South by Southwest 2023: Why You Can’t Miss it!

South by Southwest isn’t just a music and film festival—it’s a tech professionals’ playground! 

The annual festival offers events and activities for a wide range of industries, including keynote presentations, panel discussions, workshops, showcases, and screenings. 

 Moreover, SXSW is known for its innovative approach to technology and interactive media. It offers a platform for startups and entrepreneurs to showcase their ideas, and it’s a great place to get a peek at new technologies and emerging trends. This year’s featured speakers list includes expert in spatial computing and digital worlds Co-Founder and CEO of VNTANA Ashley Crowder who will be touching upon “Building a Sustainable Economy in the Metaverse.” 

 In this blog post, we’ll look at five reasons why tech professionals need to visit South by Southwest in 2023 to advance their careers and business! 

‍What is South by Southwest Austin? 

 South by Southwest, also called South By or shortened to SXSW, is an arts festival, business expo, and conference that takes place every March in Austin, Texas.  

 The festival brings together businesses and artists to celebrate the best of technology, education, music, film, gaming, comedy, and culture. According to SXSW’s 2022 Event Statistics over 280,000 people come to see exhibits, network with industry peers, and enjoy a jam-packed schedule of events over the course of almost two weeks.  

 Part of a main one in the list of Austin events, South Bys panels and presentations offer something for everyone. This year, “actors Guillermo Diaz and Katie Lowes, stars of the hit ABC series Scandal [will] discuss their new Shondaland Audio and iHeartPodcasts rewatch podcast Unpacking the Toolbox” while “filmmaker and second female director in the history of Cannes Film Festival to receive the Palme Julia Ducournau” will also be present. United States Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm, for instance, will also be making an appearance as speaker.  

 This leading tech gathering provides attendees an opportunity to discover the latest trends in their field as well as build valuable relationships. South By features plenty of fun activities too, including parties hosted by brands, comedy and music festivals, meet-and-greets with celebrities and entrepreneurs, and multiple interactive exhibits, both in person and online.  

 Why tech professionals need to attend SXSW 2023 

1. Discover business opportunities 

 Tech professionals looking to advance their career or business should make every effort to attend South by Southwest 2023. According to the SXSW 2022 demographics report, 50% of last year’s attendees were there to uncover new and exciting business prospects. Add 24,699 companies showcased and hundreds of networking events, and you have an ideal place to connect with other businesses and industry professionals. The top industries represented include computer technology, marketing and advertising, education, and health and wellness. With people anywhere from a director standpoint to C-levels and general managers to producers, senior, VPs, editors, people in media, and PR, there are lots of opportunities to uncover. 

 Attending SXSW 2023 can provide small business owners access to valuable contacts and insights for growth, as 29% of companies represented are small businesses (company size 250 or under)! 

2. Career development 

 South by Southwest is an excellent place to develop your career and expand your network as the head of a tech department. Every year, professionals across 20 industries, including general managers and recruiters, attend to find talent. South By always offers a plethora of panels and events that focus on networking and career development. Many companies use the festival to headhunt potential executives, managers, and other leadership roles, so going to panels and making connections is a great way to be noticed. Whether you attend in person or online, SXSW 2023 might very well be the place you find your next career or job role! 

3. Connect with current clients or partners 

 In addition to making new connections, South By is the perfect place for companies to meet with current clients and partners and strengthen their relationships. Email and social media are great, but there’s nothing like connecting in person! Not to mention that with all the tech industry heavy hitters present, establishing yourself and your brand in the room helps you stand out while prospecting, selling, or collaborating later. To maximize these opportunities, take advantage of available meeting rooms, private events such as cocktail receptions, sending personal invites via LinkedIn, or heading out for business meals and drinks.  

4. Launch new products or services 

 Last but not least, South by Southwest is a platform for launching new products. Futurist Amy Webb will be launching the 2023 Emerging Tech Trend Report while “Instagram co-founder Kevin Systrom is launching a ‘text-based’ news app to rival Twitter and tackle misinformation.” Use the different events to hold your own pop-up store where customers can try your offering live, or sponsor events to gain more exposure for your product or service. Pitch parties are also great opportunities to find investors who can help give your product liftoff; invite influencers or celebrities to your event for publicity; talk up your idea to the right media or press outlets and you may come away with some invaluable contacts and good PR! 

 Why Nearsure is attending SXSW 2023 

 Our CEO Giuliana Corbo, along with a few of our C-level executives, will be attending South by Southwest in Austin 2023 to bring southwest attendees a valuable option of nearshoring solutions with a shared timezone and cultural affinity. Nearsure is proud to showcase and represent Latin American-based software developers at this venue.  

 As an IT staffing company that helps North American companies build and scale their technical teams with remote Latin American talent, we want to show what incredible talent our community has to offer, partner up with like-minded individuals, and keep helping companies boost their time-to-market and other opportunities with considerable, easy, and cost-effective solutions for their growth.  

‍We can’t wait to meet you! 

 Come talk to us! When is South By Southwest? The SXSW 2023 dates are Fri, Mar 10, 2023 – Sun, Mar 19, 2023. We’ll be ready to talk all things software development, remote work, Latin American tech talent, and more. 

 Also, stay tuned for our event highlights. We’ll share our experience at SXSW, what we did, what we learned, and behind-the-scenes pictures!