DIG THE FAQ | 10th-Anniversary!

What is DIG SOUTH (digsouth.com)?

DIG SOUTH is the South’s Tech Hub. We focus on emerging technology, business growth, digital marketing and culture, publishing the best of what’s happening across the region. DIG SOUTH produces DIG SOUTH Tech Summit, DIG NATION Executive Events, South Pod, and supports the DIG NATION Member Community.

DIG SOUTH Mission

DIG SOUTH provides the contacts, content and capital opportunities companies need to succeed in the South. We create experiences for our DIG NATION membership that connect scalable startups to vital resources and leading global brands. And, we deliver a multichannel media voice owned by locals and headquartered in the region.

What is DIG SOUTH Tech Summit?

DIG SOUTH Tech Summit is the South’s Tech Summit. Created by DIG SOUTH Media, DIG SOUTH Tech Summit curates 50+ executive-level speakers from leading global brands, fast-growth startups and the media – plus top investors. DIG SOUTH Tech Summit welcomes annually thousands of attendees to Charleston, the world’s top destination and a culinary mecca. Visit: digsouthtechsummit.com

When and where is the next DIG SOUTH Tech Summit?

The next DIG SOUTH Tech Summit will be held April 26-27, 2023 at College of Charleston TD Arena and other stunning locations across the Charleston Peninsula.

Who attends and speaks at DIG SOUTH Tech Summit?

Over the last eight years, DIG SOUTH has welcomed more than 10,000 attendees and 1000 speakers from the world’s leading brands, including Oracle, Hubspot, Bonobos, Instagram, Facebook, Jet, Casper, BuzzFeed, IBM, Twitter, Re/Code, WSJ, The New York Times, Forbes, Adobe and many more plus the South’s hottest companies, including Roadie, Terminus, Blackbaud, Red Hat, Benefitfocus, CNN, Coca-Cola, BoomTown, Atlatl and many more. Visit DIG SOUTH Tech Summit for details.

DIG NATION: The South’s Tech Tribe

DIG NATION is the South’s Tech Tribe powered by DIG SOUTH. DIG NATION provides the contacts, content and capital opportunities members need to succeed in the South. Visit dignation.co for benefits and details. Join today and receive a free badge to DIG SOUTH Tech Summit!

How do I sponsor, advertise or exhibit with DIG SOUTH?

Contact Sunny Gray at (843) 478-1167; or, stanfield@digsouth.com.

Wild Pitch at DIG SOUTH Tech Summit

DIG SOUTH Tech Summit will be held April 26-27, 2023 at College of Charleston TD Arena with Wild Pitch: The South’s Capitol of Capital on April 27. Imagine 1200+ attendees, 300+ executives, 250+ startups, 100+ investors and YOU finding the contacts, content and capital you need to succeed now. Apply here.

DIG SOUTH Tech Summit launched Wild Pitch In 2014 with the idea of showcasing the American South’s best early and growth-stage companies. Wild Pitch is open to early, seed and growth-stage companies from the region plus national and international startups with an interest in doing business and raising funds in the South. Email info@digsouth.com for more info. Apply here.

In addition to Wild Pitch, DIG SOUTH Tech Summit offers opportunities for startups to exhibit, network in the investor lounge, participate in speed-dating for startups, catch 50+ speaker sessions and enjoy hip happy hours and dine arounds across the Charleston Peninsula.

The prize for the 2023 Summit is a $5000 Corporate Sponsorship.

Wild Pitch is produced independently by DIG SOUTH Tech Media and is the neutral Switzerland of pitch events, the rising tide lifting all startups across the American South, and connecting them to investors and leading global brands. DIG SOUTH does not run an accelerator or incubator, or support a VC fund, and is not co-owned or produced by a chamber organization or economic development group.

What if I’m is not selected to pitch? What else does DIG SOUTH offer?

No worries, we’re stoked to offer the following huge opportunities to connect with investors, tech execs, experts and other founders – STARTUP ALLEY, INVESTOR LOUNGE, SPEED-DATING FOR STARTUPS, 40+ SUMMIT SESSIONS, WORKSHOPS, HIP HAPPY HOURS, DJs, NFT GALLERIES, PROJECTION MAPPING, AND OTHER COOL STUFF THAT SETS DIG SOUTH APART FROM EVERY RUN-OF-THE-MILL CONFERENCE OR PITCH EVENT.

