SXSW on March 16: 22 Hidden Gems
The Forrest Four-Cast: March 15, 2019
Looking to fill some gaps in your SXSW schedule? Check out these fascinating discussions — all happening on Saturday, March 16.
Seeking Alpha: Risk Reward Reality in Cannabis Brands
Explore the rise of the modern cannabis consumer and imagine the future of cannabis consumption from the perspectives of a venture capitalist, an investment banker, a brand builder and the candy man. Learn the fundamentals of successful brand execution and understand where metrics may be misleading.
11 am-noon, Hilton Austin Downtown
IP, Brand and Blockchain: Business on the Block
Open blockchain protocols are generally based on open-source software, where intellectual property rights (patent, copyright, trademark) are generally not pursued. But when developers build Apps on top of open platforms, questions of IP ownership soon follow. Additionally, building a product or service “on the block” requires savvy entrepreneurs and owners to manage and leverage trademark and trade secret rights and protections. Our panel experts will explore all of these essential topics.
11 am-noon, Hilton Austin Downtown
Made in China: Crypto, Exchanges, Trust and More
In this candid discussion, Edith Yeung of 500 Startups and Jason Lau of OKCoin will discuss how exchanges in China are keeping up their trade volume, continuing to grow its global users and overcoming government regulatory challenges. How are these exchanges secure and building trust with customers? What is next for the world of crypto?
11 am-noon, Hilton Austin Downtown
Cannabis and the Aging Brain
World renowned cannabis researcher Fabricio Pamplona, PhD, will discuss original data linking the decline of the endogenous cannabinoids and the vulnerability of the aged brain. With this approach, he is working to develop a diagnostic marker for neurodegenerative diseases and dementias, already validated in a clinical sample of Alzheimer’s patients.
11 am-noon, Hilton Austin Downtown
The Keys to Brand Partnership Consideration
Emerging artists across all genres are taking advantage of more and more organic and authentic opportunities with commercial brands to help promote their singles and cover their touring expenses. How can you position yourself to get a brand’s attention to invest in you based on your artistic trajectory in a certain city, region or market? This session will discuss the current state of brand partnerships in music specifically in relation to utilizing an artist’s social media data and metrics to better help his/her cause and align with a national brand.
12:30-1:30 pm, Austin Convention Center
Featured Session: Lola Plaku
Lola Plaku, CEO of Lola Media Group, will discuss her dynamic path working behind the scenes in the music industry. Plaku’s presentation will focus on using niche marketing vs. mass marketing to curate tailored concert productions and events that help expand an artist’s brand, covering everything from inception to execution.
12:30-1:30 pm, Austin Convention Center
The Politics of Marijuana: What’s in Store for Texas
There’s reason to believe that some strain of legal marijuana will come to Texas in either 2019 or 2021. This panel will examine where Texas is at now and what a changing national tone regarding marijuana policy could mean for the state.
12:30-1:30 pm, Hilton Austin Downtown
Artist Licensing and Cannabis
As cannabis continues to be legalized for recreational use across America and the world, celebrity- and artist-endorsed brands are finding their place in a competitive market. This panel will discuss the partnerships that have been created, best practices, obstacles and a potential landscape for the future. Brands represented by the panelists include Willie’s Reserve, Rebelution, 2 Chainz, The Game, Dirty Heads and Broken Lizard, amongst others.
12:30-1:30 pm, Hilton Austin Downtown
How to Make $50,000 or More in Music This Year
Music is difficult to navigate when starting out. Many times we see the oohs and ahhs of the industry from afar and ponder how to land the sold-out tour, big record deal, or viral video. In this session, we break down in pure DIY fashion how to approach your year and earn at least $50,000 so you can get your parents off your back about getting a real job. The session includes everything from domestic and international touring, radio, film and tv licensing, consulting, marketing and more.
12:30-2 pm, Hilton Austin Downtown
Building a World Class Brand in Uncharted Territory
The cannabis industry is experiencing explosive growth after recent legalizations in the U.S., and startups and investors are rushing to enter this white space of opportunity. A leading innovator in the industry is dosist, a modern wellness company with a world-class executive team of leaders from various industries at its helm. Hear from the CEO on why he prioritizes bringing the right talent to dosist to build a brand and inspire change in the wellness landscape.
12:30-1:30 pm, Hilton Austin Downtown
Blockchain Governance: Challenges and Opportunity
Prysm Group Founding Economist Cathy Barrera, Ph.D. discusses the economic concept of contract incompleteness and its implications for blockchain governance. Contracts, both traditional and smart, are inherently incomplete: it is impossible to specify every possible outcome at the time the contract is drafted. As blockchain organizations explore new business structures, they will need to design governance systems to mitigate the inefficiencies introduced by contract incompleteness.
