Support Your Fellow Entrepreneurs, Vote in SXSW 2020 Panel Pickers!
The famous South by Southwest Conference & Festival, otherwise known as SXSW, celebrates the convergence of the interactive, film and music industries. This past month, SXSW called on the community to enter proposals for conference sessions at all SXSW 2020 events— and so the buzz begins. We’re proud to share that our members, startups, entrepreneurs and Innovation Council partners submitted a total of 21 proposals to the SXSW PanelPicker this year!
Now is the time to show your support for the innovative and creative thinkers we are lucky to work with at Capital Factory. With your help, they’ll get the opportunity to present their ideas through educational panels, presentations and workshops for attendees to discover at SXSW 2020.
Take a few minutes to learn more about each panel below and VOTE TODAY! Deadline to vote is August 23.
BATTLE FOR VALUE: NATIONAL VS ONLINE MARKETS
SXSW EDU | Track: Policy & Civic Engagement
Speakers:
Richard Garrett, Eduventures Chief Research Officer at ACT | NRCCUA
The Pitch:
Does the future favor national or local online markets? Which strategy — local, national, or both — is in the best interests of different types of schools and students? Should policymakers and taxpayers care? The answers will either reinforce institutional locations and identities as we know them, or advance a completely different relationship between institution, student and place.
THE NEW NEW NORMAL: TRAD. & WORKING ADULT LEARNERS
SXSW EDU | Track: Higher Education
Speakers:
Howard Lurie, Eduventures Principal Analyst at ACT | NRCCUA
The Pitch:
Seldom do schools have a moment to compare two fundamental audiences of potential students: traditional, first-time students and working adult learners. This session will utilize Eduventures’ traditional and adult learner demand studies to highlight the distinct, but in some cases overlapping, behavioral mindsets of prospective students. We’ll compare how schools can effectively diversify their marketing, recruit successfully and provide support services.
BRAND MATTERS: RELATIONSHIP B/W STUDENTS & SCHOOL
SXSW EDU | Track: Business & Investment
Speakers:
Kim Reid, Eduventures Principal Analyst at ACT | NRCCUA
The Pitch:
Prospective students are the leading edge of your brand; the students you recruit today represent your brand tomorrow. This means that successful recruiting not only fills your class, it also contributes to grass roots brand-building for your institution. This session will answer how you can use data to better understand what kinds of students are in your market and how these students think about the institutions they are considering.
AVOID TECH PINGPONG: FINDING YOUR PLACE IN EDTECH
SXSW EDU | Track: Higher Education
Speakers:
James Wiley, Eduventures Principal Analyst for Technology at ACT | NRCCUA
The Pitch:
In EdTech, companies make conflicting claims about their products. They have overlapping functionality and it is not clear what different product types mean. For institutions, deciding which tech solutions are the best fit can be hard. In this session, we will walk through the 2019 Landscape and our method of inclusion/classification. We will cover changes to this Landscape and present findings on which segments of EdTech are under the greatest pressure to change, and which are likely to have growth in 2019.
WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM’S HEALTHCARE PLATFORM
SXSW Conference | Track: Tech Industry & Enterprise
Speakers:
Chris Moose, Partner at Life Sciences and Healthcare IBM
Vanessa Candeias, Head of Global Health and Healthcare; Member of the Executive Committee at the World Economic Forum
Katherine Franz, Executive Director of Axia Institute at Michigan State University
Robert Dribbon, Business Development and Strategy of US Commercial Model Innovation at McKesson
The Pitch:
The World Economic Forum is convening companies across healthcare and technology to create an industry neutral data sharing platform. This panel discussion will outline the initiative announced earlier this year at Davos with participating companies explaining their roles and how, together, public-private partnerships are essential to changing health outcomes globally.
FDA BLOCKCHAIN PILOT — WHAT FIVE COMPANIES LEARNED
SXSW Conference | Track: Tech Industry & Enterprise
Speakers:
Abigail Sirus, Senior Blockchain Consultant at IBM
Robert Dribbon, Business Development and Strategy of US Commercial Model Innovation at McKesson
Joseph Lipari, Director of Cloud Products at Systech
The Pitch:
Merck, Wal-Mart, IBM, KPMG and Systech participated in two pilots with the FDA to examine how blockchain technology could secure our pharmaceutical supply chain. This session will cover results from those pilots and show how this capability is turning into a platform for other innovation.
BLOCKCHAIN PLATFORMS AND THE FUTURE OF HEALTHCARE
SXSW Conference | Track: Health & MedTech
Speakers:
Mark Treshock, Global Blockchain Leader for Healthcare at IBM
Vanessa Candeias, Head of Health and Healthcare and Member of Executive Committee at World Economic Forum
The Pitch:
Blockchains and platforms are interesting concepts on their own, but when merged they have the potential to alter healthcare. Through the right data sharing, governance and public-private partnerships— we can escape healthcare’s historically unsuccessful “fix via mandate” approach, pivoting to a patient-centered, just, healthcare system. Why are blockchains and platforms both necessary in healthcare?
