Twenty-seven-year-old John David Back of downtown is a developer at Rockfish Interactive, where, as he says, “We provide awesome.”
Describe your SXSW experience in five adjectives.
Only five? Okay...
Fast, Insane, Enlightening, Blurry (sorry mom), Invigorating
What was the weirdest/most unexpected thing that happened?
Well, the HootSuite bus was throwing scarves down from the roof and had one of those tshirt guns and other stuff. I was standing on the street corner and got nailed in the chest by something. I look at my feet and it's a deck of HootSuite playing cards. Rectangle shaped bruise on my chest. Thanks, Internet!
What was your very best moment?
Arriving in Austin from the Startup Bus realizing I had built a fully working product in under 72 hours. Oh, also speaking really terrible French with a cab driver at 3 in the morning.
What's your big takeaway to bring to Cincinnati?
Ideas are cheap. Action is the only thing worth anything anymore. All those entrepreneurs and business people with success down there might seem like overnight successes, but they worked insanely hard for years before they built something that took off.
What are your plans for next year?
Try to get at least four hours of sleep a night while there. And to attend more actual talks instead of parties. If I'm allowed back in the state of Texas, that is.
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