Today we are excited to announce that Gabe Shepherd will be joining the Tech Cocktail team to help us with business development and evangelism. Gabe brings years of experience to Tech Cocktail as well as a great knowledge of the Las Vegas business and technology landscape. As you may recall, Tech Cocktail opened shop in Las Vegas, and we’ve partnered with the Downtown Project to host a monthly tech startup focused week of events called Tech Cocktail Week. Gabe’s role will include helping us with strategy, business development and community building in Las Vegas and beyond. So please take a moment to welcome Gabe to the Tech Cocktail team in the comments below.
#VegasTech at SXSW
What started as an idea in Gabe’s hotel room last year at SXSW turned into one of the biggest movements at SXSW 2013. VegasTech made a big splash at this year’s SXSW Interactive, becoming a trending topic on Twitter and greeting attendees with a huge, modern booth at the trade show. They hosted a cocktail hour that Tech Cocktail’s own Frank Gruber emceed and was keynoted by Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh and Jason Mendenhall of Switch, as well as a music-filled party that packed a crowd. The message was clear:
There’s stuff happening in Vegas. Come check it out.
Over 140 VegasTech community members came to SXSW to spread that message, led by organizer Gabe Shepherd. And later this year, he will be welcoming the creative community to Vegas as community liaison for SXSW V2V, a smaller SXSW-style conference. Entrepreneurs and creative professionals will enjoy speakers, panels and workshops, coaching sessions, networking events, pitch competitions, and startup showcases. Topics will range from tech and the arts, to education and the environment.
Meet Gabe: We sat down with Shepherd at our SXSW Startup Celebration sponsored by CEA and .CO. He explained the origins of VegasTech at SXSW, what V2V means for Vegas, and what the big goals are. Here’s the video.
Tech Cocktail’s SXSW video series is part of the Tech Cocktail Conversations podcast – subscribe on iTunes. 
Editor’s Note: Thank you to Yappem, the title sponsor of Tech Cocktail’s special SXSW video series. And thank you to Keep America Beautiful, the supporting video sponsor.