Well, Austin is a beautiful city–different from Boulder, but in a wonderful and weird way. As the Austinites strive to keep the city weird, I would say they did a pretty good job. I saw many unique hairstyles and outfits, but that is what makes the city itself.
On Friday, Ethan, Alexis, Eric, Katie and I had a cool opportunity to attend a few of the South by Southwest (SXSW) events. The first was a creative/technology based fair. It had many different vendors that were demonstrating their new robotic or scientific discovery, and there were many hands-on activities to do. I was able to solder a circuit, paint with bacteria, and I also collected many different stickers and tattoos–yay! I was interested to see what this aspect of SXSW was, and I was quite surprised at how much fun it was! It is great to broaden my horizons!
This event also gave me the opportunity to talk to entrepreneurs. One woman that I talked to was Meg Rabbit, whose business is Lumo Play. I personally think this product is a great idea, as it encourages exercise among children. Lumo Play is an interactive video game that projects the playing board on the floor or wall. The interactive game helps kids get off the couch and move while playing video games. Meg seemed quite passionate about her idea, and she was raising awareness for her product at SXSW, while also looking for funding for her next step. Check out her website at: lumoplay.com
Another business I found quite interesting at this event at SXSW was Reaction. While the owner, Michael McDaniel, was not present, I was able to talk to Adam Luikart. This company creates disaster housing for those who need shelter during tsunamis and the like. The shelter sleeps 4 people comfortably, has electricity access, heating, and is light enough for four people to lift with ease. Michael was inspired after hurricane Katrina, and created this product to solve the lack of housing issue in disastrous times. I enjoyed learning about this creative idea, and while I hope disasters do not occur, if and when they do, I would like to see Reaction’s product saving lives. Check out: reactionhousing.com
The group also attended the gaming convention for SXSW. It was really quite weird. I actually enjoyed it more than I thought, but I am not a gamer, so there’s that! Even so, I found the joy in the crazy convention, and learned more about new video games, and the creators. There was one company that was really neat. It is called Operation Supply Drop. Steven Giddings served in the military, and he remembers how boring life was overseas at times. He created Operation Supply Drop to deliver video game packages to soldiers. I really think it is a fascinating idea, and a great way to show that someone cares about those serving. Check out: operationsupplydrop.org
On Saturday, we were able to wander around the city a bit more. A few of us discovered Charity Water that was working at the We Work co-working space downtown. Robert Lee, Joy Hung, and Anna Azarjew shared more about the business with us, and it was really cool to learn about as I have always wanted to do something in this field. Charity Water was founded by Scott Harrison in 2006, and has developed tremendously over the years. This business is currently working on 16,000 projects in 24 countries, giving fresh water to nearly 5.2 million people! While the main office is held in New York, they have work spaces around the country, and many of the employees and volunteers are able to travel all over the world to see and help with the projects in action. Check out their website for more information: charitywater.org
Overall, Flex Time was a win in Austin, and I think our group added to the weirdness! 🙂
