The Building Texas Show

UTPB serves 7,400 students in the heart of the Permian Basin — and most come from within 150 miles. President Dr. Woodley breaks down how the University of Texas Permian Basin trains the energy, aerospace, and advanced manufacturing workforce powering West Texas.

The only regional comprehensive university in the Permian Basin sits next to a spaceport, inside the oilfield that Dr. Woodley says powers the world in so many ways. Eight years into the presidency, she's building engineering programs (including an aeronautics track), a wet lab, an Advanced Manufacturing Center, a Water and Energy Research Center, and a business incubator inside the Center for Energy and Economic Diversification in Midland-Odessa.

We cover the wildcatter spirit that pulls civic and industry leaders together, why UTPB's model is "grow our own," how paid internships turn into full-time hires almost overnight, and what employers get wrong when they wait to partner with their local university.

Guest: Dr. Woodley, President, University of Texas Permian Basin (UTPB)
Host: Justin McKenzie | The Building Texas Show

⏱️ Chapters
0:00 - Cold open: wildcatter spirit in the Permian Basin
0:16 - UTPB, the SEED building & Midland-Odessa energy partnership
0:52 - Wildcatter spirit and the Permian Basin's global impact
1:39 - Grow our own: 7,400 students within 150 miles
2:49 - Beyond oil and gas: spaceport, aerospace & engineering
3:30 - Four engineering programs and the aeronautics track
4:00 - Advanced Manufacturing, Water & Energy Research, incubator
4:28 - Closing the university-employer gap in West Texas
5:20 - Paid internships employers snap up fast
5:59 - Best backyard in the world for energy engineers

🔗 Watch more Texas growth stories: https://www.youtube.com/@BuildingTexasShow

#Texas #PermianBasin #UTPB #OilAndGas #TexasGrowth #BuildingTexas #WestTexas #EnergyJobs #MidlandOdessa #WorkforceDevelopment

Fractional CFO, now CEO, Bart Davis built 512Financial into a firm serving startups across Austin and the wider Texas startup ecosystem, and he says most founders wait too long to fix their back office. In this conversation he breaks down what a fractional CFO costs (his rule: 2 to 4 percent of revenue), the two hires every founder gets wrong, and whether AI can replace a CFO.

512Financial grew out of a real need. From 2014 to 2021, Bart ran fractional finance for Joel Trammell's portfolio (Packet Design, iGrafx, CM First Group, Novi Labs). After two exits, he saw the same gap across the Austin and San Antonio startup scene and built the firm around it. He walks through why a Fortune 500 CFO and a startup CFO are two different jobs, and why the skills that scale a company from $1M to $15M rarely come from a global finance seat.

He does not hold back on the numbers. One client came in with what he calls "random number generator financial statements" from a bigger outside firm. His fix starts with a simple benchmark: a growing company should spend 2 to 4 percent of revenue on its finance function, which is roughly $250K on a $15M business. He explains why the first two hires a founder should make are a controller and an HR leader, before the next salesperson, and why that order protects your exit.

We also get into the fractional model itself: specialized talent for the price of one generalist, why 512Financial keeps its people on W-2 instead of 1099, and how the HireBetter and Austin People Works acquisitions let the firm add fractional HR and executive retained search. Bart calls it "monetizing churn," placing the full-time CFO once a client outgrows the fractional seat. Then the AI question: can Claude build your financial model? His answer is direct. The output is riddled with errors because the tool makes up its own context when a human does not give it any.

If you are a founder, operator, or investor watching how Texas is building the next wave of companies, this one is worth 25 minutes.

CHAPTERS
00:00 The "random number generator financials" that started it
00:20 Meet Bart Davis, 512Financial (Austin, Texas)
01:11 How a fractional CFO service grew out of a startup portfolio
02:42 Why a startup CFO is nothing like a Fortune 500 CFO
03:42 Buying Austin People Works and HireBetter: fractional HR and retained search
06:22 Why Texas keeps growing while the economy contracts
07:11 San Antonio named the most entrepreneurial city in the country
07:43 When to hire a fractional CFO: finding the inflection point
10:41 The 2 to 4 percent rule: what finance should cost
12:04 Getting grant and public-funding ready before the window opens
12:58 The first two hires every founder gets wrong
13:55 Inside the fractional model: talent for the price of one generalist
15:44 1099 vs W-2: the risk most founders miss
18:47 Can AI replace your CFO?
20:40 Who should call 512 Financial
21:53 Closing

GUEST
Bart Davis, Co-Founder, 512Financial (Five One Two Financial)
Learn more: https://www.512financial.com

The Building Texas Show, hosted by Justin McKenzie, covers the founders, mayors, and innovators driving Texas growth.

