Austinpreneur

Many entrepreneurs either mobilize to specifically become a DOD contractor, or they steer clear of any government contracts. Most think the regulatory barriers are a significant hurdle.

Think again.

The US Army is completely overhauling the way it does business with outside contractors. They have reimagined their interactions to actually assist entrepreneurs with personnel and infrastructure to design solutions the US Army needs. Jay Harrison was appointed specifically to assist in that overhaul. He is the Command Innovation Officer of the Army Futures Command, located in Austin, Tx.

He came on the Austinpreneur podcast to share how his team partnering with entrepreneurs. They’re assisting in development of innovative solutions, and helping streamline regulatory issues to rapidly develop products that not only protect the country, but can be reused and commercialized.

Don’t miss this episode!

Can you think of a better job than Chief Programming Officer for SXSW? That’s what our friend Hugh Forrest has been doing for more than 30 years. As chief programming officer, he has the privilege of overseeing all the panels, presentations and sessions at the conference, as well as the film and music festival. This means he gets to work with some of the most creative people from all around the world.

What began as a music and media conference has now morphed to include creativity in all its many forms. From film to food to tech and politics, you can find all the emerging creative trends at SXSW.

Some new trends you can expect this year are blockchain cryptocurrency and cannabusiness. You can also expect to see a couple of sessions with prospective candidates for the 2020 presidential election. You’ll walk away with a good idea of what to expect in the 2020 run.
Interested in proposing an idea for SXSW? Hugh walks us through his top three tips for getting your idea in the door.

Tech development is a community affair.

Innovators have no chance of seeing their creations blossom if they’re not plugged into the people around them. Technology is inherently bound to the needs of the community at large. That truth holds fast even at the cutting edge of entertainment.

What can you do if you’re struggling to connect and develop relationships with your community?
Fortunately, we had Chuck Freedman—Developer Relations Lead at Bose Corporation—on the podcast to talk about how his successes at embracing users in the past is helping him frame his outlook toward the future.

“They’d give me mentors based on being the only woman or the only person of color vs actually seeing my aspirations and who could help me get there.”

Mentorship is one of the best ways to advance your career by bringing you up to the level of talent required for the work.

On this episode of Austinpreneur, we sat down with Women in Tech Pitch Challenge winner and Founder of Mentor Method, Janice Omadeke. She outlines her advice to entrepreneurs about support and opening doors, to founders wanting to think more inclusively, to entrepreneurs on how to pitch. We also discuss what led her to pursue starting her company, why Austin, and the women in tech challenge competition.

Some entreneurs have education. Others have experience. This entrepreneur has both. He’s a founder, director, entrepreneur, PhD, MBA. So, we asked him: What’s more important, education, or experience?

He said both.

David Altounian joined the podcast to share his top 3 lessons on entrepreneurship. David co-founded Motion Computing, which developed the first 12-inch slate tablet. He’s also Interim Dean at the Bill Munday School of Business, and a also partner over here at the Capital Factory.

He’s the kind of guy you listen to.

JD Weinstein is no stranger to the Austin startup scene, having been instrumental in catalyzing the UT Austin startup scene and then spending many years helping to grow Capital Factory's Accelerator.

Now he's taking on a new challenge with Oracle - one of the biggest tech giants - and helping them to offer a differentiated program for startups that gives them access to technical help and also the Oracle sales channel. Listen to this podcast to find out if your startup might be able to benefit from the Oracle Cloud offerings and ecosystem.

Kids love consuming video content. Parents aren’t so sure: YouTube can be a landmine filled with garbage too mature for young people. Tankee is here to solve that problem.

Gerald Youngblood came on the Austinpreneur podcast to tell us all about his new content platform, Tankee. It’s radical, and it’s based on kids. Gerald’s a dad, so he went straight to young people to find out what they were watching, what they enjoyed, and why.
He shared with us his discovery process for his platform, and how he’s managed to balance incredible safety with amazing content.

While it’s so much better than years before, the startup and venture capital world is notoriously difficult for women. But at the same time, supporting only women initiatives is counterintuitive, says Molly Cain founder of Gov City.

She’s worked in both the government and the tech space where she’s witnessed really positive changes for women over the years. She didn’t expect to experience this lack of diversity in the federal world because it’s easy to assume all the rules and regulations protect it from bias. But Molly says it was the most fierce environment for women because emotions are especially not welcome. One of the greatest gifts women often have is their ability to use their emotions to collaborate, connect, and build relationships. But it went unappreciated in the government sector.

How do you balance the two? We discuss that and more on today’s episode.

Private sector innovation has seen tremendous growth over the past 10 years, while the military has been looking to infuse it in their strategy. 

“We are at a reflection point in the military,” explained Mark. He continued, “the current system is an industrial one. To be able to to deliver on time and at a better price, we need to figure out how to best modernize our practices.”

We sat down with Mark Esper to chat on how tables have turned and what the future is for innovation in the army.

Capital Factory, the Center of Gravity for Entrepreneurs in Texas, presents Austinpreneur – a podcast highlighting Austin’s startups, entrepreneurs, and innovators. Join in on candid conversations with leaders who have built companies from the ground up and visionaries creating the next wave of world-changing technology. Discover the importance of your network, meet the people supporting your journey, and connect with the community making it all happen.

Welcome to the show!