Austin Next

One of the biggest changes over the last few years in the Austin region is the influx of new venture capital firms and the raising of record funds by our homegrown firms. We spoke with long-time local VC, Brian Smith Managing Director of S3 Ventures about how the funding environment evolved, where is funding being deployed, and what the future holds. Since the airing of this episode S3 has expanded their team and announced a $250M Fund VII. 

Original episode aired October 26, 2021

-------------------
Austin Next Links: Website, X/Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn
Ecosystem Metacognition Substack

Surprising when we started exploring the subject, but this has turned into one of our most popular episodes. The regional innovation ecosystem is more than downtown and more than just Austin. The entire metro from Bastrop to Dripping Springs and San Marcos to Temple is maturing and changing. We are establishing numerous innovation hubs that operate independently from each other and come together into mesh network that is our region. We spoke with John Garrett, Founder and CEO of Community Impact about this hyper-local phenomena and what is means for media, innovation, and the future of Austin.

Original episode aired May 31, 2022

-------------------
Austin Next Links: Website, X/Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn
Ecosystem Metacognition Substack

We are traveling back to our very first episode with John Sibley Butler of UT Austin. Professor Butler has been a part of the ecosystem for decades and takes us through a journey from the beginning of the ecosystem to what it is today.  We can't explore what's next before we know where we have been. 

Original episode aired July 13, 2021

Episode Links

John Sibley Butler: UT Austin Bio, LinkedIn, Twitter

-------------------
Austin Next Links: Website, X/Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn
Ecosystem Metacognition Substack

Michael and Jason take a moment to reflect back on what we learned in 22, the new questions we are asking in '23, and some surprising additional elements we are adding to the show.

-------------------
Austin Next Links: Website, X/Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn
Ecosystem Metacognition Substack

Bringing back the wooly mammoth, computer aided design for biology, is this a sci-fi novel or just a taste of what’s going on at the intersection of biology, technology, and Austin. Our next guest is Ben Lamm, CEO and Founder of Colossal Biosciences, Founder and Board Member of Form Bio, and a serial technology entrepreneur driven to solve the most complex challenges facing our planet.  We talk about the Austin Bio Sector, how his team is leaning into our new distributed model of work, and what's next for the region.

What's next Austin?

Episode Links

• Ben Lamm: LinkedIn, Twitter
• Colossal Biosciences: Website, Twitter, LinkedIn
• Form Bio: Website, Twitter, LinkedIn

-------------------
Austin Next Links: Website, X/Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn
Ecosystem Metacognition Substack

Austin Next did our first live recording on LinkedIn Live. Jason was joined by Jawad Ali (Austin Medtech Connect), and Dennis McWilliams (Santé Ventures) for a discussion on how we actually define the bio sector here in Austin, what makes us unique, our challenges, and more. 

What's next Austin?

Episode Links

• Jawad Ali
• Austin Medtech Connect
• Dennis McWilliams
• Sante Ventures

-------------------
Austin Next Links: Website, X/Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn
Ecosystem Metacognition Substack

The Informa Tech AI/IoT/Quantum Computing conference landed in Austin November 2nd and 3rd. Austin Next was there, listening, learning, and supporting the conference.  With speakers ranging from chess champions and NFL quarterbacks to Austin’s Mayor and UT’s Athletic Director, everyone was here to talk and learn about changes and the intersections in the IoT, quantum computing and AI worlds. In the midst of a busy conference, we snagged Jenalea Howell, the VP AI & IoT Markets at Informa Tech for a discussion of conferences, Austin, and what it’s like to return home.

What’s next Austin?

Episode Links

Jenalea Howell

The AI Summit Austin

-------------------
Austin Next Links: Website, X/Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn
Ecosystem Metacognition Substack

Steve Case is one of America’s best-known and most accomplished entrepreneurs and philanthropists. Case co-founded AOL in 1985 and under his leadership and vision, AOL became the largest and most valuable Internet company of its time.  Moving beyond AOL, Case formed Revolution, a DC based investment firm focused on innovation beyond the coasts. On today's episode, we discuss his new book, their investments in Central Texas, and why Austin might be different than the rest.

Episode Links

• Steve Case Twitter
• Revolution
• Rise of the Rest: How Entrepreneurs in Surprising Places are Building the New American Dream

-------------------
Austin Next Links: Website, X/Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn
Ecosystem Metacognition Substack

Bob Campbell is a visionary senior business leader with a track record of building successful businesses while advising corporate and government leaders on management and policy issues. He is a management consultant; corporate board member; non-profit board member; private equity advisor, and active angel investor. We talk about his long history here, what's changed, and how the larger macro trends are affecting our region.

What's Next Austin?

Episode Links

• Bob Campbell

-------------------
Austin Next Links: Website, X/Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn
Ecosystem Metacognition Substack

We continue our dive into the Houston innovation ecosystem from an investor point of view. Dougal Cameron is a co-founder and the managing director of Golden Section, a venture capital firm, engineering organization, and early-stage venture partner serving business software companies from ideation to $5M in revenue. We talk about the types and scale of startups, the Houston LP market, and how our ecosystems can connect.

What's Next Houston?

Episode Links:

• Dougal Cameron
• Golden Section

-------------------
Austin Next Links: Website, X/Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn
Ecosystem Metacognition Substack