- Please Hustle Responsibly
- Posts
- The South's Hottest Tech Conference (literally)
The South's Hottest Tech Conference (literally)
Been there, done that, got the t-shirt drenched in sweat.
Hey honeys and hustlers,
It wouldn’t be a complete trip to Birmingham if I didn’t see discarded chicken wings littering the street, beautiful sunsets, and the inside of Hattie B’s. This year's Sloss Tech brought together hundreds of attendees for three days of tech talks, networking, and Southern hospitality. I’ve been struggling to sit down and write this. How do I organize 3 days’ worth of notes, feelings, and observations in a way that’s relevant for creators, entrepreneurs, and people who probably don’t know Birmingham as well as I do? I’m admittedly writing with a heavy heart. I have critiques that come from a deep place of love for all that the city of Birmingham has given me, and all that I hope the city can become for other creative entrepreneurs.
There are a few caveats to this event recap. I attended as a volunteer, a creative entrepreneur, and a former Birmingham resident. I did not attend as a web developer, app developer, aspiring SaaS/tech founder, or investor. Sloss Tech has had incredible media and creator representation in the past from the likes of Casey Neistat, Gary Vaynerchuk, Alexis Ohanian (ex-Reddit), Bozoma Saint John (ex-Netflix CMO), and more. I wanted to hear from current media and marketing folks, understand more about the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Alabama, and explore if I’d like to be a speaker at a future event. In this article, I’ll be sharing what elements of the event I enjoyed, areas of opportunity for improvement, and future recommendations.
But before we get into all that fun stuff: Join me and some friends on Substack Live today and tomorrow! I’ll be going live today at 5:30PM with Daniel Hunter, and tomorrow at 8PM with Michelle Jackson and Corey Gumbs. Whole lot of yapping going on.

We tell ourselves romantic stories about the past and negative stories about the future. We should flip this. Optimism is not naive. We are overexposed to so much negativity. We have to find the good news and share it.
The Good: What I Enjoyed
The keynote talks were really exceptional. The founder of Johnny Cupcakes, Dr. Ruha Benjamin, and Zach Kass really gave us some incredible takeaways about building an irresistible brand experience, the disconnect between technological advancements and social progress, and the human expectation conundrum for machine learning capacity, respectively. In many ways, I think the question is no longer how to do something, but what to do. We're often asking the wrong questions by well-meaning people who are looking for superficial solutions instead of deeper change (source: Dr. Ruha Benjamin). What truly has meaning? What can make a healthy and positive impact? And how do we continue to build community and ecosystems together? There was also a really standout panel on policy and tech that featured an elected official. It was unfortunately the only part of the conference that addressed this very needed topic, as AI policy and other tech policy seems to be falling behind and non-existent.
On a local and state-wide level, there seems to be a lot of entrepreneurial ecosystem support as showcased through Innovate Alabama and Innovation Depot. The Southern hospitality was on full display from the moment you checked in to the various brand activations that really elevated the experience. Stella Source gave away free Stella Artois on opening night, Shipt sponsored all the snacks, Nascar had a stock car made for the event and a simulator game inside of Sidewalk Cinema for the kids, and Trim Tab Brewing cooked up something special for the after party. I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t find all the other creators at the event. Amidst the plethora of DJI Osmo Pocket 3s floating around I got to meet/run into Will Lochamy of Bham Mountain Radio, Dustin Massey, Alexus and Hank Washington, Mason David Erwin, Bryan Johnson, and Martez Nalls. Their work is amazing and it’s always fun to be in great, unserious company. I think there’s such a special creative community in Birmingham and Alabama in general that would, without a doubt, elevate the entrepreneur and everyday stories coming out of this state, which makes this next section especially hard to write.
![]() Shipt x Snack Bar | ![]() Trim Tab Brewing | ![]() Sidewalk Cinema x Nascar |
Adorkable main characters don’t work. It’s not, “look how cute I am.” It’s “look how human I am.”
Room for Improvement
I could not get past how much energy was placed on the recruitment of new businesses instead of uplifting and retaining current talent and founders. The numbers also prove that there’s a better ROI in expansion and retention of current businesses rather than recruitment, so I’m confused about where the disconnect is coming from. They had incredible speakers at every panel and talk I attended, but none of them, except one, had a built-in Q&A part of the session (more on this later). What happened to audience engagement? I would be fine with fewer sessions if it meant incorporating time for Q&A from the audience into every single session. While the panelists were asked questions from a moderator, many of the questions pertained to why they personally wanted to move to Alabama or start a business in Alabama, and were often too high-level to provide actionable insights (for someone who might be considering Alabama as their next business move the way I did when I moved to North Carolina). Many of the discussions around AI were centered on cost-cutting and quick turnarounds rather than enhancing creativity, quality, relevancy, or capacity.
