South by Southwest kicked off Friday on the same day Federal regulators took over the failed Silicon Valley Bank. It’s the second-largest bank failure in U.S. history behind Washington Mutual in 2008. Silicon Valley Bank is “where a large share of VC firms and VC-backed startups all across the country held deposits,” according to the […]

In 2021, Empower a Billion Women topped the list of Austin’s fastest-growing companies on Inc Magazine’s list. Ingrid Vanderveldt founded the company in 2013 and launched a healthcare business to supply personal protection equipment in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Vanderveldt announced last week that she had sold EBW Cares Distributors to Shield Manufacturing, based […]

In California in the early ‘90s, a man bought a ketchup bottle, and when he got it home, he found that it contained less ketchup than the specified weight. That turned out to be true, said Arati Prabhakar, now Chief Advisor on Science and Technology to President Joe Biden and director of the White House […]

South by Southwest is best done with an official badge. The SXSW badge lets you into all the keynote talks, panel discussions, and some of Austin’s best parties, movies, music, and more. But if you don’t have a badge, that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the festivities. You can attend many badge–less events–some are free, […]

Sponsored Post Builders + Backers, an accelerator program and investment firm that backs entrepreneurs at the idea stage, finds, funds, and equips builders nationwide. “We want to put more ideas into action,” said Kathleen Hale, Partner at Builders + Backers. Donna Harris, a native of Detroit, founded Builders + Backers and previously founded 1776 Ventures […]

Every year, there are amazing experiences created at South by Southwest. Mr. Robot put up a Ferris Wheel at Fourth and Congress one year, and General Electric had a solar-powered carousel. Giant Spoon created one of the most talked about experiential marketing activations ever at SXSW when it recreated HBO’s Westworld in a ghost town […]

The SXSW Pitch competition has selected 40 finalists for its 15th annual SXSW Pitch Competition. “Since its inception, SXSW Pitch has been front row to some of the most ambitious startups from around the world, using creative ideas to change their industry’s future,” SXSW Pitch Event Producer Chris Valentine said in a news release. From […]

A new mobile phone service, REALLY, announced last week that it had received $18 million in seed-stage funding. Adam Lyons, the founder of TheZebra.com, is the company’s founder and CEO. “We raised this capital to create the modern telco. REALLY is a tech company. A lifestyle brand. A movement. We are building the telecommunications company […]

DivInc, the premier startup accelerator for BIPOC and women entrepreneurs, announced the nominees for its 5th Annual Champions of Change Awards held in Austin, Texas. The awards ceremony will occur on Thursday at Distribution Hall. This year’s theme is ‘Rise,’ a reflection of the champions who embody the organization’s mission and power initiatives that spark […]

Allison Jenkins Schickel wanted a robe with a built-in bra to provide support after she got out of the shower.  When she couldn’t find one, she created it by sewing a sports bra into a bathrobe. Schickel took the bathrobe bra combination to Fredericksburg for a girl’s weekend wine trip and her friends fell in […]