CORONAVIRUS FEAR SPURS SAN DIEGO STARTUP TO DITCH SXSW COMPETITION
A local startup is following the lead of Twitter, Intel and Facebook by backing out of its plans to compete at South By Southwest, the massive tech festival in Austin, Texas, later this month.
The startup, Trust & Will, was chosen to compete in the prestigious SXSW Pitch event for consumer tech, alongside four other startups from across the nation. The event gets nearly 1,000 applicants, of which it chooses 50 to compete in different categories.
“We applied the last two years and didn’t get in,” said Cody Barbo, co-founder and CEO of Trust & Will.
His startup has gained a lot of traction in the past year, securing $6 million from venture capitalists to grow its business. The end goal for the startup is to be the go-to Internet platform for things like wills, trusts and guardianship documents.
Although the startup has plenty of money (and momentum) without the SXSW pitch contest, it would have been a boon for the company to compete in such a reputable competition. The event attracts the startup world’s cream of the crop, with previous alums including Siri (bought by Apple), Klout, and Wildfire.
But now, Barbo and his team have decided to sacrifice the opportunity to reduce their risk of coming in contact with co
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ronavirus, which COVID-19.
Barbo, who just became a father to a baby girl last month, said he returned from paternity leave Monday feeling troubled about his plans to attend SXSW.
“I talked to my pediatrician about it,” Barbo said. “I know that I’m young and healthy, and probably not at risk. But I have a newborn at home. And my grandmother lives with my parents, and she could be at risk. I don’t want to be a carrier.” Trust & Will’s team backed his decision, Barbo said, as did his investors.
Last year, SXSW attracted 73,716 attendees, 19,166 of whom came from outside the U.S. The 2019 event had a $355.9 million impact on Austin’s economy, according to an October report.
“It’s just not a good idea to go to a large-scale, international event unless there’s some level of confidence around containment,” Barbo said.
He’s not alone in his concern. This week, major participants in SXSW — Twitter, Facebook, Tiktok and Intel — have publicly announced their plans to pull out of the event. A petition is being circulated by mostly Austin residents asking organizers to cancel the annual event. As of Wednesday afternoon, it had 44,648 signatures. causes
Barbo said he feels the event’s organizers — and Austin’s city officials — are not taking COVID-19 seriously.
“It shows a lack of leadership by the City of Austin and South By Southwest,” Barbo said. “If Comic-con was happening next weekend in San Diego, I would be very concerned.”
SXSW runs March 13-22. Organizers posted a statement on the event’s website regarding coronavirus concerns:
“At this time, no health departments in the state have requested the cancellation of any gatherings as the current risk of person-toperson spread in their jurisdictions remains low,” the statement reads. “Historically, March is not a peak international travel month in Austin, but we will continue to monitor. Information and practices are changing during this rapidly evolving situation and we will continue to follow national guidelines. This being said, there are no imminent plans to postpone any current events.”
brittany.meiling@sduniontribune.com