12:30-1:30 pm, Hilton Austin Downtown
Block(chain)-the-Vote: Mobile Voting by Blockchain
In 2017, five of every 100 New Yorkers voted in the primary election. It doesn’t have to be this way. In 2018, the first mobile votes were cast on a blockchain-based system in a federal election by overseas and military voters registered in the state of West Virginia. The team behind this voting project will share conclusions and explore why the U.S. has some of the lowest voting rates of any democracy in the world.
12:30-1:30 pm, Hilton Austin Downtown
Cannabis & Parenting: Lifting the Stigma Meet Up
This Meet Up will focus on the crossover between parents and cannabis. Topics covered will include the need for cannabis advocacy, educational resources, talking with your children about cannabis, and policy issues that affect parents who are cannabis consumers, industry professionals or medical cannabis patients.
2-3 pm, Hilton Austin Downtown
Journey from Student to Live Music Professional
The transition from college student to music professional can be daunting, but we’re here to help! All of the panelists served on a music committee on their campus and launched careers in the music/entertainment industry. Hear them share their stories and give tips and tricks for maximizing the college experience for a career in the live music industry.
2-3 pm, Austin Convention Center
Artists In Control: Technology and the New DIY
Technology continues to change the landscape for DIY artists that want to call their own shots. In the last year, the Blockchain has appeared as a potential solution for many of the problems facing anyone looking to release music: fair pay/trade for streaming, expedited payments, transparent distribution. Can these technologies really streamline royalty payments and add transparency to an until-now murky process? How do new Blockchain platforms stack-up as compared to existing DIY distribution and crowdfunding alternatives?
2-3 pm, Austin Convention Center
The New Cannabis Consumers
The age of the 20-something stoner dude is over. Women are the new coveted cannabis consumers. How can brands better serve this rapidly growing customer base? Gain inside insights from a web pioneer, a funded cannabis entrepreneur, and expert cannabis marketers. The panel will include exclusive data from a new survey covering cannabis usage among women.
2–3 pm, Hilton Austin Downtown
The Next Killer Application on Blockchain
We are asking, what will be the next killer application on the blockchain? We hear about candidates such as security tokens, stable coins and IOT. Internationally renown blockchain expert Dr. Julian Hosp will dig deeper, clean up with myths and show, that probably none of these will bring the needed innovation. His candidate? Collectibles.
2-3 pm, Hilton Austin Downtown
Combating Global Poverty on the Blockchain
Trust in institutions around the world is failing. In the developing world, only 15 percent of residents believe the systems in their country are working for them. Blockchain technologies, through their inherent trust mechanisms, are a potential vehicle for building and restoring that trust by helping isolated communities get online, connected and verified to participate in the financial infrastructure that can empower entire regions.
2-3 pm, Hilton Austin Downtown
Creating a California Craft Cannabis Brand
For years, Humboldt, Calif. cannabis cultivators set the standards for discerning cannabis consumers, while operating in gray and black markets. Now with adult use legalized in California, and projected to exceed $5 billion next year, the California legal cannabis industry is booming, but it is also competitive and full of regulatory hurdles. Hear how a producer of top shelf Humboldt cannabis is keeping up, scaling up, and staying ahead of the curve.
2-3 pm, Hilton Austin Downtown
Nardwuar’s Video Vault
Nardwuar the Human Serviette once again unlocks his Video Vault and shares some of his most iconic, strange, and awkward interviews with huge celebs from his 30-year career. Nardwuar, videos, vaults, it’s all happening at SXSW! Doot doo!
2-3 pm, Austin Convention Center
Cannabis: The Sustainability Challenge
Decades of black market basement cultivations have positioned cannabis grow operations as energy hogs. But as legalization spreads globally, private research and development is flooding in to provide hard data that has in turn produced better technology for the sector. Energy efficiency and sustainability in cultivation is a looming issue — this session will provide a roadmap for sustainability in the marijuana industry.
3:30-4:30 pm, Hilton Austin Downtown
The Future of Hemp and Health
Hemp, cannabis’ “sober botanical cousin,” is one of the most powerful, versatile and misunderstood plants on the planet. As CBD products enter the mainstream market, it is time to decouple hemp from cannabis and appreciate the non-psychoactive hemp plant for what it is: an essential nutrient here to help. This panel will discuss the past, present and future of hemp and its role as a food, fiber and medicine, sharing the scientific research leading the way, and the steps to integrating hemp-based products into your wellness routine.
3:30-4:30 pm, Hilton Austin Downtown
Hugh Forrest serves as Chief Programming Officer at SXSW, the world’s most unique gathering of creative professionals. He also tries to write at least four paragraphs per day on Medium. These posts often cover tech-related trends; other times they focus on books, pop culture, sports and other current events.
