Austin Next

Clearly the Austin entrepreneurial ecosystem has been growing dramatically for the last several years. And, with that growth has come a lot of new investors. Whether it be VCs building larger funds, entrepreneurs reinvesting earnings, incubators and angels willing to help startups, there are a lot of people getting involved.  Today we are talking with CS Freeland, co-founder and executive director of the Austin Venture Association (AVA). We cover why do we need an organization AVA, the origin story, and the evolution of the venture environment here in Austin.

Capital that is leveling up raises...What's next Austin.

Episode Links:

• Austin Next SXSW Panel Picker Voting
• CS Freeland
• Austin Venture Association

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

Often how we live, work and play is determined by where we live, work, and play. The buildings we occupy can range from condos and offices in the central business district, to the wide-open spaces needed to test drones and farm equipment.  Today with speak Todd Runkle on how Austin is evolving, how innovation districts play a role, and the growth of Central Living Districts.

Where we are and how we live, work, and play is... What's next Austin?

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

We met and talked to Peter Rex, who with his team at Rex LLC owns substantial real estate in Austin and across the United States. Since 2018, Peter has focused a lot of his time and energy on Rex Tech Ventures, his technology incubator and PropTech software companies.

Rex Tech has now grown to ten companies and together they are looking to solve some of the most difficult problems in the real estate industry. We talked about Why Austin, the convergence of tech and real estate, and even a little blockchain and web3. It’s the disruptors who make…What’s next Austin?

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

One of Austin’s superpowers is that we live in the future. We are both inventing the future and it’s being deployed here in Central Texas. We’re joined today by Jeff DeCoux founder and CEO of the Autonomy Institute to talk about one of our key challenges to build this future and that's infrastructure. 

A 21st century technical foundation is the bridge to What's next Austin?

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

The road to being an entrepreneur has many twists and turns.  Starting that journey from a nontraditional starting point, in this case the music world, can create even more unexpected challenges.  Today we are talking with Casey McPherson and hear about his journey from accomplished musician to genetic disease advocate and life science leader.  We learn about the role of creatives in an innovation ecosystem and how he sees the bio economy playing out here in Austin.    

These unlikely journeys form...What's next Austin?

Episode Links:

• Casey McPherson
• To Cure A Rose Foundation
• Everlum.Bio

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

What an amazing year it has been. This week it's just the two of us reflecting back on where the podcast has been, what we have seen in the ecosystem, the insights that our guests have shared, and what comes next for both the podcast and Austin.

Austin Next Newsletter Survey

What's next Austin Next Podcast?

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

Cities are changing as rapidly as ever due increased migration patterns, new hubs of innovation, and an evolving way we work. What does the city of the future look like and is Austin the new leader of that trend? Today we bring in Cullum Clark the Director of the George W. Bush Institute & SMU Economic Growth Initiative and an Adjunct Professor of Economics at SMU. We talk about Austin’s transformation, what does a future city model look like, and how do we plan for the future.

The city of the future is...What's next Austin?

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

We see all of these best of city lists.  Best places to live, most affordable, growing tech employment, and so on. How does Austin stack up when looking at our overall startup environment?  Today we are bringing on Farshad Fahimi (Director of Data Strategy), who is going to walk us through Startup Genome’s annual ranking of the global ecosystem.  We discuss the big observations in this year's report, what does the data say about Austin, and how does our future look. 

Rankings influence narratives and narratives create...What's next Austin

Episode Links:

• Startup Genome's Global Startup Ecosystem Report 2022
• Austin Next Medium article with additional analysis 

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

Infrastructure is one of the key issues impacting Austin’s rapid growth. Whether it’s water, roadways and transit, or power, we must ensure that we have the resources to handle our growth. Today, we focus on power… Joining us is Christy Cardenas Managing Partner Grit Ventures.  Grit Ventures focuses, in part, on new energy sources, distribution systems, and transportation.  We talk about the current energy situation, how we make a transition to new sources while working together with traditional producers, what does innovation look like with abundant energy, and finally where does Austin fit into all of this. We need the lights on to see...What's next Austin?

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

Austin has been growing at breakneck speed. Over the past year, we were #1 in percentage population growth and #3 in employment growth. This doesn't event tell the whole story. 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 talk today with John Garrett, Founder and CEO of Community Impact Newspaper about this hyper-local phenomena and what is means for media, innovation, and the future of Austin. You can also check out their wonderful podcast The Austin Breakdown to get unique insights into the region. Austin is more than just Austin and that is the foundation for What's Next Austin?

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