SXSW 2023

By Maggie Gaynor
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Earlier this month I was able to attend SXSW 2023 with CALLEN for the panel Bijan Mustardson & the Future of NIL. The experience of pitching, coordinating, and staffing the panel was unlike anything I had done before. It was fast-paced, challenging, and sometimes a little stressful, but ultimately, organizing this panel was my favorite professional experience thus far.

Here’s what I learned:

1. Save everyone’s cell phone number. As we prepared for the panel, I was so focused on the questions and logistics leading up to the day, it would have been easy to forget about the day of communications. Having the numbers of everyone involved with the panel allowed us to coordinate last-minute details easily. The same goes for business meetings or any other plans you have while you are there. If you are meeting with people you typically communicate with via email, I recommend making sure texting is an option as well. 

2. Get familiar with where you are going. If you are the organizer of an event, I would recommend walking around the area of the event ahead of time, for me, it was the Austin Convention Center. On the day of the panel, I found myself leading a crowd of twenty people from a hotel to the convention center, so I'm glad I had done the walk ahead of time and knew where I was going. 

3. Remember the names of the people you emailed with. Find them and say hello. Thank them for their work on the event, and take a minute for each of you to connect a face with the name. Now if you ever cross paths again, you have an established connection. 

4. You don’t have to connect with everyone you meet. If you are a young woman at SXSW, a handful of men will probably approach you with details about a start up they are working on, eager for a chance to explain terms you already know the meaning of. This is your greenlight to walk away from those conversations. Not every connection is meaningful and it's okay to politely excuse yourself from conversations that aren’t fruitful. Look for people who you can have a thoughtful conversation with, because there are lots of them!

5. Showcase your experiences. If you are anything like me, you cringe at the thought of asking someone to take your picture – but my advice, just this once, is to get over that. If you are at an event you worked hard on, or were excited to attend, you should document it and be ready to talk about it!

*Bonus tip: Wear comfortable shoes. There’s a lot of walking, so anything that makes your feet hurt after 15 minutes of standing should stay at home.