How do I speak, write for, pitch, volunteer, intern or otherwise get involved with DIG SOUTH?

Send questions and suggestions to info@digsouth.com and we’ll connect you to the best DIG Team member.

Are we exclusive to the South?

Not by a long shot. DIG SOUTH is global and NOT exclusive to the South. We believe that the best way to promote innovation across the region is to invite global brands and experts to connect, collaborate and do business with leading brands and startups based in the South. It’s a global economy and we engage in the global conversation on innovation.

Are we partisan, parochial or protectionist?

DIG SOUTH is a nonpartisan, nonsectarian, tech membership company based in the South and focused on innovation across industries, mediums, platforms and disciplines. We believe that innovators based in the South should have a homegrown, regional community focused on telling their stories and amplifying innovation in emerging technology, business growth, digital marketing, culture and more.

How do we define innovation and the “innovation mindset?”

Innovation is how we improve our lives through new ideas, methods and devices paired with an optimistic outlook. We call it the “Innovation Mindset.” Got a problem or challenge? Let’s solve it together. Today. Now. You get the picture.

What’s the DIG SOUTH story?

In 2011, Stanfield Gray attended the AdAge Digital Conference in NYC. Connecting with tech executives and experts from Silicon Valley, NYC, Boston and other major tech hubs, he left inspired but frustrated that the same opportunities to work at the highest levels in digital technology and other creative industries were scarce in the South.

Why should the region’s top talent continue to leave the region? If someone chooses to go, fine. Could be a smart move. But what if the best and brightest today could stay, launch, grow and scale a global tech company HQ’d in the South? Michael Dell, Ted Turner, Ben Chestnut and Tim Sweeney have already proven the concept. Driven to build a stronger digital economy for the region and, more specifically, his two young kids, Gray and his wife, Sunny, founded DIG SOUTH, the first Tech Summit dedicated specifically to elevating the American South’s digital economy and building opportunities for the next generation of exceptional founders and tech talent.

Officially, DIG SOUTH was born on July 4, 2012. Bootstrapping, the DIG Team rallied the community behind the idea and launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise a small seed fund to launch DIG SOUTH. Held April 12–14, 2013, at the College of Charleston in Charleston, SC, the first DIG SOUTH Tech Summit drew 454 paid attendees with more than a thousand guests passing through the DIG Trade Show, nightly Shindigs, Space Walk and other free events. The Summit grew considerably each year, experimenting with NFT galleries, Bitcoin ATM machines, pitch events, hackathons, demo days and other programs.

To date, DIG SOUTH has welcomed more than 12,000 attendees and 1000 speakers from the world’s leading brands, including Oracle, Salesforce, IBM, Instagram, Facebook, Jet, Casper, BuzzFeed, Twitter, Re/Code, WSJ, The New York Times, Forbes, Adobe and many more plus the South’s hottest companies, including Red Hat, Roadie, Kabbage, Blackbaud, Terminus, Benefitfocus, CNN, Coca-Cola, BoomTown, Atlanta Hawks and many more. Visit DIG SOUTH Tech Summit for details.

What is Stanfield Gray’s background?

Stanfield Gray is the founder and CEO of DIG SOUTH and a lifelong student of innovation in the South. Gray was named one of Time magazine’s “31 People Changing the South” in 2018. A Liberty Fellow in the Aspen Global Leadership Network, he is a graduate of the University of South Carolina-Honors College and the University of Mississippi Southern Studies Master’s Program. Featured on the cover of the issue, Gray was named one of “Charleston’s 50 Most Influential” by Charleston Business Magazine in 2017, 2018 and 2019, twice named one of Charlie Magazine’s “50 Most Progressive,” and named a “Rock Star” award finalist by the Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce. Gray has been a featured speaker at the Collision Conference Global Ecosystem Summit in New Orleans, the Southern C Summit, and numerous other events. Also a songwriter and musician, Gray currently plays in the Rock band, The Speed of Sound. For further details, visit his LinkedIn profile.