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Noah Kagan was one of the first people I met when I moved to Austin, TX 5 years ago. He immediately invited me to his annual AppSumo ride and also put me in touch with Jeffrey Nolte, who became one of my closest friends in Austin. This is the kind of guy Noah is - he loves Austin and knows that newcomers will get the most out of it by meeting great people.

We reconnected meaningfully when I launched the Hill Climbers group rides - he was one of the first to suffer with us at 645am so his support was extra appreciated. He also put me in touch with Stephen Cunningham, who has become another close friend and partner on Hill Climbers. This time my connection with Noah was a bit tighter because my son had just arrived and his daughter was on the way - we shared the incredible experience. 

Anyway, Noah has had quite a journey and accomplished a lot along the way. This is why I knew he was the guy to approach about being the featured guest at our First Annual Hill Climbers summit. Noah was flattered when I asked and on board right away. The evening came together perfectly, and frankly, Noah blew the crowd away with his honesty and audience engagement skillz.

Hill Climbers is more than just a podcast, it's a growing business network for cyclists. You can tap into our event by following our Linkedin and Instagram, and subscribing to our newsletter.

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One year ago, Franco Martins, a friend and collaborator, told me that the CTO at his place of work, Icon, is a cyclist and was going to ride bikes with us. Here’s why this is a big deal: 

Icon is one of Austin’s more buzzy unicorns because they 3D print housing communities using massive robots that lay down concrete walls in the same way you squeeze toothpaste from the tube. If that wasn’t crazy enough, they have government contracts to build roads on the moon using the moon’s surface material. Yah.

Alex Le Roux didn’t turn up on a Hill Climbers ride until recently, and it took me until his second ride to chat him up to learn that he’s the guy. This is what it’s all about! It turns out Alex is no slouch on a bike and throughout the day we participated in a bit of a slugfest (he got me on Mt Bonnell and I returned the favor on Jester). Also, that thing when you’re putting out 320+ watts while talking shop and trying to make it seem like your breathing isn’t so labored…

You can probably guess that I asked Alex to come on the show and he was super generous with his time, as he recently stepped away from Icon after investing 10 years of his career. We talk a lot about how he’s experiencing and thinking about that transition, on top of the more obvious topics like contrasting 3D printing houses with traditional construction.

Honestly, Alex’s path and Icon are so innovative that I tried to frame questions that would help me understand how he experiences the world. Spoiler alert: this guy loves solving big societal problems, and somehow wasn’t afraid to get started at a young age. Another tantalizing nugget…he’s winning bike races! Watch the show and draw your own conclusions about what makes Alex tick.

Alex Le Roux Linkedin:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexanderleroux/

Icon:
https://www.iconbuild.com/

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Jason Codianne from Chasing Watts was put on my radar by Scott Barger, a Zwift cofounder I used to ride with in LA. Scott has been super supportive of Hill Climbers by keeping me posted on interesting cycling and tech happenings in his world, and Chasing Watts fits the bill.

Jason has been a career software engineer in Houston’s energy sector and he’s also an avid bike racer. Like many, many engineers before him, Jason identified pain points in an inefficient system and needed to do something about it. And we’re talking about group ride organization. Strava, text, email, facebook event page etc, etc. Nothing really seemed to support a ride leaders main needs which are to easily post a ride with key details, track RSVPs, and importantly, share it within an ecosystem where it’s easily searchable. In other words, help new people find your ride. As you may suspect we cover how Chasing Watts stacks up with Strava’s group ride features. 

What Jason has built out of Houston is nothing short of remarkable. Chasing Watts hosts on average 50 rides per week and counts thousands of Houston cyclists as active members. On the show we’ll explore Jason’t plans for expansion and much more. Enjoy.

https://chasingwatts.com/

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A couple of years ago I witnessed Amos Schwartzfarb in action with his Techstars ATX cohort at my coworking space in east Austin. He led the program with an electric energy that was both intense but also genial and fun. This guy was a leader with style, and it was to my DELIGHT that I discovered he’s a cyclist before I had actually met him.

Fast forward to Techstars Demo Day 2023 and Amos, dressed in a signature vest, announced that the program was leaving Austin, and he would also be ending his 8 year run as Managing Director. Not only did he have a fantastic stage presence, I could feel the love in the room for this dude who clearly gave his all to the community. It was special - not something I’ll soon forget.

