The South by Southwest® (SXSW®) Conference & Festivals celebrate the convergence of the interactive, film, and music industries. Founded in 1987 in Austin, Texas, SXSW is best known for its conference and festivals that celebrate the convergence of the interactive, film, and music industries. The event features sessions, showcases, screenings, exhibitions, and a variety of networking opportunities.
SXSW proves that the most unexpected discoveries happen when diverse topics and people come together. And that includes the startup pitch event.
2018 SXSW Accelerator Pitch Event
SXSW Accelerator Pitch Event showcases innovative new technology to a panel of Judges and Emcees who are industry experts, high profiled media personal, as well as Venture Capitalists and angel investors.
Top 5 Reasons to Enter (as if you really need 5):
- Product validation by showcasing your project and startup on a global stage with the goal of matching each startup with top investors.
- Work on your elevator pitch via pre-event coaching. SXSW Accelerator Coaches work closely with the finalists to assist them in their onstage presentations.
- Over $4k in prize money awarded to the winners of each SXSW Accelerator Pitch Event category.
- Marketing for finalists on SXSW media channels and to the global media that attend the event.
- Access to the highest level of influencers from investors to media and thought leaders.
Eligibility requirements:
- The company’s product or service must have launched no earlier than March 10, 2016 and not after June 10, 2018.
- Each company may only enter one product or service
- Founders of the company applying must retain some portion of ownership in the company
- Each applicant is only eligible to present in one of the SXSW family of startup events (SXSW Accelerator Pitch Event, SXSW Release It, SXSW Launchedu). If you have applied for one of these events (other than SXSW Accelerator Pitch Event) and were not accepted to participate, please feel free to apply to the Accelerator Pitch
- The Company must not have raised over $10 million in funding from combined funding sources
Deadline
Application Deadline to apply is Friday, November 10th at 11:59pm CST.
5 Tips for Entry Success
- Meet the minimum – review the SXSW Accelerator Eligibility Criteria
- Showcase a startup that is innovative and disruptive
- Share a video – there’s no better way to convey a thorough sense of your project than through a demo video
- Showcase what makes you different in the market (i.e. What is your market differentiator? What is unique about your project? Why should people be excited about it?)
- Highlight key members from your team and/or those supporting your startup (Staff, Advisory Board, Board Members, Mentors, Funders, Accelerator and/or Incubator involvement, etc.)
