SXSW is totally FOMO-worthy. After all, it is the world’s largest creative business conference!  Held every year since 1987 in Austin, Texas, SXSW features talks, exhibitions and events across the 3 main tracks: film, music and technology; bringing together diverse people, interests and ideas together for one crazy festival.

A showcase of the largest, most creative and insane brands from the world, SXSW is a mecca for anyone akin to innovation! Entrepreneurs flock to Austin every year to launch their products, learn, grow, network and party. Here are 10 reasons why SXSW is not-to-be missed by any startup founder!

1. One Pass To Rule Them All: SXSW boasts of 24 exciting tracks for global professionals at every level to participate, learn, and network. Choose from tracks like Brands & Marketing, Code & Programming, Design, Health or Intelligent Future – all available to holders of the Interactive Pass.
2. Witness crazy startup launches: Each year, startups marketing themselves at SXSW try to outdo the last. Well known to have been the launchpad for Twitter (2007), Foursquare (2009), Foddspotting (2010), Group Me (2011), and Meerkat (2015), SXSW is looked upon as the ultimate proving ground for startups looking to make a breakthrough.
3. SXSW Accelerator Pitch: 50 startups across 10 categories battle it out to win the coveted SXSW Accelerator Pitch Competition at the ‘Startup Village’, on 10th and 11th March. All startups also get to exhibit at the SXSW Accelerator Demo Day on Monday, 12th March.
4. Startup Spotlight: Meet the 40 most innovative Music and Tech Startups at the Startup Spotlight held during the evenings of the Startup Village. Early stage startups vie for these spots to meet with investors, media and partners.
5. Network: What is a festival without the chance to build new contacts? SXSW brings together unbelievable networking opportunities through receptions, parties, meet ups, and more, all accessible to attendees through their Interactive badge.
6. The Takeover of Austin: Brands explode and spill out with insane marketing gimmicks all across the city of Austin during the 2 weeks of SXSW. From takeovers of coworking spaces and cafes, to 4-storey tall installations, SXSW surely paints the town all shades of red (and more!).
7. SXSW Trade Show: Over 300 exhibitors brought the best in technology, innovation and marketing to the SXSW Trade Show, the largest exhibit at the Festival. Sprawling across the Austin Convention Centre, hit up the Trade Show to experience the best of expos.
8. Free food, goodies, parties: No festival is complete without freebies and insane parties. Checkout https://unofficialsxguide.com/ to learn more about everything that happens at SXSW, outside of SXSW.
9. Startup Events: Every year, large tech and startup communities like Tech.co, Capital Factory, Built in etc. host an array of startup crawls, pitch events and networking opportunities throughout the festival area.
10. There’s more:  SXSW Gaming, SXSW Marketplace, SXSW Wellness Expo, SXSW Job Market and SXSW Art Program are just some other cool floors to explore!

How to do the 2018 SXSW Interactive Festival for free?

If you are are an entrepreneur with an early stage startup or if you are an aspiring founder, you can WIN a FREE badge to 2018 SXSW Interactive Festival through the Startup League! All you have to do to stand a chance is apply here on or before 23rd February.

What we are looking for:

A cool startup idea with a cool website name. The probable website name that you enter in the application form should be on any one of the following new extensions only: .TECH, .ONLINE, .SPACE, .STORE, .FUN, .SITE, .PRESS, .HOST, .SITE and .WEBSITE.