We find it hard, sometimes, to explain the type of experience people have at SXSW every year. Maybe because we're biased, maybe because we're too close to the event. So it's best if we let those who attend SXSW tell it for us. Today Jordan Stolper, CEO of gliider, shares one of his.

"Starting up an internet company is a lonely, ego-bruising affair. At SXSW I learned not to take it all so personally. The path to creation is a bumpy one, marked by setbacks and triumphs both large and small. Listening to the guys from Dogster talk about how they manage people through the ups and downs in their business helped us prepare to do the same. Learning how Jason Black thinks about his company’s culture has inspired us to adopt our own set of core values. But the best part of SXSW wasn’t on the schedule. It was, in a word: openness, that rare ability to listen closely to new, compelling and provocative ideas without glancing around for a better conversation. Openness made it possible for me and my co-founder, Jared Richardson to connect with so many interesting and interested people. Those relationships are what we’ll take away from SXSW, and what we’ll look forward to nurturing as gliider enters its infancy."

Jordan Stolper, CEO - gliider