We’ve come to Austin, Texas, for the 30th South by South West (SxSW) conference along with the Tech North team and a great range of UK tech ambassadors, which we announced recently.

Friday was the opening day of SxSW Interactive 2016, which was marked by the US President, Barack Obama, giving a keynote to a packed crowd on modern day civic engagement and his vision for the digitisation of government. He called on entrepreneurs, creators, engineers and the general public to help him solve some of the USA’s most deep rooted problems with him by enhancing the US Digital Service. You can read all about Mr Obama’s keynote here.

In addition to the 44th President of the United States, members of the UK’s digital business community from right around the country have come to SxSW to showcase their businesses, meet investors, share ideas and absorb wisdom from some of the incredible speakers. At the Great Britain House – organised by UKTI – is where a lot of the activity is happening and the first day was no exception. Digital businesses were invited to attend a US market overview from UKTI and some key expert partners.

The Great Britain House is open throughout the day for businesses to get work done and arrange meetings, but on top of this there is a wide variety of events happening in the venue for the duration of SxSW Interactive and you can find the full listing here. Last night was the opening and there was a lot of excitement in the room, as everyone got together to discuss their plans for the festival.

This morning saw the first event organised by Tech North – a Brunch Cruise Event – which will bring together members of the North of England tech community; the winners of the first Northern Stars competition; and a range of investors, corporates and startups from the US tech scene. You can find out more here. Attendees were also treated to a fantastic performance by a young band – The Hooton Tennis Club – from the Liverpool/Wirral area, whilst networking!

Tonight, Tech City UK are hosting: ‘Tech Nation and the Disruption of the Music Industry’ and you can sign up for free here. We’ve got 10 amazing companies demonstrating their products for the first section of the event, following by an expert panel discussing how technological innovation has disrupted the music industry:

• Mike Butcher, Editor of Tech Crunch
• Nico Perez, Co-founder, Mixcloud
• Vince Bannon, VP Strategic Partnerships at Getty
• Ben Bowler, Co-founder, Chew

Following the discussion, one of our panellists – Nico Perez – will be showing of some of his DJ skills to get the crowd dancing while they have some drinks and network. Both these events provide UK businesses – and all those organised by UKTI and partners at the GB House – with an amazing platform from which to plan expansion into the US market. Not only the information provided, but the conversations and introductions which take place can be completely invaluable to entrepreneurs who may not be able to get the same experience as easily back at home.

You’ll be able to meet amazing UK entrepreneurs and some of our US friends as well to discuss any global expansion plans you might have or just make connections for when you’re back home. We’ve had a colossal sign up rate, so please get here early to avoid missing out!