrees and a high of 70 degrees. You still have time to order business cards (hand delivered Downtown via MOO) and get conference essentials from Amazon Prime like:
Comfortable shoes, (or at the very least inserts)
Extra phone battery (I like this one)
A backpack to carry your conference totebag and several swag T-shirts
What about the biggest challenge of all, figuring out where you should actually go while you’re here in Austin? That means pouring over the literally hundreds of events both official and otherwise. Here is my exhaustive list of events and panels that I think are interesting and would like to attend if possible:
There will always be at least five things going on you want to attend, but the most important thing is to enjoy the company you’re with right now. Use these links to figure out what you think you want to attend and make sure to RSVP, even if it doesn’t guarantee entrance.
SXSW Interactive Conference
Sched
do512
Gary’s Guide
Google Spreadsheet of Free SXSW Events
Eventbrite
I try to set a direction (be where the people you want to meet are going to be, whether it’s VC’s and angels or Agencies or tech companies who are hiring), but leave the path up to the crowd at the conference.
This year I’m looking to meet startups and angel investors, so I’m going to be spending most of my time at the Startup Village in the Hilton where there are several pitch competitions (Accelerator, HATCH, Impact Pediatric Pitch and Capital Factory) and showcases (ReleaseIT, and Startup Showcase).
Make sure you’re signed up for Austin Startup Digest and you’re following these SXSW twitter handles:
@JoshuaBaer
@capitalfactory
@CFstartupevents
@rsvpster
@atxhipsters
@theaustinot
@SXSWmafia = Members: @sxswislife @sxswhoa @sxswmf @mischiefonline @snow2go @misskrissxsw @freeatsxsw @mxdwn_atx @cameronatsx @martyratsxsw @chriskeegan @sxswhiphop
SXSW is a like 10 conferences being held simultaneously, including the SX Health and MedTech Expo and SXCreate with a music festival as the ‘glue’ that keeps them all together. You don’t so much as ‘attend’ as you ‘experience’ and that’s the magic of SXSW.
Hope to see you in Austin.
Marc Nathan
@marc1919
www.linkedin.com/in/marc1919
