Vote for McCombs Speakers for SXSW 2025
Faculty experts have the chance to represent McCombs at next year’s festival through the SXSW Panel Picker
Every year, South by Southwest lets the community vote on what sessions they want to see at the next festival through the SXSW PanelPicker. Two McCombs faculty members have the opportunity to share their expertise as featured speakers at SXSW 2025, and they need your support to see it through before the Aug. 18 voting deadline.
How to vote: Click the link to each session’s PanelPicker page and select the up arrow (you may need to sign in or create an SXSW account to vote). You can also leave a supportive comment on the panel page to let organizers know why you want to see each panel.
Presentation: Is ADHD the Entrepreneurial Superpower?
Featuring: Darren Smith, Adjunct Professor and MSTC Program Graduate
Track: Tech Industry
Description: During the past 20 years, academic research has slowly begun to catch up to the popular notion that ADHD helps entrepreneurs. What does the data say, and how can entrepreneurs with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder harness their unique skills while mitigating the pitfalls? How might investors, incubators, universities, and co-founders support entrepreneurs with ADHD to build supportive ecosystems? Smith talks about all of this and more in an interactive presentation full of good data and bad jokes, vulnerable moments, and actionable takeaways.
Vote for Darren Smith’s presentation.
Fireside Chat: Scaling Smart: The Buy-Then-Build Entrepreneurship Blueprint
Featuring: Zach Marshall, Lecturer of Management and MSTC Program Graduate
Track: Startups
Description: Zach Marshall will join Cooper Bradley, manager and co-founder of Bridge Defense, to explore buying existing businesses, mergers and acquisitions processes, and growth strategies. This panel is aimed at entrepreneurs, investors, and professionals, and they will discuss how acquiring existing businesses reduces entrepreneurial risk and accelerates growth, how to initiate business acquisitions, and how entrepreneurs can grow business value after acquisition.
