Headed to SXSW this year and hoping to make meaningful Houston tech and innovation connections and hear from thought leaders? Look no further than these key events and panels.
From meetups to fireside chats, here's everything you need to know about tapping into the Houston innovation ecosystem by way of the Austin festival.
Missing something? Shoot an email to natalie@innovationmap.com for event consideration.
Friday, March 11
ZenBusiness Startup Crawl
Capital Factory is bringing back its Startup Crawl. One hundred startups and partners set up tables to demo their products and talk to thousands of potential customers, investors, and employees who can be found walking from table to table with their beverage of choice. Grab a group of your friends, hit up the Public Lounge presented by Cisco, and find out what happens when the hottest startups come together at the same time and in the same place. The event begins at 5 pm. Click here to learn more.
Saturday, March 12
SXSW Pitch
The 14th annual SXSW Pitch will take place at the Hilton Austin Downtown on Saturday, March 12, and Sunday, March 13. A live audience, as well as a panel of expert judges, will discover advancements in various sectors of emerging technology. The best part – product demonstrations by the most ambitious talents in the world with the creative new ideas to change it. Catch a glimpse of the industry’s future, with a guided tour by our emcees and judges.
Houston-based Case CTRL will pitch within the Enterprise & Smart Data Technology category on Saturday at 11:30 am. For more information, click here.
Sunday, March 13
Houston House
The Greater Houston Partnership's Houston House begins Sunday at 10 am. The line-up of programming, which is available to badge holders at The Line Hotel, is as follows:
- 10 am: Funding the Next Generation of Diverse Founders — speakers include:
- Felix Chevalier, Co-Founder, Urban Capital Network
- Denise Hamilton, Work Futurist and CEO, WatchHerWork
- Jesse Martinez, Investment Partner/Venture Partner, Resolved Ventures/VamosVentures
- 11:30 am: Game Changers - The Rise of Sports Tech — speakers include:
- David Gow, CEO, Gow Media & SportsMap Tech Acquisition Corp.
- Chris Buckner, CEO, Mainline
- Lori Burgess, Chief Operating Officer, Beasley Esports
- Ashley Dewalt, Managing Director, DivInc
- 1 pm: The commercial Space Age is Here — speakers include:
- Dr. Douglas Terrier, Associate Director for Vision and Strategy, NASA’s Johnson Space Center
- R. Matthew Ondler, CTO, Axiom Space
- Timothy Crain, Chief Technology Officer, Intuitive Machines
- Arturo Machuca, Director, Ellington Airport and Houston Spaceport
- 2:30 pm: Accelerating Solutions in Medtech — speakers include:
- Joanna Nathan, Manager, New Ventures, Johnsons & Johnson Center for Device Innovation
- James Andrew Reinstein, President & CEO, Saranas Inc.
- Kevin Coker, President & CEO, Proxima
- 4 pm: Paradigm Shift - Breakthroughs in Cell Technology
- Jason Bock, VP, Biologics Development, MD Anderson
- Michael A Curran, Associate Professor / Founder, The UT MD Anderson Cancer Center / ImmunoGenesis, Inc.
- Larry Hope, New Ventures and Business Development, MD Anderson
- 5:30 pm: Networking reception
Founded in Texas
Project W, Artemis Fund, HearstLab, and Beam have teamed up at SXSW to present the second Founded in Texas, a showcase of female founders of seed stage B2B and B2B2C technology companies located in Texas. Founded in Texas will feature 12 founders selected by application and will be an opportunity for investors from across the country to get a glimpse of the innovation and creativity at work in the growing Texas startup ecosystem.
The event begins at 9 am at Relay Coworking (Springdale General) with investor feedback. A brunch follows at 11:30 am. For more information, click here.
SXSW Official 3D Printing Hangout
Houston-based re:3D invites you to celebrate the Texas 3D Printing community with some bomb brews and primo prints at the Draught House Pub & Brewery during SXSW. Connect with fellow 3D printing enthusiasts and innovators, and bring your 3D printers and 3D prints and share what you've been up to.
