Austin Next

Innovation does not scale on size alone. It accelerates on the connective threads of an ecosystem, from curated founder groups to open networks and through shared stories and honest champions. Brian Hall, incoming President of the Austin Chapter of Entrepreneurs’ Organization, joins us to explore what actually drives trust, access, and scale in a thriving tech hub.

Episode Highlights

• Role of Ecosystem Connective Tissue
• Founder Forums and Peer Accountability
• Third Rooms vs Third Spaces
• Depth Over Volume in Relationships
• Time Scarcity in Founder Support
• Why Healthy Ecosystems Scale
• Navigating Fragmentation in Austin
• Gatekeeping and Startup Access
• Scaling Founder Infrastructure
• What’s Next Austin? 
  • “Healthy things grow. And that starts with an individual, but then it goes to the city and beyond.”

Episode Links
Brian Hall: LinkedIn, X/Twitter

EO Austin; Traverse Legal; TraverseGC; TraverseConcierge

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

The $6 trillion chemical industry is on the verge of a revolution as biology moves from the doctor's office to the industrial zone. Veronica Breckenridge, Founder and Managing Partner of First Bight Ventures, is investing in early-stage bio manufacturing companies while building the ecosystem to catalyze their growth.  We discuss the tech powering the revolution, why Houston's first principles position the region to own the sector, and how Austin's innovation can help supercharge it.
 
Episode Highlights

• First Bight Ventures: Investing in Industrial Bio
• Disrupting a $6 Trillion Chemical Industry
• Scaling Platform Molecules for Real-World Impact
• Crossing Industrial Bio’s "Valley of Death"
• Houston’s Chemical Engineering Advantage
• Capital Efficiency and Scale-Up Strategies
• How AI Is Accelerating Biotech Discovery
• Building Pilot Facilities and Collaborative Ecosystems
• Unlocking a Texas Bio Manufacturing Hub
• What's Next Austin & Houston?
  • "Texas should create a consortium...we're going to own bio-manufacturing" 

Episode Links

Veronica Breckenridge
First Bight Ventures

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

At a hinge point when tech leadership determines the balance of geopolitical power, deep tech investment has never been more critical to America's future. Jordan Blashek, co-founder of America's Frontier Fund, brings his perspective on innovation for national advantage. From investing in defense tech to the newly launched Endless Frontiers, we discuss Jordan's vision for rebuilding American strength through strategic innovation and how Austin finds itself right in the thick of this transformation.

Episode Highlights

• America's Frontier Fund Mission
• Deep Tech Funding Models
• Managing Tech vs Market Risks
• Defense Tech Trends - M&A, Talent, Dual Use
• Family Offices as Strategic Investors
• US-China Tech Competition
• Launching Endless Frontiers
• Rebuilding American Strength
• Austin as a True Power Center
• What's Next Austin?
  • "Arts and Culture...It means the storytellers are here. The most creative people are here. And when you combine that with the existing resources and things we have I think this city has no limits."

Jordan Blashek: X/Twitter; LinkedIn

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

From cutting-edge chips to AI networks the disruption happening up and down the tech stack is upending invention and value. Everything is on the table. Tyson Tuttle, former CEO of Silicon Labs and current founder and CEO of Circuit, brings decades of experience building innovative products across multiple tech waves. In this conversation, Tyson shares insights on Austin's ecosystem past and present, the global tech competition, and how AI-powered knowledge networks that could finally deliver on the collaboration we have been promised.  

Episode Highlights

• Austin's Semiconductor Legacy
• Geopolitical Chip Wars
• A Million Transistors Per Space
• Taiwan's Silicon Shield
• Balancing Risk and Production
• Moving Up the Technology Stack
• Rethinking Workflows with AI
• Network Effects Beyond Social
• AI-Powered Knowledge Networks
• What's Next, Austin?
• "Tech is spreading everywhere. We've got to build great companies here, we have great talent, and we've got to make this a place that is affordable and where our quality of life doesn't diminish, but goes up"

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

The Texas innovation ecosystem is accelerating at breakneck speed as technologies like AI and institutions such as the Texas Stock Exchange reshape what is possible. Samantha Lewis, Partner at Mercury Fund, recently relocated to Austin from Houston to strengthen the firm's presence in the region. Our conversation reveals how the founders and funders in the Texas Triangle are positioning themselves during this tech revolution, and why the connections between Austin, Houston, and Dallas are a superpower that is just getting started.

Episode Highlights

• Mercury Investment Thesis
• Expansion to Austin
• AI Competition Landscape
• Importance of Founder Vision
• Good Businesses vs VC Backable 
• Bits Meet Atoms
• Healthcare Innovation Frontiers
• Austin Growth Opportunity
• Texas Stock Exchange Impact 
• High Speed Rail vs Airports
• Texas Innovation Triangle and Collaboration
• Houston Industry Challenges
• Tech Inspiration Moments
• What's Next Austin?
  • "We're so excited to just hang out and see everybody, meet entrepreneurs, hopefully build a big fintech community here as time goes on...The more VC firms that are here, the better. The more entrepreneurs that are getting funding here, the better"

Samantha Lewis: X/Twitter, LinkedIn
Mercury Fund: Website, X/Twitter, LinkedIn

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

Technology is advancing rapidly, but our social systems and institutions struggle to keep pace. Janine Leger co-founded Edge City, a society incubator accelerating social innovation through popup and experimental communities, and they're bringing their next gathering to Austin March 2-7. We explore how rethinking the intersection of technology and agency can lead to human flourishing, and why Austin is emerging as the perfect laboratory for this experimentation.

