SXSW Overwhelmed? Check out the A2 Guide to Meaningful Connections

🎯 What’s Included

🧑‍🤝‍🧑 From the Community

🤝🏾 SXSW community events, 🅰️² March meetup details

💡 Skill Spotlight

Authentic Networking at SXSW

📆 Join us IRL

A²’s next Conscious Connection for founders, leaders, and curious people is on March 19 at 6:00pm.

We're inviting both the market-focused leader AND the spiritual seeker within you to the table. It's a great place to make authentic connections in an intimate setting.

Our calendar is the hub for A² IRL gatherings. Subscribing is the easiest way to get notified of these!

🧑‍🤝‍🧑 From The Community

🤝🏾 SXSW community events

Every March, I get overwhelmed by the sheer size of SXSW. How do you pick what to do out of thousands of events? If you have an answer, let me know!

And here are a few curated guides that might be helpful:

• My friend Michael Moran runs austinux.org, and has a live calendar of hand-picked SXSW events. He literally went through the catalog of 1000s of events to create this, so you know it’s good.

• Marc Nathan’s Texas VIP Insider’s Event Guide is chock full of good stuff too, including Marc’s rationale for why he chose those events.

🅰️² March meetup

Looking for more authentic connection in your life? Join us in March for Conscious Connection for founders, leaders, and curious people!

We're building Conscious Connection by inviting both the market-focused leader AND the spiritual seeker within you to the table.

Know anyone that’s looking for more of that in their life? I’d appreciate it if you invited them to our next event!

💡 Skill Spotlight

Forging genuine connections isn’t just about collecting business cards – it's about creating openings for lasting conversations. Here's how to make the most of SXSW:

• Be Intentional: Define your goals for the festival. Who do you want to meet? What do you hope to learn?

• Lead with Curiosity: Instead of pitching, ask open-ended questions and listen actively. Show genuine interest in others. If you’ve attended an A² event, you know how to do this!

• Find Common Ground: Look for shared passions, values, or experiences. Authenticity sparks when you connect on a deeper level.

• Focus on Quality over Quantity: Prioritize a few meaningful conversations over collecting dozens of cards.

• Follow Up Thoughtfully: Send personalized emails or LinkedIn messages after meeting someone. Reference a specific detail from your conversation to show you were truly engaged. Pro-tip: Personalized Looms get a response!

📚 Resource Corner

• My friend Michael Moran runs austinux.org, and has a live calendar of hand-picked SXSW events. He literally went through the catalog of 1000s of events to create this, so you know it’s good.

• Marc Nathan’s Texas VIP Insider’s Event Guide is chock full of good stuff too, including Marc’s rationale for why he chose those events.

📆 Join Us IRL

A²’s next Conscious Connection for founders, leaders, and curious people is on March 19 at 6:00pm.

We're inviting both the market-focused leader AND the spiritual seeker within you to the table. It's a great place to make authentic connections in an intimate setting.

Basically this graphic:

📫 Our calendar is the hub for A² IRL gatherings. Subscribing is the easiest way to get notified of these!