Mindbox Studios Interview with Joshua Johnson

Spring 2012

Joshua Johnson, Founder and CEO at Mindbox Studios

On Tuesday I sat down with Joshua Johnson, Founder and CEO at

Mindbox Studios, and asked about his thoughts on innovation and technology in the region, here's what he had to say:

What do you see as the hottest technology trends for your industry?

“I’m bullish about the ubiquitous nature of data. We can capture it, store it and interact with it on multiple digital platforms from virtually anywhere. The question is
not if we should capture the data or how we should capture it….it’s already there. The question is:  what are we going to do with it?”

“For consumers, I think it is going to be about infographics and storytelling.  For businesses it’s going to be about interactive data visualization. Think “Minority Report” in the boardroom. If you’re a CEO, and you have real time data, that you can interact with and manipulate in the boardroom, that’s a game changer.”

What are your thoughts on the role of innovation in driving economic growth?

“You won’t find a growing economy without innovation, it’s fundamental.  There’s a lot of excitement about startups right now…and larger companies acquiring newer innovative companies to help them leverage that energy….but acquiring may not always be the best move if you don’t already have a culture that supports innovation, because innovative people…won’t

stick around if you lack a culture of innovation.”

“Jim Price, at Empower Media, seems to be doing a great job of creating an innovative culture.  They have internal people who are very talented and they leverage that talent to build products internally.  That type of culture not only attracts talented people but keeps them happy."

What do you see as the chief barriers to innovation and technology?

"Isolation...we are isolated as a region.  Fortunately, we were rated the number one region for marketing and social media and that helps keep us tied into the technology."

"Another challenge is access to talent.  Half of my staff is out of state, either in Portland or Seattle.  For my team I need Senior Level Developers and Software Engineers and I can't always find that here."

The guys at Mindbox taking a foosball break

What problems do you solve for your customers?

"Lots of them...but to name just a couple:  First, we don't just scope and execute...we help our clients decide what they should build, how it should be built and define who their end customer is."

"Second, we help them build a sustainable product.  Our goal is to create a portfolio of great ideas.  In order to do that...we are laser focused on three things...make it beautiful, functional and useable.  Often the most important element is the usability."