This week, inspired by Texas State’s very own Digital Media Entrepreneurship Speaker Series, we’re calling all makers, builders, creators and founders.
SXSW, in all its iterations, has always embodied the entrepreneurial spirit and celebrated the self-starter. As comfort with digital intricacies becomes less a technologist trait and more an essential business skill, digital entrepreneurship has come to encompass an amazing scope of abilities and creations.
Entrepreneurs in all fields are now not only inventing some of our favorite gadgets but taking on some of the most fundamental social and societal problems plaguing the 21st century.
Here are our Top 5 panels for entrepreneurs, those who admire them and those who aspire to become them.
21st Century Social Entrepreneurship and Policy
Monday, March 16
5:00PM – 6:00PM
Austin Convention Center
Room 5ABC
Austin Convention Center
This panel focuses on the ability of today’s entrepreneurs to effect social change and catalyze long-term improvements in their communities.
The conversation centers not just on these social entrepreneurs but on the government policies that encourage and support them.
Elizabeth Gore
United Nations Foundation
Michael Young
Dell
Is It Finally the Age of the Woman Entrepreneur?
Sunday, March 15
4:15PM – 4:30PM
Austin Convention Center
Ballroom B
Austin Convention Center
While men still outnumber women in STEM fields and the ubiquitous white male founder might still be the face of the startup culture – the numbers are changing. Whether the number of women-owned firms to be valued at $10 million or more, or the amount women entrepreneurs received in funding last year, dramatic increases are being seen across the board.
In this panel, Jane Park, CEO and Founder of Julep Beauty Inc., the fastest growing beauty brand in the country today, will share how she used technology to build her brand empire.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUQP98AoRaQ&t=10
Young Millennials: Entrepreneurship for A New Era
Saturday, March 14
3:30PM – 4:30PM
Hilton Austin Downtown
Austin Chamber Offices
500 E 4th St
Millennials are now the largest demographic in the country. While many of them are still young enough that the idea of them founding their own company seems unbelievable, these young entrepreneurs aren’t letting anything hold them back.
The panel will be a conversation between two successful millennial founders on the experience of building a business at such a young age. They will share what helped them in their success as well as the difficult decisions and obstacles they faced on the way.
Nick Arnett
The Thiel Foundation
Patrick Stoddart
Phone2Action
The Six Skills of Extraordinary Entrepreneurs
Saturday, March 14
10:30AM – 10:50AM
Austin Convention Center
Ballroom G
Austin Convention Center
Amy Wilkinson, author of The Creator’s Code, interviewed hundreds of successful entrepreneurs to find out what essential things they had in common that enabled their achievements.
In this panel she shares her findings from these interviews. Wilkinson tells us that what advanced these creators’ ideas wasn’t innate ability but learned behavior.
Here we have the chance to learn practicable steps toward success from some of the industry’s leaders.
Inspiring Entrepreneurs: Build a Startup Community
Sunday, March 15
11:00AM – 12:00PM
Hilton Austin Downtown
Salon B
500 E 4th St
As startup culture overflows Silicon Valley and seeks new outlets for expression, several cities are stepping up to fill the void. New York City’s startup scene has blossomed in response, building a vibrant and robust culture that can only be expected from the arts capital.
But fostering that momentum is a vital mission. Stepping up to the plate is New York University, which in 2012 revealed its Entrepreneurial Institute. The mission was for a, “university-wide initiative to accelerate the pace of technology commercialization and the launch of successful startups founded by NYU’s 60,000 students, faculty and researchers.”
Lindsey Gray, Director of the Institute, will speak to the various strategies that have been implemented, both at the university and community-wide.
