SXSW 2019: Opportunities for Startup Founders

Insights and opportunities to engage your early stage startup at SXSW 2019. Mentor feedback sessions, pitch competitions, networking events and more. With or without a badge, there are plenty of great opportunities to share and promote your product, receive feedback and make new connections.

Transcript

1. www.heath.software Wif i Network: Let’s Mambo
 Password: Mercury!!! Welcome Austin Early Stage Startup Founders Meetup
2. WHO WE ARE
3. It’s time to rethink 
 the way software is built. The world needs more empathy in 
 engineering, collaboration in design, joy 
 in process and focus on delivering value. We take an agile, human-centered approach 
 to software that creates world-class products people love to use.
4. © All Rights Reserved 4 Associates & Staff Luke Heath Partner, Technology A 20 year veteran of the software industry, 
 Luke started his career at America Online in ‘98 
 before spending over a decade leading 
 agency partnerships with brands 
 like Samsung, Microsoft and SanDisk. Luke leads technology, software, 
 project operations and client partnerships. WHO WE ARE LUKE HEATH Albert Martin Senior Software Engineer Daniella Floeter Lead Designer Justin Griffith Lead Backend Engineer Ian Littman Lead DevOps Engineer Russ Savage Junior Software Engineer Brandy Heath Partner, Operations
 Christian Serna Solutions Architect Cindy Heath Content Marketing
 
 Ashley Sherwood Junior Software Engineer
5. SXSW 2019
 OPPORTUNITIES FOR STARTUP FOUNDERS
7. © All Rights Reserved 7 SXSW SUCCESS STRATEGY DEFINE GOALS Clearly define the goals for
 your startup at SXSW. PLAN AHEAD Leverage online resources
 to make the most of your time. POLISH YOUR PITCH Practice your pitch to ensure
 it flows quickly and smoothly.
 STAY CONNECTED Establish connections that
 last beyond SXSW.
8. DEFINE GOALS
9. © All Rights Reserved 9 • Get funding / meet investors
 • Find a Co-Founder
 • Find employees / talent
 • Gain new users
 • Receive product feedback
 • Gather intel on competitors and competitive landscape
 • Practice your pitch SXSW SUCCESS STRATEGY DEFINE GOALS
10. PLAN AHEAD
11. © All Rights Reserved 11 • Badge or no badge? 
 • Create your agenda in advance and add events to calendar.
 • Day parties provide the best networking opportunities. 
 They are also free and often provide free food and drinks. • Don’t overindulge! You are representing your business.
 • Use unofficial online resources rather than official SXSW guides. • Festival Saviors • UnofficialSXSWGuide.com • RSVPster • HotSpot SXSW SUCCESS STRATEGY PLAN AHEAD
12. © All Rights Reserved 12 Festival Saviors (festivalsaviors.com/events) SXSW SUCCESS STRATEGY PLAN AHEAD
13. © All Rights Reserved 13 Festival Saviors (festivalsaviors.com/events) SXSW SUCCESS STRATEGY PLAN AHEAD
14. © All Rights Reserved 14 Unofficial SXSW Guide (unofficialsxguide.com/sxsw-rsvp-list) SXSW SUCCESS STRATEGY PLAN AHEAD
15. © All Rights Reserved 15 RSVPSTER (rsvpster.com/interactive-parties/) SXSW SUCCESS STRATEGY PLAN AHEAD
16. © All Rights Reserved 16 RSVPSTER (rsvpster.com/interactive-parties/) SXSW SUCCESS STRATEGY PLAN AHEAD
17. © All Rights Reserved 17 SXSW SUCCESS STRATEGY PLAN AHEAD
18. POLISH PITCH
19. © All Rights Reserved 19 SXSW SUCCESS STRATEGY POLISH YOUR PITCH • Create and memorize your elevator pitch • Keep It Brief Restrict the pitch to 30 to 60 seconds — that's the time it takes to ride an elevator, hence the name. Define the problem and your solution quickly and effectively. • Practice, practice, practice The best way to get comfortable with an elevator pitch is to practice it until it flows naturally without effort. • Don’t talk too fast Monitor your speed when practicing your pitch. Try to keep your pace the same as casual conversation. • Don’t ramble While you don't want to over-rehearse and sound stilted, you also don't want to have unfocused or unclear sentences in your pitch or get off-track.
20. STAY CONNECTED
21. © All Rights Reserved 21 SXSW SUCCESS STRATEGY STAY CONNECTED • Bring business cards • Use LinkedIn app Use LinkedIn app to send connection request immediately after conversation. Get business cards for anyone you want to stay connected with. • Keep notes on contacts Record notes for every contact to help you remember
 your conversation and the takeaway. • Follow up after SXSW Important! Send an email or LinkedIn message after
 SXSW. Personalize message using contact notes. • Look for ways to help others The best way to make a lasting impression is to find ways
 to help others. Make introductions, recommend tools, etc.
22. HOTSPOT
23. © All Rights Reserved 23 “During SXSW, I spend most of my time searching through event listings trying to find interesting things to do, and not as much time as I want enjoying the actual events happening right now.” During SXSW and events like it, there is a high concentration of attendees who are interested in attending events, and event organizers who want to attract them. However, due to the high number of simultaneous events, it is overwhelming for attendees to decide where to go and difficult for event organizers to stand out from the crowd. In addition, attendees attempting to communicate to their network where they are and if the event is compelling is tedious and requires a lot of texting. HOTSPOT THE PROBLEM
24. © All Rights Reserved 24 An application that allows users to visually recognize popular geographic areas in their location quickly and easily. • It should enhance instead of distract from the exciting real-world experience users are having. • It should allow users to share a rating of their current location. • It should avoid unnecessary distractions or time consuming tasks. • It should try to get users out of the app instead of further into it. • To maximize engagement, it should allow new users to begin using it immediately. • Above all, it should help users find the hottest spots in their proximity. HOTSPOT THE SOLUTION
26. Questions?