Tech delegation to SXSW a success, say participants
Tech entrepreneurs who attended SXSW with Alberta Innovates say they made important new connections to customers, investors, and partners.
SXSW is an annual, multi-stream festival and conference in Austin, TX, that sees hundreds of thousands attendees flock to its tech, film, and music programs each year.
"Universally, what I was seeing was companies picking up at least one or two connections that were of high value," Anthea Sargeaunt, founder of water-testing company 2S Water, told Taproot. "For (2S Water), one good, high-value connection makes this all worthwhile because we do enterprise sales. We managed to connect to Samsung … and that was curated for us by Alberta Innovates."
2S Water offers single- and multi-sensor water-measuring tools that detect contaminants such as metals almost instantly. The award-winning company has been through Plug and Play Alberta's accelerator, earning it an invitation to SXSW as a graduate of the Alberta Scaleup and Growth Accelerator Program.
The trip was invaluable, said John Chabluk, founder of software company QuoteToMe.
"I was able to meet with our new lead investor for a fund-raise that we're working to close right now," he said. "Putting a face to the name and being able to experience the in-person relationship … I was exposed to a massive network of theirs that was already in Austin."
QuoteToMe helps contractors order materials and equipment digitally, charging a small percentage on each transaction. It raised $2.5 million in 2021 and $1 million in 2020.
The delegation had specific goals in mind, said Doug Holt, associate vice-president of investments for Alberta Innovates.
"This was an opportunity wherein we could take 50 high-potential companies down to SXSW and help them with gaining new customers, gaining new partners, and getting new investment," he said.