The event begins at noon and runs until 3 pm. Click here for more information.
Monday, March 14
Houston House
Monday is day two of the GHP's Houston House, and the programming also begins at 10 am for badge holders at The Line Hotel.
- 10 am: Funding the Global Energy Transition — speakers include:
- Hossam Elbadawy, Managing Director and Technology Partner, SCF Partners
- Shawn Cumberland, Managing Partner, EnCap Investments L.P.
- Grace Chan, Investment Associate, bp Ventures
- Vidisha Prasad, Managing Partner, Adya Partners
- 11:30 am: Dream Team - Corporates and Startups in Climatetech — speakers include:
- Andrea Course, Venture Principal, Shell Ventures
- Dale Winger, Managing Director, Halliburton Labs
- Michael Wheeler, Senior Investment Manager, Equinor Ventures
- Dawn James, Director, Global Industry Strategy- Energy & Sustainability, Microsoft Corp
- 1 pm: Tech Powering the Global Energy Transition — speakers include:
- Trevor Best, CEO, Syzygy Plasmonics
- Moji Karimi, CEO, Cemvita Factory Inc.
- Federico Marques, Founder & CEO, Moonflower Technologies
- Jane Stricker, SVP, Energy Transition, Executive Director Houston Energy Transition Initiative (HETI), Greater Houston Partnership
- 2:30 pm: Roadmap to an Equitable Energy Transition
- John Hall, President and CEO, Houston Advanced Research Center (HARC)
- Dana Harmon, Executive Advisor, Texas Energy Poverty Research Institute(TEPRI)
- Jane Stricker, SVP, Energy Transition, Executive Director Houston Energy Transition Initiative (HETI), Greater Houston Partnership
- 4 pm: Transition on Tap, hosted by Lara Cottingham, Chief of Staff, Greentown Labs
- 5:30 pm: Networking reception
Shell House at SXSW 2022
Shell House at SXSW activation in Antone’s in downtown Austin will share how business, government and society can collaborate to achieve net zero. Guests can sit in on talks, ask experts energy questions, relax in the Recharge & Refuel Lounge and participate in an interactive experience that highlights how decisions about home and travel can impact the US reaching net zero by 2050.
Some notable Houstonians involved in this activation include:
- Katie Mehnert, founder and CEO of ALLY Energy is moderating the "Wake Up Call: Women in Tech & Innovation" panel at 9:30 am on Monday.
- Sidd Gupta, CEO of Nesh, and Tim Marx, president of Topl and Venture Partner at Baird Capital, will join the panel "What I Wish I Had Known: The Start-Up’s Tale of Working with Big Companies" at 4 pm on Monday.
Baker Botts: How Innovation is Confronting Global Challenges
Join Baker Botts and several thought leaders for an afternoon discussing today’s emerging & disruptive technologies and the current investment landscape at our third annual SXSW event. The fireside chat begins at 3 pm, with a panel discussion at 4 pm. The event wraps up with a networking reception at 5 pm. A badge is not required to attend.
The event will be at Hotel Van Zandt (605 Davis St.) For more information, click here.
Tuesday, March 15
Shell House at SXSW 2022
Shell House continues at Antone's Tuesday. Some must-see Houston innovators include:
- Lara Cottingham, chief of staff at Greentown Labs, and Siddhartha Sachdeva, founder & CEO of Innowatts will be on the "Net-Zero Heroes: How Entrepreneurs Will Lead the Way in Decarbonization" panel.
Meet Houston's Top Tech Founders
Want to know how Houston is setting itself up to be the next hub for tech innovation? This networking event will shine a spotlight on the amazing innovation coming out of Houston by bringing in a number of founders from Houston's fastest-growing startups together with several great VCs around the nation to participate in a joint conversation about founding tech startups.
The event will take place at 11:30 am to 12:30 pm at Hilton Austin Downtown, Room 408. The meetup is hosted by Sandy Guitar, managing director of HX Venture Fund, and Trevor Best, CEO of Syzygy Plasmonics. Click here for more information.