Listen to Startland’s bonkers SXSW experience
March 16, 2016 | Bobby Burch
Virtual reality, smart cities and a whole lot of habaneros.
There was more to Startland’s adventure to Austin, Texas, for South by Southwest — but those three items were certainly some memorable highlights.
The Startland team spent five nights in Austin, taking in the insanity that is SXSW. We saw a ton of incredible technology — virtual reality, holograms and touch-screen projectors to name some — and enjoyed many inspiring conversations about the future.
An array of Kansas City firms and startup founders ventured to SXSW as well, many with whom Startland cultivated better friendships. Kansas City more than held its own at the conference and it was a privilege to see.
KCUR’s Up To Date recently hosted Startland editor-in-chief Bobby Burch to discuss the journey down south, including how Kansas City was represented, cool tech he saw and some emerging trends.
We’ll have more in the coming days on the experience, but in the meantime enjoy the audio below. Special thanks to KCUR for sharing its content. If you have questions about the conference, ask in the comments below and he’ll try his best to respond in an upcoming piece.
Featured Business

2016 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Events Preview: Women & tech, millennial entrepreneurs
There are a boatload of entrepreneurial events hosted in Kansas City on a weekly basis. Whether you’re an entrepreneur, investor, supporter, or curious Kansas Citian, we’d recommend these upcoming events for you. WEEKLY EVENT PREVIEW Coding & Cupcakes When: Saturday, July 11 @ 2:00 PM-5:00 PM Where: Sprint Accelerator Join us for our bi-monthly coding series, Coding & Cupcakes. Mothers…
Ashton Kutcher backs former KC-based startup Neighborly
It appears Kansas City may have let a promising startup slip through its fingers. Formerly based in Kansas City and now headquartered in San Francisco, Neighborly landed an investment and sparkling endorsement from venture capitalist superstar Ashton Kutcher. An actor and active tech investor, Kutcher founded venture capital firm Sound Ventures, which dished out one…
1MC Recap: PerfectCube, Mission Academy help customers take action
Two local startups took the 1 Million Cups stage to discuss their solutions — each with a goal of helping their customers take action. PerfectCube started the entrepreneurial program by presenting their data analytics web tool designed for small retail stores and franchise systems. “We’ve pivoted a half dozen times on what we offer,” said…
Schukman: Authenticity is the ultimate currency for millennials
The facts are in. Millennials prefer cause based products, are willing to pay more for them, and demonstrate strong brand loyalty to companies who weave social good into their stories. On the surface, these stats should be enough for any company to dive head first into branding themselves as social entrepreneurs. But, cause-based marketing is…
