Next month, MicDrop is taking over the Shoreditch Treehouse for a very special day event at SXSW London.
So Iâve spent the last few weeks sifting through LOTS of speaker applications from members and Iâve had to turn some very strong applications down as a result.
Getting rejected sucks. Especially when youâve put a lot of time and thought into the pitch, and if thereâs one thing I want anyone whoâs ever been turned down for a speaking opportunity to understand, itâs that:
An unsuccessful application isnât always
down to the quality of the pitch.
Now donât get me wrong, Iâve sifted through some shockers in my time.
[Sidenote: Curating TEDxClapham 2018, just 1 out of 400 applicants were successful, but this wasnât like that. There wasnât a single application that wasnât thoughtful and well pitched]
In most cases, the hardest decisions came down to:
đđźđ đ§đźđ˝đśđ° đŚđŽđđđżđŽđđśđźđť đĽ
When multiple applications land on exactly the same theme, only one will make the cut.
Tip: The more specific your angle the less competition you will have.đ§đźđťđ˛ đŽđťđą đđťđ˛đżđ´đ âĄď¸
95% of applications lead with gravity and urgency: "this topic matters, the stakes are high" and it all blurs into one.
Tip: Applications that pop offer something different (e.g. wit, lightness, relief) and they land the talk because the room needs it.đŚđ˛đžđđ˛đťđ°đśđťđ´ đ§Š
Our job is to take the audience on a journey. When you're down to the final few slots in a programme, decisions start to get made based on what's missing, rather than the individual talk itself.
Tip: Think about where your talk would sit in a programme. Is it an opener, a closer, a mid-session shake-up.đŚđ˛đšđšđŽđŻđśđšđśđđ đď¸
An event has to sell. Curators are always thinking about who is going to put bums on seats.
Tip: Rightly or wrongly, your personal brand matters and without one you'll always be at a disadvantage
[Less important for us as it's an invite-only event and Iâve held back 3 invitations for Founder to Thought Leader subscribers - read on for details ].đ§đľđ˛ đđťđ˝đżđ˛đąđśđ°đđŽđŻđšđ˛, đľđđşđŽđť đ˛đšđ˛đşđ˛đťđ đ¤Ş
On a different day, the line-up might have looked different.
Tip: So don't be too hard on yourself.
When you understand these elements, you can start engineering your speaker applications around these elements to make yours a no brainer.
MicDrop @ SXSW London: Line-up Revealed
Morning: Featured talks, an AI workshop, and lightning talks - all under the SXSW London theme of Shaping the Future.
Afternoon: an AI speaker hackathon with James McAulay.
MicDrop @ SXSW 2026
A lot of love and care has gone into curating the programme - I've not run an event like this since the days of TEDxClapham!
But what's going to make it really special is that we're deliberately keeping it small.
We could pack 65 people into The Shoreditch Treehouse.
Instead, we're capping it at 40.
Why? Because I've always believed that intimate events are where the real magic happens.
In-person events are a huge priority for MicDrop this year. And so far, they've been private; supper clubs and member only evenings.
But that's about to changeâŚ
Because Iâve held back 3 tickets for F2TL subscribers (the least i could do to say thank you for all your support.
All youâve got to do to win one, is reply to this email with a one sentence answer to this question:
If you had a slot on the stage this year, what would you speak on?
Entries close at 12pm UK time tomorrow. Iâll read every reply and pick my three favourites by 12pm UK time on Wednesday.
Good luck!
Alex
P.S. MicDrop is my community for founders who use speaking to grow their business. Next month, we open to a small intake of new members and those who join will be in with the chance to speak on our stage at Ideas Fest in September. Click here to find out more.
