Austin Startup Week, a week-long series of dozens of tech discussions, parties and demos, draws thousands of people from the local tech community and hundreds of out-of-town visitors who want to explore Austin's ecosystem -- and maybe catch a few Austin City Limits Music Festival sets the following weekend.
It starts with a few pre-parties Friday evening and through the weekend. But it really gets going on Monday with the Women in Tech Summit. The events are free. But they have limited capacity, and popular sessions sometimes fill up.
There are dozens of highlights to this year's Austin Startup Week. We recommend you browse the schedule to find what interests you most. And take note that each day has a theme: blockchain Monday, defense innovation Tuesday, food & CPG Wednesday, design on Thursday and, well, Friday is basically an unofficial recovery day.
But we've also assembled this list of recommendations of what we feel are some of the most interesting events.
Friday, Sept. 28
Grow with Google and Techstars get things rolling with StartUp Weekend. It's a 54-hour event where you'll get some of the brightest minds in tech helping guide budding entrepreneurs from a Friday evening pitch through business development and demos and presentations on Sunday afternoon. The event has a special focus on active duty service members, veterans and their family members. But it isn't a requirement.
Monday, Oct. 1
The Women in Tech Summit steals the show on Day 1 with a full day of programming and speakers, including Dell Technologies Director for Supply Chain Sustainability Christy Abiaid, True Wealth Ventures Founding General Partner Sara T. Brand, Valkyrie Intelligence Principal Data Scientist Meredith Butterfield, EverlyWell CEO Julia Cheek, Bumble Chief Operating Officer Sarah Jones Simmer and Next Coast Ventures Venture Partner Zeynep Young.
Beyond that, we're stoked to check out a panel called "Investing in Texas from the Coasts: A Discussion with Non-Texas VCs Writing Checks in Texas." That one is moderated by Capital Factory's Gordon Daugherty and includes Toyota AI Ventures Investor Chris Abshire, Warburg Pincus Investor Danielle Steinman and Las Olas Venture Capital Founding Partner Esteban Reyes.
Finally, gotta hit up the keynote address with General John M. Murray, who leads the new Army Futures Command unit in Austin. And that's followed by a happy hour that lasts three hours.
Tuesday, Oct. 2
Tech's diversity problem is no secret. So how do we fix it and make Austin a shining example of how to develop local tech talent to provide a pipeline of talented and diverse workers? Gain insights from Ruben Cantu, director of inclusive innovation and entrepreneurship at The University of Texas; Preston L. James II, CEO of DivInc.; Ada-Renee Johnson, staffing manager at Google; Jan Ryan, director of creative entrepreneurship and innovation at UT; and Matt Stephenson, executive director of Code2College.
Sorry, not sorry: We can't resist tacos. So we're pointing you toward a lunch hour session called "Learn to Code: A Taco Website." But for those who don't want all those digital calories, the "Your Health is Your Wealth" session might make more sense.
Later in the afternoon, don't miss a chance to "Meet the Faces of Impact in Austin," which will give you insights from Impact Hub Managing Director Ashley Phillips, Weird Homes Tour CEO David J. Neff, Love Intently CEO Sophie Kwok and Traverse Legal attorney Stephen Aarons. That could be followed nicely by a conversation with Notley Ventures co-founder Dan Graham and Techstars Impact Managing Director Zoe Schlag -- and Austin Inno will be there, too.
Cap the day with a debate over the eventual impact of AI and a deep dive into sustainable energy that's padded with plenty of networking time.
Wednesday, Oct. 3
So many options. But we suggest waking up a little early to hear "Austin's Immigrant Entrepreneurs: Some Amazing Stories" at 8 a.m.
Or start your day at 9:30 a.m. with a discussion about what UT brings to our startup ecosystem. That panel has a killer lineup that includes Ashley Jennings, David Altounian, Hector Gomez Macfarland, Bob Metcalfe, Kristin C. Spindler, Melissa Taylor and more. Want to know about Austin's tech talent pipeline and the abundance of startup resources the school offers? This is your chance.
At 2 p.m., you can get a taste of "What the Future of Enterprise AR Looks Like."
There's a Bose XR Community Happy Hour running from 4:45 to 6:15 p.m. at Capital Factory if you want to get your sip on and hear something new. But maybe you want to save yourself for a panel discussion on Austin's liquor startup scene, which is followed by a happy hour with tastings.
Cap the day by hanging with students and alumni at UT. But don't stay out too late, ATX Startup Crawl is Thursday night. And Friday is also a day when you'll probably have to get out of bed, too.
Thursday, Oct. 4
Get the day going with early coffee. Or chill until 9:15 a.m. to catch a discussion on building great company culture from a few people who know a ton about it, including Civitas Learning Chief Operating Officer April Downing, The Culture Book Executive Editor Rachel Feferman, YouEarnedIt CEO Autumn Manning and Culturati founder Eugene Sepulveda.
Get a dose of AI reality with a session by WeWork Community Director Matt Glazer, BuildFax CEO Holly Tachovsky and Dell Technologies Data Scientist Jaya Zenchenko.
Crush your lunch hour with a session by Zachary Maurais, who co-founded Favor and, more recently, Sunroom Rentals, and Steven Blustein, co-founder and CEO of PrideBites.
At 2:15 p.m., we're stoked for a conversation with Threatcare, BLNDED Media, ImpactDEI and UT about how to improve Austin's culture of diversity and inclusion.
Get the inside view of what it's like to be on ABC's "Shark Tank," and what it's like to manage a business after that kind of exposure from EverlyWell CEO Julia Cheek.
Then it's time to party down at this year's ATX Startup Crawl, which will lead you through some of Austin's coolest offices and treat you to endless food, drink, fun, networking, demos and more.
Friday, Oct. 5
Take a deep breath. And another. And another. And then see if you're ready for the Daimler Financial Services hackathon, which comes with prizes of $10,000, $5,000 and $2,500.
Oct. 5-7
Come on, you're not tired already, are you? Startup Week may be over. But now it's time for Austin City Limits Music Festival with Paul McCartney, Metallica, Sylvan Esso and Travis Scott.