Episode Highlights

• Edge City the Society Incubator 
• Innovation in Temporary Spaces 
• Building Default Healthy Environments 
• Invisible Protocols and Personal Agency 
• Edge City as Social Catalyst 
• Austin's Innovation Ecosystem 
• Edge City Austin
• Key Personas in a Thriving Ecosystem  
• Future City Projects and Experiments
• Austin's Next Decade of Growth 
• What's Next Austin?
  • "If you're interested in new society models, new ways of living, new towns, Austin is going to be a hub for that...There's so much happening around community dynamism"

Janie Leger
Edge City Austin
Edge City: Website, X/Twitter

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

A unicorn biopharma that ignores the traditional playbook, breaks development speed records, and chose Austin over the traditional biotech hubs.  Mallory Factor, Founder and CEO of IntraBio, joins us to share how his Oxford-born company created an FDA-approved drug in record time while doing everything differently. In this wide-ranging conversation, we explore how finding unconventional talent, maintaining ruthless focus, and embracing a different mindset has led to transformational success in an industry resistant to change.

Episode Highlights

• Building a Different Kind of Biopharma Company
• Breaking Speed Records in Drug Development
• Finding Unconventional Talent
• Challenging Traditional Pharma Thinking
• Why Austin Over Boston and San Francisco
• The Power of Focus in Drug Development
• Austin's Creative Collisions and Future
• What's Next Austin?
  • "Austin has some political problems that's going to have to clear up to make it a better city. Hopefully in time it will and it'll catapult it into the top five, six cities in America"

Mallory Factor, IntraBio, Aqneursa

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

A coffee conversation turned into a deep exploration and personal obsession about how we shape our world and how it shapes us. I had to invite my partner in that conversation, Dr. Gena Gorlin, on to the podcast to bring her perspective as a psychologist, professor, and founder coach to examine the interplay between agency, innovation, ecosystems, and technology. 

Episode Highlights

• Agency Mindset and Personal Choice 
• Technology Impact on Human Agency 
• Education Evolution in an AI World 
• Gaming as a Window into Human Potential 
• AI Tools for Self Discovery 
• Understanding Innovation Ecosystems 
• Psychology of City Culture 
• Ecosystem Metacognition Principles 
• Building Better Innovation Communities
• What's Next Austin?
  • "Really embracing Austin as this up and coming entrepreneurial cultural hub and participating in that evolution is something that I'm now way more excited about than I even was before"

Gena Gorlin: Substack, X/Twitter, Founder Coaching, UT Austin Faculty Page

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

Last June, SXSW announced they would no longer allow military and defense companies as sponsors. This sparked strong reactions from Austin's defense tech community, with one of those reactions leading to the creation of Austin4America. I'm joined by Luke Fischer, one of the summit's creators, to discuss why this matters and how it fits into Austin's broader innovation story. 

Episode Highlights

• SXSW's Military Sponsor Ban and Austin's Response
• Modern Defense Tech Beyond Weapons
• SkyFi: Building an Earth Intelligence Platform
• Why Austin Leads Defense Innovation
• Austin4America: From X/Twitter to Reality
• Innovation & Defense Tech Agenda
• Convergence of Veterans, Health, and National Security
• What’s Next Austin? 
  • “A gravitation of some of the best companies in the world coming to Austin, where we see across all the industries, bio, defense, healthcare, manufacturing.”

Austin4America
Luke Fischer: X/Twitter, LinkedIn, SkyFi

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

This past November, the University of Austin hosted their Inaugural SOMA Summit to explore the amazing transformation in space right now, especially how the commercial space era is decentralizing access. I had the privilege to moderate a fascinating panel titled "Science in the Commercial Space Age" featuring Chris Sembroski from Blue Origin, along with University of Florida space biologists Dr. Rob Ferl and Dr. Anna-Lisa Paul.

As space becomes more accessible, it's evolving beyond merely a frontier to explore into its own innovation platform and ecosystem. This opens up a whole galaxy of possibilities.

Episode Highlights

• Mission Experiences
• Space Peppers
• Understanding Human Adaptation
• Space as an Innovation Frontier 
• Manufacturing in Microgravity
• Plants' Role in Future Exploration
• Ethical Considerations
• What's next for science in the commercial space age?
  • Rob Ferl: “More scientists flying to do their experiments in space.”
  • Anna-Lisa Paul: “More research in how we effectively take our biology off the planet to have long-term existence elsewhere”
  • Chris Sembroski: “Recognizing that it's not going to end with us, that we have to keep inspiring that next generation”

Chris Sembroski: X/Twitter, LinkedIn
Rob Ferl: UF Faculty Page
Anna-Lisa Paul: UF Faculty Page

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