Our friendship began when I told Amos I was starting a group ride to facilitate networking among Austin cyclists, and he encouraged the initiative from the jump. Here was a respected community builder, a guy I barely knew, giving me a vote of confidence. This was a small but really significant push that brought Hill Climbers into real life. Fast forward again to May 6th, when I interviewed Amos in front of a live audience, covering topics like adventure racing, his book, “Levers” and the difficulty of creating boundaries when you have so much to give, in reference to his time as Techstars MD. Amos encompasses a lot of characteristics we revere in this community including: out of the ordinary, generous, empathic and wicked smart, so we think you’ll enjoy the show.

Linkedin:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/amosschwartzfarb/

Levers:
https://www.leversbook.com/

Techstars:
https://www.techstars.com/

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Let's cut to the chase - this panel features a story in which Tolley harasses and attacks World Champion, Peter Sagan at Unbound...and hilarity ensues.

Anyway, this show was a culmination of two years worth of Hill Climbers work. We featured not one but three guests, and the panel kicked off the SXSW celebration at the Meteor bike shop, our second home. What’s more, we supported a local entrepreneur with insight from two seasoned experts.

The panelists had a blast riffing on topics like controversy in influencer marketing, and the audience got an unfiltered perspective on how the creator economy actually functions. Organic connections between each panelist have been established, which furthers our goal of making cycling communities stronger. So yeah, this sums up what we’re trying to do. Now enjoy the show!

Driveway Series 
https://drivewayseries.com/

Chris Tolley:
https://www.youtube.com/user/EloquentBmxer

People's Endurance:
https://peoplesendurance.com/

Elliott Teller:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/elliott-teller-b0a23193/

Chas Lacaillade:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/chas-lacaillade-a763a232/

Hill Climbers is more than just a podcast, it's a growing business network for cyclists. You can tap into our event by following our Linkedin and Instagram, and subscribing to our newsletter.

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Elliott Teller introduced himself at our first live event, and told me he was about to launch his Austin-based cycling and running apparel brand, People’s Endurance. I liked Elliott’s understated and laid back vibe, and we quickly made plans to exchange more info about our respective worlds. What unfolded was a three hour hang in my backyard which covered way more than bikes and business - we both have baby boys, and this certainly broke the ice. It turns out Elliott has a background in film, and immediately encouraged me to step up our content game. What’s more - he said he’d lend a hand.

Here’s the thing - Elliott actually delivered. And why am I dwelling on Hill Climber’s content during Elliott’s intro? Because he has conviction in what he does and how he goes about it that’s grounded in purpose. What’s more, if you sit down and talk to Elliott, which we did, you’ll quickly understand that there are layers of preconceived strategy that support his actions. A lot of Elliott’s MO can be tied back to his single parent upbringing, excellence in soccer, and ability to tap into his passions. I think you’ll enjoy the discussion.

Elliott Teller: 
https://www.linkedin.com/in/elliott-teller-b0a23193/

People's Endurance: 
https://peoplesendurance.com/

Chapters

• The Impact of Role Models and Coaching
• Navigating Early Career Choices in Film
• Lessons from the Pandemic: Finding Opportunity in Chaos
• The Journey into Cycling: Rediscovering Fitness
• The Entrepreneurial Spirit: From Childhood Ventures to Cycling Apparel
• Creating a Unique Brand Identity, Aesthetic Choices and Market Positioning
• Building Community: Word of Mouth and Engagement
• The Cycling Market: Supply, Demand, and Growth
• Cycling Barriers to Entry: Price, Dorkiness, and Danger
• Funding the Dream: Capital and Manufacturing Relationships
• Navigating Tariffs: Business Agility and Adaptation
• Endurance: Lessons from Cycling Applied to Business

Hill Climbers is more than just a podcast, it's a growing business network for cyclists. You can tap into our event by following our Linkedin and Instagram, and subscribing to our newsletter.

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This episode is part two of our show with Mark Farmery, founder of Biotech Bikers and Chief Development Officer at Swedish biotech firm, Anocca. In part II Mark tells us about how his urge to apply scientific education led him from academia into pharma and biotech business development. Mark also explains biotech venture basics, as well as the T cell therapies his employer, Anocca, is pioneering to address pancreatic cancer, which is usually fatal. Stay tuned to learn quite a bit, as the subject matter ranges far from our well worn topics, and check out part I to hear about how Mark founded an international network of Biotech Bikers.

