REAL TALK FROM SXSW
Written by Jessica Murray
As a business owner or founder, one of our most valuable assets is…time. How we spend our time is critical, and there’s a constant push and pull. We all wish there were more hours in the day or fewer responsibilities outside of just, well, our business. That’s why, especially this year, when it comes to how I spend my time on business development and networking, I’m trying to be even more discerning. There has to be real business rationale, a hypothesis on the ROI and alignment to priorities for me to say “yes” to an event, travel opportunity, etc.
One business development commitment I’m happy I made this quarter was attending SXSW earlier this month. For those less aware, SXSW is an annual conference and festival in Austin, TX that sits at the intersection of tech, music, film, education and culture. It’s a gathering of global minds across industries and a great way to connect with new people, get immersed in what brands are focused on and learn.
Why SXSW?
Speaking of spending time wisely, let’s start with that hypothesis: Why SXSW?
I entered 2025 knowing I needed to expand Empower’s reach. In Q4 2024, I began targeting certain events in cities with a high concentration of my target partners, and SXSW made that list.
Hypothesis: If I could more consistently get in front of my ideal partners in different markets, I would expand awareness and build a pipeline faster than if I were trying to extend into markets remotely from Nashville. I also believed that developing strong relationships would be even more important this year given the business climate.
On top of that hypothesis, one of my 2025 goals is to 4x topline revenue. This meant I needed to find high-value events in Q1 since sales cycles are long with what I do. Not only is Austin a city known for its startup ecosystem and innovation, but this event, in particular, brings together thousands of innovators, entrepreneurs, ecosystem builders and investors. Sounds perfect, right? Yes and no.
With an event this large, you must go in with a purpose and strategy, otherwise you’ll walk through it aimlessly. A good networking buddy is also a plus if you can find one. Luckily, I had that with Melissa Jones, founder of 3816 Creative. We aligned objectives, developed an event strategy and set targets to hold us accountable.
The result
SXSW delivered and I knocked most of my goals out of the park. The days were long and we were on our feet from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. for most of the five days, but we packed in a lot.
I made meaningful connections with investors, ecosystem partners and other service providers, scheduled more than a handful of follow-up meetings and fell just shy of the number of new ideal partner prospects I hoped to meet. Even falling short on that last one, I came out with more net new potential pipeline than I had anticipated, indicating that the quality of the conversations mattered more than the quantity.
The business goals were important, but so were the takeaways and themes accumulated from days of conversations, visiting activations and attending sessions. Also, the serendipity of the event was something I didn’t expect, and there were several fun small-world run-ins!
What stood out: Themes from the week
Another benefit of SXSW is the breadth of perspective and industry coverage. You get to hear perspectives from industry experts, investors, owners, founders and other stakeholders. Here are four things I took away.
Theme 1: Uncertainty impacting everyone
Whether I was talking to a founder, service provider or investor, economic and political uncertainty is top of mind. It’s impacting people’s ability to make decisions about business investments, allocations of capital, supply chain and more.
Theme 2: AI, AI, AI
AI conversations permeate every industry and nearly every conversation. I met founders leveraging the technology for manufacturing, travel, entertainment, animal communication, customer support, sports, building presentations, retail, building agents and…the list could go on.
Most agree the technology is evolving at a rapid pace, it can be overwhelming to keep up, we need real use cases solving meaningful problems and it’s crucial to continue ensuring we’re harnessing it responsibly.
Theme 3: Sustainability and circular economy
With Rivian as a primary sponsor, it was hard to avoid this conversation. Though, I’m not sure why you would want to distance yourself from it. There’s innovation emerging in areas of sustainability that are fascinating to learn more about, and plenty was discussed in Austin. I did enjoy Rivian’s experiences and the opportunity to learn more about the work creative and R&D agency Are You Mad has been producing.
I also got to learn more about:
Theme 4: Differentiated customer experiences matter
Not only was this a SXSW theme, but it’s also surfaced in many other Q1 conversations. In an uncertain and evermore competitive market, differentiated customer experiences are at the forefront of people’s minds. Companies are thinking creatively about how to better serve their customers and how those approaches may be changing versus prior years.
I attended one panel at Inc. Founders House with Lyft’s CMO and the founder of Baked by Melissa, specifically targeting this topic. A lot got covered, but highlights include:
You must be obsessed with your customers beyond just getting them from Point A to Point B. There are a lot of factors at play in between.
Get immersed in the customer mindset and obsess about the “why.”
If you’re not listening, you’re missing.
Brands need to evolve just as customers will change over time.
Know thyself, and let your brand identity drive decisions.
As a smaller player, identify ways to punch above your weight.
In the end…
We’ll continue to see the ripple effects of attending this year’s SXSW, and I’m looking forward to further quantifying the impact in subsequent quarters. However, the early metrics and my gut tell me my initial hypothesis continues to prove accurate.