Subscribe for new episodes: https://www.youtube.com/@thebuildingtexasshow

Mayor Rudy Cruz runs a Texas border city east of El Paso where families are selling farmland their grandparents worked by hand. The irrigation water turned salty, summers now hit triple digits, and the next generation walked away from the tractor. So Socorro is converting that land into a foreign trade zone and the manufacturing and logistics sites feeding cross-border trade with Mexico.

Justin McKenzie sits down with Mayor Cruz on how a city built around 400-year-old adobe missions rebuilds its economy without erasing 400 years of history.

We cover:
→ Why Socorro's farmland is flipping to commercial, industrial, and foreign-trade-zone use
→ How Ysleta del Sur Pueblo, one of only three federally recognized tribes in Texas, partners with the city
→ How Socorro ISD sends kids out of high school with an associate's degree, and why Fort Bliss wants to bus students in
→ The nine-mile mission trail and the 400-year-old adobe mission built from wood and mud, still standing today

The Building Texas Show covers the founders, mayors, and innovators building the future of Texas.

#Socorro #ElPaso #TexasBusiness #BuildingTexas #BorderTrade

00:00 Families are selling the farmland
00:24 Welcome to Socorro, east of El Paso
00:45 The city with a 400-year-old mission
01:08 Three missions and the 9-mile corridor
02:23 How the economy shifted from farms to factories
03:33 Why the farmland is disappearing: water and salt
04:33 Turning farmland into commercial and trade-zone land
04:51 Building jobs to keep the next generation
05:58 The small business incubator plan
07:49 One of only 3 federally recognized tribes in Texas
10:27 Inside Socorro ISD, a 6A district
11:39 An associate's degree straight out of high school
12:44 Why Fort Bliss wants to bus students in
13:18 Come visit: missions, breweries, and pecan beer
13:50 The 400-year-old adobe mission you can still walk
16:48 There's only one Socorro

Texas public schools sent just under $3 billion back to the state in 2025 through "recapture" — the law nicknamed Robin Hood. About 20% of all Texas school districts now pay it, and most of that money never reaches a property-poor district. Missy Bender, Executive Director of the Texas School Coalition, explains where it actually goes.

Austin ISD paid the most at $770 million. Pecos-Barstow-Toyah, a West Texas oil-rich district, paid $198 million. Missy walks through the formula that decides who pays: total property valuation divided by average daily attendance, measured against a threshold the state sets. She breaks down why declining enrollment and rising property values hit districts as a "double whammy," how a student missing a few hours for a doctor's appointment can cost a district a full day of funding, and why she stopped calling recapture "Robin Hood" altogether.

The part most taxpayers miss: recapture generates state savings. The state reduces its own deposit into the Foundation School Program by the recapture amount and keeps the difference — money that can flow to water, transportation, or vouchers instead of public education. Missy served on the Plano ISD school board for two decades before moving into full-time advocacy, and she lays out exactly what Texas voters can do about it before the Legislature meets.

Host Justin McKenzie sits down with Missy Bender to make one of the most misunderstood parts of Texas school finance make sense.

CHAPTERS
00:00 The $3 Billion Question
01:03 Meet Missy Bender, Texas School Coalition
02:36 What the Coalition Actually Does
03:07 Can a School District Refuse to Pay Recapture?
03:42 What Is Recapture? The "Robin Hood" Formula Explained
09:40 The "Double Whammy" Hitting Growing Districts
10:58 How Daily Attendance Decides School Funding
15:53 Who Pays the Most: Austin ISD's $770 Million
18:04 Where the $3 Billion Really Goes: State Savings
22:23 Local vs. State Share and the "Adequacy" Fight
25:24 What Texas Voters Can Do Before the Legislature Meets

Learn more about the Texas School Coalition: TXSC.org

The Building Texas Show covers the people and policy shaping Texas — economic development, the housing market, and the business of a growing state. Hosted by Justin McKenzie. Subscribe for new episodes with the founders, mayors, and innovators building Texas.

