The much anticipated SXSW is nearly here. Every year, the brightest minds in emerging technology gather for five days and the tech/social media community waits with bated breath to see which company(ies) will be the “Twitter of SXSW this year.”
As we enter SXSW this year, it’s always fun to look back and some of the most notable success stories from past years. Easily the most well known success story is Twitter. In 2007, SXSW was pivotal for the startup. Although, contrary to popular belief, Twitter did not launch at SXSW (it launched nine months before), but their presence at the conference and marketing tactics helped them gain momentum, ultimately setting them up for the success they’ve seen in the years since. Looking back, at the time it was the best thing I had ever seen to find out where the best SXSW party was happening!
Foursquare is another well known SXSW success story that comes to mind. The new location-based social network picked up about 76,000 new users during SXSW 2009. People checked in more than a million times and the company grew 10% during the conference. Gowalla, another location-based app, launched the same year and also saw growth as a result of the conference.
SXSW Accelerator, a two-day competition started at SXSW 2009 in which selected startups pitch to a panel of VC and angel investor judges for a grand prize of a “most innovative” title, has also been a place of great success for startups looking to raise funds and create brand awareness. GameSalad participated in the Accelerator in 2009 and attributes more than $1 million in investments to SXSW Accelerator.
That’s only a few of the SXSW success stories – what good ones did we miss? What are you looking forward to seeing this year at SXSWi? Predictions on the next hot launch?
We hope to see you there! Also, come and see us speak on, “Social Capital: The Billion Dollar Digital Future,” a panel not to be missed, taking place on Monday, March 14 at 12.30 p.m.
And keep up with Visible’s SXSW activity on Twitter (@visible_tech).
