SXSW Day 3: Scenes From the Tradeshow

See Philly startups in the spotlight.
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Mayor Kenney at the 2017 SXSW Social Hub testing Jefferson University's 3D printed hands.

Mayor Kenney at the 2017 SXSW Social Hub testing Jefferson University’s 3D printed hands.

It’s the morning of March 12th and the 1800 block of the Austin Convention Center is buzzing with activity as 15 startups from Philadelphia put the final touches on their SXSW trade show displays. As the doors open, a tangible energy runs through the Amplify Philly camp.

“The Philly presence is extremely encouraging,” said Elisa Stasi, director of alumni events at Temple University. “Our community is really lifting each other up this year.”

The Amplify Philly team barely had any downtime with the steady stream of attendees stopping by to see what Philadelphia has to offer. The team was exited to also have Mayor Kenney stop by the tradeshow to check out Philly’s presence this year.

“The past few days at SXSW have been a great experience, and seeing our companies at the trade show was the perfect way to end the trip,” said Kenney. “I was able to connect with them one-on-one to learn more about why they are here as part of Amplify Philly, and it was clear that they all share my passion for our city.”

And the startups exhibiting valued his presence, too. “You wouldn’t expect to need to go to a trade show to meet your own mayor but the truth is with so many tech and business interests vying for his attention, it was an invaluable opportunity,” said StratIS CEO Felicite Moorman.

The Amplify Philly team was also welcomed City Councilman Allan Domb to the tradeshow. “It was great having the councilman at SXSW because he got to see the latest and greatest in what technology the world has to offer while representing Philly in the process,” said ROAR4Good product dev Mahmoud Mustafa.

During his stay, Councilman Domb also visited Austin’s Capital Factory to explore what Austin is doing to support their booming tech ecosystem.

Here are some more scenes from the first day of the tradeshow:

https://twitter.com/BonKu/status/840937213156286464

Alex Keat of Canary Compliance and Chariot Solutions CMO Tracey Welson Rossman chat with Mayor Kenney.

Here are other highlights from Philly’s third day in Austin:

  • The Comcast social media lounge brought together a panel of Philly innovators to talk tech and innovation on the east coast. Panelists included Cosy CEO Jonas Cleveland, Stratis CEO Felicite Moorman, Zivtech CEO Alex Urevick-Ackelsberg, Guru CEO Rick Nucci, and REC Philly founder Dave Silver.

  • ROAR for Good’s Yasmine Mustafa pitched the company’s wearable technology at Tech.Co’s ninth annual Startup Night. And Chariot Solutions CMO Tracey Welson-Rossman caught up with Yasmine Mustafa about her experience at SXSW.

  • Neuroflow won its speed pitch in the health and wellness category at the SXSW accelerator awards.

Visit BizPhilly tomorrow for a spotlight on the women entrepreneurs leading the way at SXSW.

Alli C. Adams is an executive assistant at REC Philly.

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