#TexasSchools #Recapture #TexasEducation #SchoolFinance #BuildingTexas

Everyone says aerospace and defense is coming to Austin. It's actually coming to Buda.

In this episode of The Building Texas Show, host Justin McKenzie sits down with Jennifer Storm (CEO, Buda Economic Development Corporation) and Monica Davidson (CEO, Greater Buda Chamber of Commerce & Buda City Council) to unpack how this small city just south of Austin became a magnet for aerospace and defense companies — in just seven months.

We cover:
Why aerospace/defense firms are picking Buda over Austin, Round Rock, and Pflugerville
Inside the Hive incubator: 60 entrepreneurs through 4 cohorts in one year
Jennifer's national IEDC award, accepted at the Library of Congress
How Monica doubled Chamber membership in two years
The new retail incubator coming to Buda's restored 1884 train depot
Workforce development: the Hays CISD teacher externship program
The origin story of Buda's Wiener Dog Races — and its trademarked title as the Wiener Dog Capital of Texas

Buda, Texas is proving that economic development, entrepreneurship, and community collaboration can build a city's future — one incentive, one incubator graduate, and one wiener dog race at a time.

🔔 Subscribe to The Building Texas Show for more conversations with the people building Texas' fastest-growing communities.

Chapters:
0:00 Introduction
0:16 Meet Jennifer Storm & Monica Davidson
1:47 The Hive Incubator & Entrepreneurship in Buda
3:25 Aerospace & Defense Coming to Buda, Not Austin
6:06 Jennifer's National IEDC Award
7:30 Doubling the Chamber's Membership
9:27 What Does a Chamber of Commerce Actually Do?
15:12 The 1884 Train Depot Retail Incubator
19:29 Doubling Chamber Membership: Small Business to Enterprise
24:00 Workforce Development & Teacher Externships
28:04 The Wiener Dog Capital of Texas

#BudaTexas #TexasEconomicDevelopment #AustinTexas

Associa is the largest manager of homeowners associations in the world — a 24,000-employee, five-country operation that started with just two people in Dallas, Texas. In this episode of The Building Texas Show, host Justin McKenzie sits down with John Carona, CEO of Associa and former Texas State Senator, to unpack what HOAs actually do, why they matter for property values, and how a nearly 50-year-old Dallas company became a global category leader.

John shares the real story behind Associa's growth: bootstrapping the business after college at the University of Texas at Austin, scaling through 200+ acquisitions, expanding into Spain (with the UK, France, Italy, and Germany next), and building a "family culture" strong enough to earn Associa nine consecutive years as a National Best Place to Work.

In this episode, you'll learn:
Why homes in mandatory HOAs tend to appreciate faster than those outside them
What percentage of HOA residents actually report a positive experience (survey data inside)
How Associa collects feedback — three board surveys a year — to catch problems early
The role technology plays in modernizing HOA management and lowering costs
How Associa's acquisition strategy works (25–30 companies acquired per year)
Why Associa is expanding into Europe, starting with Spain, UK, France, Italy, and Germany
What homeowners, developers, and management company owners should know before reaching out
Advice for Texans buying in fast-growing markets around transportation and builder quality

About the guest: John Carona is the CEO and founder of Associa, the world's largest manager of community and homeowners associations, operating in five countries and 44 of 50 U.S. states. He previously served 24 years in Texas public office, including as a Texas State Senator representing the Dallas area.
About The Building Texas Show: The Building Texas Show, hosted by Justin McKenzie, features conversations with the leaders, builders, and innovators shaping growth across Texas — from real estate and construction to the people managing the communities Texans call home.

