SXSW 2017: The wrap up

SXSW 2017: The wrap up

A techheads Disneyland, an investors paradise and go to for industry celebs, SXSW is a three-week festival in which a creative fever takes hold of Austin Texas. Music, Film and Interactive exhibitions are on display, and the people behind the products take centre stage. Sleep is limited, creative expression is everywhere and southern comfort food reigns supreme to fuel a never-ending line up of activities and parties that do their best to illustrate the cities slogan 'Keep Austin Weird'.

Whilst at SXSW don’t be surprised if you are stopped by strangers in the street to chat, or if you meet a new business partner whilst waiting in long coffee shop lines. Just by being there, you are generating serendipity, exposing yourself to the best in the business who assume that if you’re also at SXSW then you’ve got a business, story or experience worth sharing. In my experience, the networking is more valuable than any content you can hear or see – talks and panels can be replicated, subject matter experts can be contacted online. What you can’t easily replicate is personal exposure to the best in the business.

Given the value that tech talent brings to a start-up or tech company I noticed a real focus at this years SXSW on the future of work, recruitment, retention and employer branding. With skills shortages across the board in Digital and IT, employees expect higher salaries, more variety and purpose in their work. What’s an employer to do? Companies must accept a shift toward portfolio careers, and adapt to the fact that their project may not be an employee’s only priority. Companies will continue to work with the best tech recruiters, train recent uni grads and relocate international talent on work visas – but beyond these standard measures, most ‘future of work’ and recruitment talks at SXSW focused on the importance of building a powerful company brand and culture.

Highly intangible and eluded by most, a powerful company brand and culture will keep the very best tech talent loyal, invested and engaged despite poaching attempts from recruiters around the world. Developing an attractive employer brand is an exercise in marketing, but developing an employer culture is an investment in its people. As most industry specialists know, the most talented Digital specialists are fickle about where they work, passionate about what they produce and invaluable to the companies they work at. In a candidate's market employers must accept that social media, review sites like Glassdoor and an increasingly transient workforce mean the employment market is a two way sell. Time and again, the advice from panelists on competing for talent was clear - build a unique company culture that employees genuinely love being a part of, and if you don't know where to start look at Tech giants like Google and Facebook which win the war for talent with a culture of learning, collaboration and excellence.

Whilst there I was invited to join Austrade’s pitch competition in which 7 top hardware and software start ups battled it out for the Austrade Boomerang trophy. The coveted prize was taken out by Sydney start up EORA 3D, a precision 3D printer that can be powered by a standard smartphone. The company has already received some fairly impressive exposure, with John Biggs from Tech Crunch stating that "EORA 3D can capture the very soul of an object". Not bad for a company started a little over 3 years ago by two entrepreneurs in their early 20s. To wrap up Austrade's presence Simon Anquetil from Goodshift ventures, Nicola Watkinson from Austrade and myself spoke on about ‘Doing business in the Asia Pacific’. As a debuting presence we were pleased at the number of US business owners keen to launch in Australia. The missing piece for them seemed to be practical advice on visas, talent availability and information on city dynamics, which to me signals exciting times and investment ahead for the Australian tech industry - particularly if we can grow our presence at this and other tech conferences around the world.

Of course, a tech conference wouldn’t be complete without a product expo, and SXSW did not disappoint with multilevel displays of the latest and greatest tech gadgets and innovations. With plummeting hardware costs, improved user experiences and software sophistication it was clear that we are very close to integrating previously VR / AR headsets, iOT devices and 3D printers into our daily lives (again, check out EORA3D - At $319 the winner of the Austrade pitch comp is a steal). Everyone’s favorite product was a VR drumming kit which allowed kids to silently and cheaply learn to play the drums – a gift to any parents’ sanity, and something you can expect to see under Christmas trees later this year. Unsurprisingly, the hardware purchases are only the beginning as in app purchases and software upgrades keep games owner spending up. 

In all I couldn't speak highly enough about the value of attending - last year's conference gave me the inspiration to start Digital Talent Co. and this year's conference has formed some exciting partnerships that I cant wait to develop. These highlights only brush the surface of the SXSW experience, so if you have any questions or are keen to chat further then please don't hesitate to get in touch with me at [email protected]


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