Case Study: Equitech during SXSW

Nov 14, 2025
3 min read

Updated: Mar 5

If You Build It…

Late in 2022, I was on a Zoom with my friend and colleague Maria Pope, who at the time was running community at Republic.

She asked a simple question: “What are you going to at SXSW?”

My honest answer was: “Eh... seems like kind of a tech bro scene. I just don’t see something for me. So… nothing?”

If you know Maria, you know there's always a follow-up challenge: “OK, but what would you want to go to?”

Without overthinking it, I blurted out with gusto:

"Something for under-represented founders. For those building at the intersection of purpose and profit. For funders looking for something between Big Tech and charity. For the often unseen weavers who hold these ecosystems together."

Then she did her thing: “If you build it, I’ll put in the first sponsorship.”

And just like that, I had been called on my own bluff! And, the stone soup of the Equitech Welcome to kick off SXSW began...

Designing the "Equitech Welcome" kicking off SXSW

At the time, I had the immense good fortune of adopting myself into -- and being fully embraced by -- those building from the epicenter of Equitech in Baltimore, Maryland. For the uninitiated, "Equitech" was coined by UpSurge Baltimore to describe their aspiration to build first their own -- and then inspire others to build -- thriving tech economies anchored by diverse leadership, equitable systems and practices, and a culture of belonging in tech.

Given my involvement with this community, and Maria's challenge, I saw the opportunity to bring the incredible aspiration and ethos of Equitech to Texas during SXSW.

As you may know, SXSW is one of the largest tech and cultural convenings in the US. It is loud. It is ambitious. It is full of capital, ideas, and late-night energy.

As a Native Austinite, I was deeply immersed but still not aware of any intentional gatherings for the tech-for-good crowd. I actively wondered, "Was there some secret door where just beyond it was:

Purpose-driven and under-represented founders;
Ecosystem builders doing the connective tissue -- interstitial -- work;
Impact LPs;
Values-aligned fund managers?"

There were plenty of happy hours. Plenty of pitch competitions. Plenty of noise.

What I did not see was a high-integrity, outcome-oriented room. So we built one.

The Equitech Welcome Breakfast was designed to create literal space that just moved different than "traditional" startup or transactional networking events.

There'd be no "singing for your supper" performative live pitch competitions. No cattle-call competitions. No random badge-scanning.

The Outcome

Maria kept her word; others followed.

From the first event in 2023, to now 4 years on... annually, we have:

curated a guest list drawn from 3,000+ RSVPs each year;
capped the event from 150-250 attendees to preserve signal;
intentionally designed for multi-stakeholder groups including founders, funders, and ecosystem leaders;
and, helped our guests on their way by facilitating connection through "Equitech Connect" our lightweight “sensible matching” tool enabling high-signal, double opt-in introductions;
the event has hit capacity every year -- notably, our breakfast event has had a line around the block starting at 8:30 a.m.!

This has not about slapping logos on a backdrop. Our aim has been to demonstrate that an Equitech Welcome means mobilizing community, capital, and connections.

We've had 250 attendees annually, participants from 25+ states and 12+ countries. Guests have accessed direct deal flow, co-investment, and public-private partnership economic development opportunities. Founders and funders have found each other "in the room where it happens".

And, our story has been told globally through a feature article in Impact Alpha, both pushing back against challenging rhetoric of those who wish to slow progress and inspiring similar intentional convenings in other cities across the U.S.

Of course, none of this would have been possible without having raised $90,000+ in sponsorship from 25 aligned organizations across impact investing, LP networks, and ecosystem stakeholders! So, big ups as always to all of our sponsors -- past & present!

The Real Lesson

Equitech is not just an event.

It's a category and community building movement at the intersection of capital and purpose.

It started in Baltimore, came to Texas because of a complaint (!), which turned into a challenge. And, now it lives on...

So, perhaps a take-away is that sometimes a white space is not a market gap. It is simply the room you wish existed. And, if you -- and others -- are willing to build it, many more may be waiting to walk in and join you.