What’s it like to make the star-crossed trek from the North by Northwest startup crossroads of Seattle, Wa., to SxSW, South by Southwest, in Austin, TX, and the epicenter of new talent showcases — from movies to music to interactive multimedia?
Ask Tom Leung, now a “veteran” (Tom calls it “mid-life”) Seattle entrepreneur. Having recently invented Yabbly with partners Ian Shafer and Steven Neuman, a community-based product reviews and recommendation service, there was really only one path that led from Seattle startup incubation to SxSW 2013 Accelerator stardom, and it lead to the modern equivalent of a marathon TV Game Show called SXSW 2013 Fast Pitch.
Tom and company weren’t alone among the road crew of Seattle emigrees. ” At this year’s South-by, he ran into fellow Northwest startups like Nick from LikeBright (thx to the LB team for all the crowd support in the finals) and Kevin from DiscoveryJar and also was delighted to run into Julie from Madrona, ( “Maybe we’ll create a NW SXSW Alumni Club,” Tom mused) right before he stepped on the brightly lit stage.”
Stage? But, of course. Tom and partners had not crammed to perfect the penultimate 2-minute pitch, followed by 5 responsive, persuasive minutes of Q&A, simply to endure the exquisite torture of Austin barbecue hot sauce. The goal was to walk away with the ultimate prize, a first place finish and the adulation of Mashable, MSNBC and Forbes.
“Luck” being the combination of opportunity and preparedness, the Yabbler trio were about to ascend to the SxSW pantheon. Even after losing his voice, Tom summoned an inner spirit to scale the first round and be named among the Top 3 in their category (Social). The prize? The right to deliver a 5-minute pitch plus 10 minutes of Q&A. [24×7]
Fortunately, Leung had already one of the lessons of SxSW. “If you’re not in a multi-day pitch competition, have a blast but pace yourself. SxSW overflows with parties, presentations, workshops, competitions, etc. to watch and schmooze. My main advice on this front is don’t book back to back sessions. You often need to show up early to get a seat, some events are 15 minute walks apart, and there’s just too much stuff to try and cram in without alloting time to decompress, network, and not run from one session to the next.”
A couple of practical SxSW tips. Book a hotel, way ahead of time. Places fill up incredibly fast. The Hilton in downtown Austin is like a nerve center and the Seattle trio rated it highly.
Get an extended battery case. “This place will suck your phone down because you’ll be constantly tweeting, following, researching, mapping, schedule checking, emailing, downloading, etc. I used the Mophie and was pleased — I only went down close to zero on the main battery once since I was always recharging (thanks to advice from Ben Huh) but having the Mophie ready to engage was a nice safety net.”
Finally, if you’re considering any new product purchases for the trip, always remember: before you buy, Yabblify!
Tom’s final SXSW realization — Yeah, this “feels like it’s worth doing in your first year but I wouldn’t want to do too many of these for fear of optimizing the company for pitch competitions versus just killing our KPI’s.”
Maybe Yabbly will look to the Seattle Interactive Conference, the Puget Sounds’s NxNW, and make it a less arduous trip. [24×7]
