Lobbying now part of SXSW

AUSTIN, Texas - Every spring, thousands of entrepreneurs, innovators and investors and descend on this state capital for the annual South by Southwest technology convention.

But over the past few years, SXSW Interactive has become a draw for federal policymakers, too, including prominent administration officials and members of Congress, many of them looking to build a reputation as a supporter - or even a member - of the tech community.

The result is one of the few face-to-face collisions each year between Silicon Valley and Washington, D.C., in which hundreds of entrepreneurs and dozens of politicians find themselves in the same place at the same time.

That presents a unique opportunity for organizations that represent the policy interests of entrepreneurs and innovators - and many are making every effort to capitalize, turning the event's opening week into part technology showcase, part lobbying forum.

This year's tech component of SXSW ended this past Tuesday.

'It's clear from the interactions you see that this is becoming the place for that kind of communication,” said Evan Engstrom, policy director at Engine Advocacy, a research and advocacy group based in San Francisco. 'It's a perfect storm of having a bunch of innovators and entrepreneurs coming together in one place, as well as this concerted push from policymakers and elected officials to come down.”

It's that first part that's most important, he said. While large technology companies have the resources required for more traditional lobbying efforts in Washington, small and new ventures must generally rely on strength in numbers to have their voices heard on Capitol Hill.

Convening those companies is often difficult, as tech start-ups are being built in pockets in every corner of the country. With many flocking to Austin, groups such as Engine can gather scores of them into one room - or, as is often the case at the festival, one bar - to both solicit support for their current lobbying battles and discover new fights they should consider taking up.

Being able to lure Washington's decision-makers to the meetings only sweetens the deal.