South by Southwest has opened its 2023 “PanelPicker” for crowd-sourced community voting through August 21—and startups in Dallas-Fort Worth are among the many companies vying for your vote.

The community is invited to vote on session proposals that were submitted in June and July. The proposals could lead to on-stage appearances at either SXSW 2023 or SXSW EDU 2023, which will both be held next March.

Voting counts for 30%

Community voting is a big deal at SXSW. It counts for 30% of the decision-making in getting a panel approved for the conference. Another 40% of the programming decision is based on the SXSW Advisory Board, and a final 30% by SXSW staff.

You can find an overview of SXSW’s PanelPicker process here.

Choose from thousands of
proposals

Competition to get on a panel at SXSW is fierce. If you want to look through all the proposals, you’d better grab a pot of coffee—as of this writing, there are 3,340 session proposals for SXSW 2023 and 1,240 proposals for SXSW EDU 2023. 

Better make that two pots of coffee.

How voting works

To participate in the voting process, you’ll have to sign in or create an account. Once you’re signed in, you can filter proposals by conference, format, title, description, tags, and speakers in the search field.

Each voter can vote once per proposal, selecting “arrow up” for yes or “arrow down” for no. You can also post questions or comments in the Comments section about the proposals you vote on. 

Some of the proposals with Dallas-area ties

There are no doubt countless more proposals with Dallas-area ties. But here are ten that popped up in our search of the PanelPicker. (Companies we highlighted link to past stories in Dallas Innovates.)

Data is the Key to Unlocking Effective DEI
Panelists: 
Mandy Price, Co-founder and CEO, Kanarys
Samantha Wiseman, Sr. Manager Employee Experience, Silicon Labs
James Fripp, Chief Equity and Inclusion Officer, Yum! Brands
Eric Severson, Executive Vice President, Chief People & Belonging Officer, Neiman Marcus Group

Building FinTech to address the racial wealth gap
Panelists: 
Joe Beard, CEO and Co-founder, CollateralEdge
Ashley Bell, CEO, Ready Life
Dennis Cail, CEO and co-founder, Zirtue
Brandon Comer, Managing Partner, Comer Capital

Boomers to Zoomers: Startup Culture Reimagined
Panelists: 
Mandy Price, Co-founder and CEO, Kanarys
Charu Thomas, Founder and CEO, Ox
Dan Shapiro, Co-founder and CEO, Glowforge
Katie Bindley, Personal Tech Reporter, The Wall Street Journal

Gridiron to Blockchain: Future of Sports & Crypto
Panelists: 
Peter Smith, Co-founder & CEO, Blockchain.com
Charlotte Jones, Executive Vice President and Chief Brand Officer, Dallas Cowboys

Leading Texas’ Venture Networks: The New Wild West
Panelists: 
CS Freeland, Cofounder & Executive Director, Austin Venture Association
Annabel Reeves, Chief of Staff, Venture Dallas
Lawson Gow, Founder; CEO, The Cannon, Houston Exponential
Bobby Franklin, President & CEO, National Venture Capital Association

The Asset of Kindness
Panelist:
Keshia Bruno, VP of Educational Impact, Junior Achievement

New Location: What They Don’t Tell You About Zoning
Panelist:
Dallas Cothrum, President, Masterplan

Build News Trust With Underrepresented Communities
Panelists:
Gina Masullo, Associate Director, Center for Media Engagement
Keri Mitchell, Executive Director, Dallas Free Press
Lauren Williams, CEO and co-founder, Capital B

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