Austin Spotlight

After discovering a mutual love of donuts while dating, Andy & Nicole decided they wanted to recreate their favorites from scratch.  From starting in their home kitchen over five years ago, to signing a lease on a commercial kitchen they have continued to grow with their community and fans.  They've been lucky enough to work with local businesses and events and look forward to the day they can open their own donut shop.

With a love of jiu jitsu and having been trained by some excellent teachers Gabe Pearlman decided to open his own jiu jitsu studio after moving to Austin from Providence, RI. As the owner of Sheild Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Gabe is able to pass on the lessons he learned and build the jiu jitsu community.

Jocelyn Harris is an avid food warrior, invisible disability fighter, and a brain aneurysm and stroke survivor. After a wonderful career at Disney, she left to focus on her own baking project and opened a bakery called SugaPlump Pastries in Austin, TX. Then came her 100+ pound weight loss journey. She started developing more and more recipes that showcased healthier ingredients.

After struggling to find healthcare when she became self-employed, Melissa Blatt turned the struggle into an opportunity and created Indipop, a health care company geared toward the independent popluation of self-employed professionals and small business owners.

Alexander Linn is an entrepreneur with experience in artificial intelligence, building science, energy technologies and economic development. His goal is to build technologies that promotes the development of better communities. His current company Shipshape AI does this by connect home systems to help owners detect and fix potential issues with their homes prior to them becoming serious.

As a graduate of the University of Texas Austin and the CEO of the Austin Monitor, Joel Gross has been interested and invested in what happens in the Austin community for some time.  At the Austin Monitor his mission is to educate residence on what is happening and shaping the city they live in.

Since he was a kid, Grant King has had an unwavering love for the kitchen. The inspiration he received from his mother laid the foundation of his cooking skills. Combining that with knowledge acquired from some of his favorite chefs has lead him to develop his own style of cooking and entertaining.

Liz is an entrepreneur in the film, TV and voiceover industry.  Her latest venture CastVoices is working to make the business of voiceover casting simple, accessible and transparent.

Aaron Bergman has a passion for two things: teaching and golf. He has blended his two passions into a one-of-a-kind golfing experience that’s changing the face of the game for the better. Golfinity is the vision for a better, more effective golf instruction experience.

Jennifer Porton has always loved making spaces beautiful, functional, and organized.  She's taken that passion and created Jen's Pro Organizing to adapt her skills to her clients personalized needs to make their spaces calming, relaxing and inviting.