I can put things in a box that uses spooky electromagnetic waves to tickle water molecules to the point that they get hot and maybe boil off, given the chance? Sounds like magic to me
For the past 10 years I’ve been a volunteer organizer of [Startup Row](https://us.pycon.org/2026/attend/startup-row/) at PyCon US, and I wanted to let all the entrepreneurs and early-stage startup employees know that applications for free booth space at PyCon US close at the end of this weekend. (The webpage says this Friday, but I can assure you that the web form will stay up through the weekend.)
There’s a lot of information on the Startup Row page on the PyCon US website, and a post on the [PyCon blog](https://pycon.blogspot.com/2026/01/apply-for-pycon-startup-r...) if you’re interested. But I figured I’d summarize it all in the form of an FAQ.
*What is Startup Row at PyCon US?*
Since 2011 the Python Software Foundation and conference organizers have reserved booth space for early-stage startups at PyCon US. It is, in short, a row of booths for startups building cool things with Python. Companies can apply for booth space on Startup Row and recipients are selected through a competitive review process. The selection committee consists mostly of startup founders that have previously presented on Startup Row.
There are a half-dozen questions that you’ve probably already answered if you’ve applied to any sort of incubator, accelerator, or startup competition.
You will need to create a PyCon US login first, but that takes only a minute.
*Deadline?*
Technically the webpage says applications close on Friday January 30th. The web form will remain active through this weekend.
Our goal is to give companies a final decision on their application status by mid-February, which is plenty of time to book your travel and sort out logistics.
*What does my company get if selected to be on Startup Row?*
At no cost to them, Startup Row companies receive:
- Two included conference passes, with additional passes available for your team at a discount.
- Booth space in the Expo Hall on Startup Row for the Opening Reception on the evening of Thursday May 14th and for both days of the main conference, Friday May 15th and Saturday May 16th.
- Optionally: A table at the PyCon US Job Fair on Sunday May 17th. (If you’re company is hiring Python talent, there is likely nowhere better than PyCon US for technical recruiting.)
- Placement on the PyCon US 2026 website and a profile on the PyCon US blog (where you’re reading this post)
- Eternal glory
Basically, getting a spot on Startup Row gives your company the same experience as a paying sponsor of PyCon at no cost. Teams are still responsible for flights, hotels, and whatever materials you bring for your booth.
*What are the eligibility requirements?*
Pretty simple:
- You have to use Python somewhere in your stack, the more the better.
- Company is less than 2.5 years old (either from founding or from public launch)
- Has 25 or fewer employees
- Has not already presented on Startup Row or sponsored PyCon US. (Founders who previously applied but weren’t selected are welcome to apply again.)
Up until recently I was editor at an AI company, and parts of this read exactly like some of the outputs I'd get out of GPT-4/ChatGPT Plus.
Many of the linked references are too recent to be in the training corpus (Llama 2, for example), so unless there's some web-search component to this it looks like an LLM wrote the first draft, and a human went through to edit, add links, and populate with images, etc.
While great in theory, the devil is in the details.
So far, every company I've worked for has an "unlimited" PTO policy. In practice, it means that folks end up taking little/no PTO, or folks end up abusing the policy with extensive breaks for personal travel, etc. (I 100% support taking vacations and carving out time for personal projects and family stuff... I just kinda look askance at the idea of taking the equivalent of a 1-month sabbatical only 6 months after joining a company.)
What I'd love to see is Unlimited PTO with a mandatory minimum. Even for the most die-hard workaholics, having some time away from work stuff is important. For everyone else, a PTO mandate would make taking personal time just another part of their work responsibilities.