SxSW Interactive Wrap-Up and Why Most Startups are DOA
Mar 18 2012
My 2012 SXSW Interactive experience this past week was very low key. No badge. A few days. A few parties. All productive. Great networking for my consulting business where I’m focusing on operations and partner/client management projects. I was home by a reasonable hour every evening.
I’ve had dozens of meetings scheduled since then, met people I haven’t seen in a while, and I’m helping organize a reunion for the B2C (business-to-consumer) and Web CEO groups I was a part of when I was working on Babble Soft. Many of us are in transition times like I am, which is par for the proverbial entrepreneurial course. I really enjoy networking and connecting people to each other. I even made some almost random connections for the very cool 1 Semester Startup team I’m mentoring called beDJ. If only I could charge big bucks to do that. 🙂
I have seen so many start up companies with big dreams of launching at SXSW interactive. Most of them make a big splash and then you don’t hear from them again. I thought this post on TechCrunch the other day was very well timed: Why Entrepreneurs Fail And Most Startups Are DOA. Entrepreneurship (especially in technology) is not for the feint of heart. It’s mostly for the insane, stupid, independently wealthy, ones with extremely supportive spouses/pets/friends, ones who are calculated risk takers who can rebound quickly from mistakes and failure.
Much of Austin seems to be learning there IS life right along with SXSWi. And…this was also the year valet parking became one of my own favorite crowd-work-arounds.
I joined the relational and conversational camp for this 2012 version myself. That automatically meant I had the opportunity to thoroughly enjoy the equally gratifying and tandem life-lane all SXSWi week.
Partly that was due to the consistent 5-7pm presence of the Entrepreneur Lounge atop Fogo de Chão. That was sponsored by City of Austin Emerging Technologies through Eve Richter’s fab efforts.
Best of all has been emerging from the experience rested and eager for the rest of what can now happen in March in Austin. Like you, marvelous options were sparked by a truly relational 2012 SXSWi experience since the focus was on the people and the conversations for me moreso than what was on a/the stage.
Hi Sherry – Thanks for the thoughtful comment! I was at the Entrepreneur’s Lounge 3 nights. I hope to make it to a couple of RISE events that are coming up soon. I hope our paths cross again soon.