DATA QUALITY IN DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION
SXSW Conference | Track: Tech Industry & Enterprise
Speakers:
Gustavo Sanchez, Co-Founder of Pandata Tech
The Pitch:
80% of digital projects are being hampered by data quality — deployed AI and ML are highly dependent on the quality of data that is fed to them. This panel will show how having a validation pipeline can reduce costs and increase insight while making digital transformation faster.
CONTEXTUAL AI AND THE ENTERPRISE: WAY BEYOND DATA
SXSW Conference | Track: Tech Industry & Enterprise
Speakers:
Tony Nash, CEO and Founder of Complete Intelligence
Cas Milner, Advisor at Capital Factory
Ramchand Raman, VP of Product Development at Oracle
Austin Kimson, Co-founder and Senior Economist at Bain & Company
The Pitch:
While business people can’t possibly process the large and complex data sets necessary to operate in dynamic global supply chains and markets, they do have a better understanding of the operating context than machines. Yet, many current Artificial Intelligence agents — despite being able to process complex data sets — are missing contextual reasoning capabilities. Join us as we discuss how AI is moving toward both cognitive automation and contextual intelligence.
FEMTECH: WHAT IS IT AND WHY WE NEED IT
SXSW Conference | Track: Health & MedTech
Speakers:
Brittany Barreto, PhD., Venture Associate at Capital Factory
Nicole Dahlstrom, Founder of Femtech Collective
Justyn Hintze, Director at Women Who Tech
Christine Lemke, Co-founder and President at Evidation Health
The Pitch:
Panel discussion with experts in the field of FemTech to discuss the industry in depth. Panelists will discuss how the field of technology is enhancing women’s health and wellness. This diverse sector ranges from medical devices for the uterus to sex toys that actually please women — as well as strategies for founders in raising capital and marketing to the public.
WHY ISN’T FEMTECH BEING FUNDED?
SXSW Conference | Track: Health & MedTech
Speakers:
Brittany Barreto, PhD., Venture Associate at Capital Factory
Nicole Durham, Founder of Femtech Collective
Justyn Hintze, Director at Women Who Tech
Christine Lemke, Co-founder and President at Evidation Health
The Pitch:
Panel discussion with experts, investors and founders in the Femtech industry. Panelists will discuss the difficulties and stigmas within the industry’s investment scene.
FUNDRAISING IN THE SOUTH AS A FEMALE FOUNDER
SXSW Conference | Track: Startups
Speakers:
Brittany Barreto, PhD., Venture Associate at Capital Factory
Natalie Goodman, CEO at Incentifind
Lori-Lee Elliot, Founder and CEO at FutureSight AR
Carolyn Rodz, Founder and CEO at HelloAlice
The Pitch:
Panelists will discuss the current fundraising culture of the south and the mindset needed when investing in tech ventures. The panel will also cover common bias and struggles for female founders and how to overcome them. This panel is to discuss the difficulties female founders may face when fundraising in the south, and how to shift the current culture to be more inclusive for all.
WHY MORE SCIENTISTS SHOULD BE ENTREPRENEURS
SXSW Conference | Track: Startups
Speakers:
Brittany Barreto, PhD., Venture Associate at Capital Factory
Emily Reiser, PhD., Innovation Strategist at TMCx
Sarah Hein, PhD., Cofounder and Director at Courier Therapeutics
Kedar Karkare, PhD., Executive Director at Enventure
The Pitch:
From committee meetings to board meetings, this panel discusses the similarities between scientists and entrepreneurs. Attendees will learn from our panel of scientists-turned-entrepreneurs on how PhD’s are master problem solvers built for the startup world, and why more should be involved in the community.
BALANCING MENTAL WELLNESS WHILE BUILDING A STARTUP
SXSW Conference | Track: Startups
Speakers:
Brittany Barreto, PhD., Venture Associate at Capital Factory
Sahar Paz, Founder & CEO at Own Your Voice Strategy Firm
The Pitch:
We’re told to grind, not sleep, not eat and just work 20 hour days. This type of unhealthy work ethic is praised and expected. But is it sustainable? How long can someone last living like this while under incredible pressure? Let’s dive into the idea of ‘balance’, destigmatizing mental illness as a founder and how we can promote self care. Hear the real stories on health issues of founders as they sacrificed their bodies in order to appease the entrepreneur community that expected inhuman-like work efforts. You will also hear about how they reclaimed their health and were still successful at running their company.
INVESTING IN INNOVATION THROUGH CREATIVITY
SXSW Conference | Track: Startups
Speakers:
Joshua Baer, Founder and CEO at Capital Factory
Jan Ryan, Executive Director of Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the University of Texas
The Pitch:
In this panel, we feature an array of entrepreneurs, creative professionals and investors in the creative space. These individuals come from different areas of expertise, but they all share one thing in common: investing in creativity. Our panel hopes to give viewers a behind the scenes look at some of your favorite artistic experiences and explain both the importance and thought process behind investing in the arts. Creativity stimulates innovation across all fields. This panel will help people understand the crucial link between creativity and entrepreneurship. Possible topics may include: Investing in documentaries, music, fine art and new media.
