SXSW at City Hall

Refusing to be left out of the fun, City Hall will host a midnight pitch event tonight, brought to Austinites by the City of Austin’s International Program, within the Economic Development Department’s Global Business Expansion Division, and Alibaba Group. The event will take place from 10 p.m. until 2 a.m. at City Hall, and will feature pitches from local businesses: Merlot Skincare, Before Elixir, Cuvee Coffee, Rhythm Superfoods, Blue Avocado, Atlas Wearables, NurturMe, Amorada Tequila and Sneaky Apron. According to a press release from the city, “Nine entrepreneurs will take the stage to pitch their products to a captive audience of Chinese retailers on Taobao Global, Alibaba’s solution that allows small-to-medium size businesses from outside of China to reach Chinese consumers via buying agents. This follows the first U.S. live pitch event in Austin, Texas last year, which garnered more than 13,000 views and 5 of 11 businesses received offers from Taobao Global to sell to China. … The Pitch Event aims to increase visibility of Austin brands and give businesses a chance to explore the Chinese consumer market, minus the expense of flying to tradeshows in China to meet buyers.” And, because this is Austin, the event will have musical sets between pitches.