Image Credits:<\/strong> Darrell Etherington \/ TechCrunch<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Valdez did ask a question about the impact of the SVB collapse to kick off the panel after both panelists volunteered their own remarks, and Deming noted that in case the audience wasn\u2019t aware, this was effectively \u201cthe worst banking crisis since 2008\u201d in terms of the startup world.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve attended tech and startup conferences in the past, you know that panelists generally never have their devices out on stage, nor are they usually actively checking them if for some reason they do. That, combined with the nervous laughter both investor and founder delivered their half-jokes with, were truly remarkable to watch.<\/p>\n

Before the session even started, different groups both in front and to my right were talking about SVB, with varying levels of familiarity with the situation. While you may think it\u2019s early to call this as the talk of the show \u2014 watching that kind of candid anxiety onstage from established startup industry players, and hearing the general buzz and tension from everyone else in the room, makes it clear that this year\u2019s SXSW won\u2019t be about anything it probably intended to focus on.<\/p>\n