South by Southwest kicks off March 8, and the Twitter sphere is already abuzz with all things #SXSW. As expected, a number of Portland startups are preparing to head down into the chaos, including Janrain, Cloudability, Esri (panelist), Jama Software, and Little Bird (panelist), as well as friends of Upstart Labs like Urban Airship (panelist), PIE, and Silicon Florist. We’re sure there are a ton of other Portland-area attendees, too.
In the midst of a week of non-stop events, Carolynn Duncan of Portland Ten is running a Shark Tank event at Startup America’s “A Celebration of American Startups” event on Saturday. The party will celebrate America’s startups for their entrepreneurial spirit and is expected to have about 3,000 startups in attendance.
We don’t think there’s a better celebration Portland-area startups – and frankly, startups everywhere – could have. It’s a thrilling time to be an entrepreneur, and the spirit is definitely alive. We won’t be in Austin, but will be doing a virtual cheers to each of you on Saturday. From one startup to another – go team!
If you’re headed to SXSW, here’s a list of startup-related panels to put on your radar:
Friday, March 8
2-3 pm, Getting Started with Angel Investing
5-6 pm, Show Me The Money: Where to Find Funding
Saturday, March 9
7:30-11 pm, A Celebration of America’s Startups
Sunday, March 10
11 am-12 pm, Starting Up: From Founding to Funding
Tuesday, March 12
11 am-12 pm, Not All Startup Accelerators Are Created Equal