Mark Farmery:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/markfarmery

Anocca:
https://www.anocca.com/

Chapters

• Mark's Journey: From England to Sweden
• Understanding Microbiology and Biochemistry
• Transitioning from Academia to Industry
• The Role of Pharmaceuticals in Healthcare
• AstraZeneca: Navigating the Patent Cliff
• The Power of Collaboration in Biotech
• Transitioning to Business Development
• Understanding Pharmaceutical R&D Challenges
• The Biotech Venture Model Explained
• Innovations in T Cell Therapies
• Anocca's Clinical Trial Milestone
• Role of Chief Development Officer at Anocca

Hill Climbers is more than just a podcast, it's a growing business network for cyclists. You can tap into our event by following our Linkedin and Instagram, and subscribing to our newsletter.

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The key metric for measuring Hill Climbers success is engagement - but I’m not talking about likes, comments and shares. The show with Eric Min from Zwift was a big milestone for us because Eric’s a known quantity in our world, and deep down I was hoping for recognition in the form of connecting with NEW folks over a shared passion for bikes and business. 

On January 9th I received a message from Mark Farmery that read “Hey Sam, it's fantastic what you're doing with Hill Climb. It would be great to connect, tell you more about BiotechBikers, the cycling-centric bioscience community I founded, and explore synergies.” I didn't even notice the typo, because here was someone who has been cultivating a cycling business community for years, and he managed to find me through the show! Honestly I didn’t know any other like minded communities existed and I couldn’t have asked for a more satisfying response to my #1 KPI.

It turns out, Mark is Chief Development Officer at Anocca, a cutting edge Swedish T Cell therapy biotech that’s focused on treatments for pancreatic cancer, which is wildly fatal and therefore on the list of more menacing cancers…more on that in a future episode. It also turns out that Mark is a huge believer in the power of networking to bring the right people together to solve extremely complicated challenges like altering the body’s immune system response to cancerous cells. It was this urge AND his lifelong love of cycling that compelled him to bring his bike to big biotech conferences, and encourage others to join him. What started in 2018 with just three people has grown into an international biotech and pharma networking community with chapters all over the world! Stay tuned to meet Mark and learn how Biotech Bikers became a thriving community online and IRL.

Hill Climbers is more than just a podcast, it's a growing business network for cyclists. You can tap into our event by following our Linkedin and Instagram, and subscribing to our newsletter.

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To help spread the word about the show, my friend Rey Madolora put me on an email with a bunch of Austin cyclists that are also notable in the business community. One by one I was able to meet most of them, but Rob Taylor was elusive. When I followed his Strava I noticed that he was regularly climbing mountains in Europe…like really frequently and his trips had names like, “Epic Three Nations.” Needless to say this piqued my interest but he’s not on the group ride scene here so I wasn’t going to just run into him. I did run into his brother, Chris, at The Red Fridge Society, which he opened as a membership club and event space for founders. When I told Chris that we had started promoting live events, he said, “you should interview my brother, here.” And that’s how you stalk a podcast guest.

Rob’s ride through the dot com bubble and bust got him started in triathlon as an outlet to channel frustration - not exactly a joyful pursuit. Gradually, during his high flying career taking companies public, reaching a 9 figure exit and becoming a VC, Rob discovered a passion for European bike trips HEAVY on the climbing because the experience distills his complicated life down to basic pleasures: fitness, suffering, outdoors, local cuisine and companionship. We had a blast at the Red Fridge exploring Rob’s leadership insights as far as team building, communicating, and relishing the adventure as opposed to coveting the outcome. No topic was off limits for the audience Q&A, including Rob’s glorious hair. Now, enjoy the show.

Hill Climbers is more than just a podcast, it's a growing business network for cyclists. You can tap into our event by following our Linkedin and Instagram, and subscribing to our newsletter.

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We could have interviewed Allison Morrison fresh off her World’s debut in Olympic distance triathlon as a UT MBA student and full time Meta employee. However this podcast has a strong entrepreneurial theme (you, reader, are about to feel inadequate), and sure enough, Allison made room for her startup, Ralli, on top of 15hr weekly training blocks, coursework and the day job. Ralli launched in 2022 as a web app to help athletes match with training buddies, and is expanding to include club messaging features with an imminent native app release. The special sauce in this episode is the LIVE AUDIENCE! We hosted Allison at the Meteor in Austin with 40 other guests, our first public event, and the authentic laugh track takes this podcast energy to the next level. Do not miss the second half which covers the audience Q&A, because the questions about righteous selfishness, scaling the app for critical mass and fundraising were WAY better than ours! Enjoy.

Hill Climbers is more than just a podcast, it's a growing business network for cyclists. You can tap into our event by following our Linkedin and Instagram, and subscribing to our newsletter.

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