Overall, my main issue is that it still feels like Alabama as a whole is still trying to convince people they’re “cool” and “great for business” and “not racist,” instead of actively creating marketing campaigns that leverage and bridge storytelling, data, and the personality of the state. Use Alabama as a character, not a flimsy prop. Don’t just hold it up and show me how shiny it is. Tell me it’s history, quirks, transformations, and the beautiful people that make it possible. AND actually pass policies that make it attractive to live and work. “Adorkable main characters don’t work,” and Alabama has so much wonderful complexity to share with the world.
![]() Lyric Theatre | ![]() Rotary Trail | ![]() 4th Avenue Historic District |
Be the first. Be the best. Be the standard.
Future Recommendations
To truly become the South’s premier tech conference, Sloss Tech has to compete with AfroTech, RenderATL, and more. Here are my unsolicited recommendations to make this conference one that I would wholeheartedly share with others to attend:
Create intentional networking activities that connect attendees with local businesses. The run hosted by Alchemy Run Club was one of the few events that actually allowed participants to see Birmingham at just the right pace. They ran through Railroad Park, along the Rotary Trail, across historic 4th Avenue and Carver Theatre, by the Alabama Theatre, across the 24th Street Bridge to see a slightly overcast perspective of the skyline, and past Frothy Monkey (one of the few breakfast spots open in downtown). The rain overnight made it just cool enough and even brought a slight breeze during the day. However, running isn’t for everyone, and some tours promoting micro mobility (which is a form of technology!) could very well increase the attendance. I also think some pop-up dinners around town would’ve been awesome. Artists Thrive and Startup Champions Network do a great job of this at their summits. It’s a low-stress way to meet new folks, especially if you’re attending solo, and show off Birmingham businesses.
Develop packages that encourage visitors to extend their stays and explore Alabama. This is the first year they did a 3-day conference. If they continue with this format, programming from Wednesday to Friday during the summer, their entire goal should be getting people to stay for the weekend and explore the state. Partnering with Seek AL, Alabama State Parks, Alabama Convention and Visitors Bureau, Storyteller Overland, and more to do trip and rental giveaways would be perfect.
Have printed schedules. I know this is a tech conference, and I appreciate the green-conscious effort of the QR codes on the back of the badges. However, an easy add-on to the badges could be a two-sided printout of this post, as so many people were often confused about what sessions were happening and when.
Add Q&A segments to increase audience participation. This is low-hanging fruit. Even 5-10 minutes would make a world of difference.
Organize collaborative workspaces to solve real problems. There were a lot of people I ran into who were looking to start their own company and were hungry for ideas where they could use their corporate experience. There’s something called the Hatchathon happening later this month in Fairhope, Alabama, and I think they could easily incorporate this with Sloss Tech.
Some future speaker and topic recommendations: Founders Inc. at Ft. Mason in San Francisco, Morning Brew co-founders/Alex Leiberman, beehiiv (remote teams and work culture), using AI for personalization, using video for feature launches and product demos, media training for tech founders workshop, and incorporating tech with entertainment spaces (zoos, museums, making sporting events and concerts accessible, etc).
Remember that one session I attended that had a structured Q&A section? I didn’t agree with 90% of what came out of his mouth. I won’t say his name, I’m sure you can figure it out. It was very clear he’s never owned a customer-facing business or bootstrapped a company. I would’ve liked to hear more about what he looks for when investing in a company, rather than tell stories that most people in that room will never be able to replicate. One thing I agreed with him on was that sports teams are going to become media companies. I’ll be writing about a healthy version of this that’s already happening later this month.
Tech and media are very closely related. We both provide services that often have no tangible products associated with our business. How do we find customers or an audience? How do we quantify our experience into dollars and cents? How do we fulfill a promise and make lasting change through creativity? All questions both company types have to answer. And maybe even questions we can answer together.
I’m very happy this event is hosted in Birmingham by the great folks at TechBirmingham, Innovate Alabama, and Regions Bank Foundation. I want to see it thrive - for people like me, for people like you, and for people who want to help build a better community and entrepreneurial ecosystem in the South. We don’t need Silicon Valley to do that. We just need a little Southern hospitality and collective will to work together to create the future for business that we want.
💡Whenever you’re ready, here are a few ways I can help you get the most out of this community.
Book a 1:1 consultation. Get personalized feedback on your creative projects and business.
Purchase a digital product. The waitlist for my newest paid product, CommunityOS, is available now.
Buy me a book. Not literally, but figuratively. The tip jar is open on BuyMeACoffee.
Join the creator database (it’s free). It’s the easiest way to meet other folks in this community and get hired for projects.
Reply