THE FUTURE OF WORK POWERED BY COGNITIVE ECOSYSTEM
SXSW Conference | Track: Tech Industry & Enterprise
Speakers:
Amy Chang, VP/GM of Collaboration at Cisco
Sid Bhatia, Workforce of the Future Director at PWC
Angela Yu, Developer Relations at Google
Nicole Jubie, Digital Workplace at Expedia
The Pitch:
Millennials will encompass 75% of the workforce by 2025, and they will expect great human experiences with buildings in real time. Companies around the world are looking for ways to recruit and retain talent. The shift to focus on productivity and smart buildings presents significant challenges — how to integrate to existing Enterprise technologies and also leverage the best of breed technology while having them all work together.
How can we come together as an industry and make technology seamless to the end user? What Proptech trends can be anticipated over the next 5–10 years? Moderator Josh Reola of Cisco Webex will facilitate a discussion about this new era of workplace transformation with leaders from PWC, Expedia and Google.
FAKING IT IN TECH
SXSW Conference | Track: Tech Industry & Enterprise
Speakers:
Maryann Alspaugh, Programs Manager at Capital Factory
The Pitch:
How did it get here? Maryann often wondered as she sat in yet another workshop about {insert tech term here}: venture capital, blockchain, cybersecurity and so on and on. She often thought, “Do I belong here? I am lucky to be in the room where so many intelligent people who are trying to change the world.” In this short talk, Maryann will tell her story of how she found herself in the company of the most successful entrepreneurs and investors in Texas.
UNDERSTANDING THE COMING SECURITY TOKEN TSUNAMI
SXSW Conference | Track: Fantastic Future
Speakers:
David Aktary, CEO, ERC dEX
The Pitch:
Most people will agree that the killer application of blockchain technology is finance but, while Bitcoin continues to struggle to gain mainstream adoption as a currency, the trillion-dollar opportunity that is barreling down on us — whether we like it or not — is tokenized securities. We got a preview of this with the ICO craze of 2017/2018 that ended with the ensuing regulatory clampdown worldwide. However, the forces that drive capitalist economies have now seen the ease with which liquidity can be found using blockchain, and there is no putting that genie back in the bottle. Securities like stocks and bonds are coming to the blockchain en masse. This talk will prepare you to understand how and why it’s going to happen, and how you can prepare.
HOW TO WIN THE WAR FOR TALENT IN THE DIGITAL AGE
SXSW Conference | Track: Workplace
Speakers:
Sri Srinivasan, SVP and General Manager for Cisco Team Collaboration Group at Cisco Systems
The Pitch:
In today’s hyper-competitive market for the best talent, the old hiring processes won’t cut it— companies need to leverage the digital age to hire smart and fast in order to keep innovating and retain competitive advantage. Cisco learned that using collaboration technology throughout the hiring process provides a crucial edge:
-Connecting with candidates over video allows both parties to connect on a deeper level and convey emotion and enthusiasm.
-It speeds up the process with the ability to share forms, offers and other information— creating an open group dialogue instead of cold emails that could get delayed replies.
-It’s allowed Cisco to access a much larger, global talent pool without the expense, delay and inconvenience of having to fly candidates out for interviews.
RETAINING CULTURE IN THE AGE OF REMOTE WORKING
SXSW Conference | Track: Workplace
Speakers:
Lorrissa Horton, General Manager of WebEx Teams at Cisco Systems
The Pitch:
While it’s commonplace today, Cisco was a pioneer in remote working over a decade ago, and maintains that flexibility for its staff today. Teams are spread all over the globe, yet connect and work together successfully through collaboration technology. It’s also something that a younger workforce has come to expect, and it impacts their decision on where to work. While this has been great for Cisco for a number of important reasons, such as access to a global talent base, attracting and retaining talent, improving staff productivity and reducing facility overheads, it has an obvious impact on the ability to create and maintain a company culture. How do you keep a positive and consistent culture across different teams, located in different countries at a scale of such a large organization?
CREATING VALUE FROM THE WORKFORCE OF THE FUTURE
SXSW Conference | Track: Workplace
Speakers:
Aruna Ravichandran, VP of Global Marketing & CMO of Collaboration at Cisco Systems
The Pitch:
As even more elements of the world are transitioning into the digital sphere, the pace of digitization continues to astonish us. Digitization and advances in communication and collaboration technology are now driving fundamental shifts in the way people work; not seen since the last industrial revolution with the introduction of personal computers. The next 5–10 years will see businesses striving to capitalize on the opportunities presented by these shifts, while mitigating the challenges, in order to derive business value in an ever-increasing competitive landscape.
