Esteban Esteban

My name is Esteban Contreras and I’m the VP of Product at Fleetio, where I lead a 35 people team including Product Managers, Product Designers and Product Marketers. I’m active across social media as @socialnerdia and write Product State, a Substack newsletter about the present and future of product management /development. I also wrote a book titled “Social State” in 2012.

South By has been part of my life for over a decade in a half, in several different ways.

I've been a speaker at SXSW (Interactive) three times in the past. First, as a Future20 speaker in 2010 (“The Online Latino: A New Digital Native”). Second, as a featured keynote speaker in 2016 (“Identity and the Chemistry of Experience”). And third, organizing and leading a panel in 2018 (“Modern B2B Product Leadership”).

Back in 2011, I had a unique role at Samsung where I managed both technology and brand initiatives: I was the person who envisioned and led Samsung's first sponsorships and programs at SXSW (2011, 2012). For those two years I was involved with organizing what was then called the “Blogger Lounge” / “Social Media Lounge.” I also later led product launches and activations during SXSW when I was at Sprinklr (a scaleup at the time) from 2013 to 2016.

Needless to say, I'm a big fan and supporter of SXSW. I've been there 9 times in total and I'm looking forward to going to South By next year. I moved to Driftwood (not far from Austin) in 2022. My love for BBQ, Austin culture, and many positive experiences with SXSW all contributed to moving my family from Vancouver, BC down to ATX.

I’ve been a SXSW mentor twice before — in 2023 and 2024.

I'd love to do 1-on-1 mentor sessions at SXSW 2025. I believe there will be attendees who would value a mentor session with someone who is a SaaS B2B product leader with very diverse experiences from startups and scaleups to IPOs and large brands -- in multiple cities in the North American tech industry.

As a Guatemalan Canadian immigrant who went to university in Texas... I'm very interested in contributing and giving back to the community — product people, tech industry peers, entrepreneurs, and others whom I may be able to help.