Five Minutes With Florian: Runtastic CEO @ SXSW

Even though SXSW always flies by, it’s really challenging to keep the key points of interest and/or takeaways to just a handful!

For a young team from Austria, the food, culture and balmy weather in Texas alone, are worth the trip. (Not to mention the fact that Austin is simply a one of a kind city… Barbecue & cocktails, anyone?)

Add a massive professional conference and interesting people from around the globe to the mix and you’ve got yourself the perfect venue for a few short days of learning, sharing, networking and so on!

Read on for some of my SXSW 2015 favorites and takeaways.

1. The Internet of Things (IoT) is a major topic at the moment and it’s insane to learn how a variety of tech products and gear are able to get more and more connected with one another. The overall potential is huge and it will be interesting to see how things evolve in the months and years to come – also for us in the health & fitness space.

2. One should always enjoy a good steak (and burrito) while in Austin. Our team ate a lot during the short visit… But, it was always delicious 🙂

3. People who are looking to experience the city and event using the latest “disruptive” technologies should definitely give Airbnb and LYFT a try. Our team has used Airbnb the last two years and we have enjoyed cozy accommodations (at a reasonable price) as a result. Furthermore, LYFT is an incredible option for getting to and from the airport. I cut the price of past rides in half (from $30 down to $15) by using it – now that I have a U.S. mobile number!

4. One “there’s room for improvement” takeaway I have from this year is that there’s definitely too few SXSW attendees from Europe at present. In my opinion, it’s a “must have” to be here if you’ve got a start up and more people should start making the trip. Even for those who think it’s a long trip to a random place for just a few days, a person can always add on a few days of meetings in San Francisco or New York to the itinerary to make the trip worthwhile.

5. Overall, the SXSW experience can be a bit exhausting, but it’s always exciting! Add a bit of sunshine and gorgeous spring weather and a long weekend in Austin can’t be beat. Let’s just say, I was happy to have packed my flip flops last minute!

Hope to see you there next year,
Florian

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