🔗 Learn more about Associa: https://www.associaonline.com/

🔗 Subscribe for more Building Texas Show episodes: https://www.youtube.com/@thebuildingtexasshow

Topics: homeowners associations, HOA management, community associations, property values, Associa, John Carona, Texas real estate, Texas business, Dallas companies, PropTech

00:00 – Cold open: 95% of HOA residents love where they live
00:42 – Welcome John Carona, CEO of Associa
01:15 – What Associa actually does (the "back office" of HOAs)
02:36 – Why HOAs boost property values
03:37 – Technology's role in modern HOA management
04:55 – Communication, board surveys, and catching problems early
06:29 – Career growth inside Associa's 340 branch offices
07:49 – Building a "family culture" at scale
09:22 – Origin story: starting with two employees in Dallas
11:47 – Global expansion: acquiring 200+ companies, entering Spain
14:29 – How homeowners can get involved with their HOA board
15:45 – Being a Texas company abroad
17:19 – Who should contact Associa (owners, developers, sellers)
19:28 – Advice for homeowners in fast-growing Texas markets
21:17 – Closing thoughts and thanks

Q: What is Associa? A: Associa is the largest manager of homeowners and community associations in the world, operating in five countries and 44 of 50 U.S. states, founded and headquartered in Dallas, Texas.
Q: Who is John Carona? A: John Carona is the CEO of Associa and a former Texas State Senator who served 24 years in Texas public office. He founded Associa nearly 50 years ago starting with two employees.
Q: Do HOAs increase property values? A: According to Associa CEO John Carona, homes within mandatory homeowners associations tend to appreciate in value at a more rapid rate than comparable homes outside HOAs, due to enforced conformity and maintenance standards.
Q: How many people work at Associa? A: Associa employs approximately 24,000 people across 340 branch offices worldwide.
Q: Is Associa expanding internationally? A: Yes. Associa recently acquired the number-two HOA management operator in Spain and plans to expand into the UK, France, Italy, and Germany over the next several years.

A comment from the Frisco ISD school board president "this is our meeting, not the
community's” got a standing ovation for the woman who called him out on it. A statewide paper ran the clip. Strangers told her to run for school board. She looked for someone else to do it, couldn't find anyone, and ran herself in 2022.

In this episode of The Building Texas Show, host Justin McKenzie talks with Stephanie Elad, a corporate HR executive turned two-term Frisco ISD trustee, about what changes once you're the one making the calls instead of commenting on them. She walks through how she brought a confidential, third-party engagement survey into the district to get honest feedback from teachers and cut turnover, and how years of HR work shape the harder conversations trustees have to have with staff and parents. She and Justin also get into career and technical education: plumbing and HVAC apprenticeships that can pay $60,000 to $70,000 a year straight out of high school, and why Elad thinks the trades matter more, not less, as AI reshapes other jobs. Near the end, she talks about a problem Frisco ISD hasn't dealt with before — the district is landlocked and built out, and after two decades of growth, enrollment is now going down.

WHAT YOU'LL LEARN:
How a comment at a 2021 board meeting turned into a statewide story and, eventually, a school board campaign
Why Elad pushed for a confidential, third-party teacher engagement survey and what it changed about turnover
Why plumbing, HVAC, and e-gaming programs are pulling in more CTE
  partnerships than ever
How Frisco ISD is planning around declining enrollment after 20-plus
  years of growth
What Elad tells parents who call her before they've called the district

TIMESTAMPS:
00:00 – Cold open: the comment that sparked it all
00:18 – Welcome to The Building Texas Show
00:40 – Moving to Frisco and choosing Frisco ISD
01:38 – The viral school board meeting that started it all
03:58 – Running as an HR exec, not a politician
04:28 – Winning re-election as the underdog
06:29 – Why teachers leave the profession
07:36 – What an HR leader brings to a school board
08:36 – Corporate partnerships and CTE programs
09:31 – Plumbing, HVAC, and apprenticeships that pay $60-70K
10:22 – P-TECH, community colleges, and workforce pipelines
11:52 – Preparing kids for jobs that don't exist yet
12:58 – A trustee's summer: strategic planning season
13:56 – How Frisco families engage with the school board
16:46 – Why voting in school board elections matters
17:56 – How to follow your local school board
18:26 – What's next for Stephanie Elad
20:50 – Frisco ISD's new reality: declining enrollment
21:54 – Building the future of Texas, one district at a time

ABOUT THE GUEST:

Stephanie Elad is a two-term Frisco ISD trustee, elected in 2022 and
re-elected in 2025, serving through 2028. She spent her career in corporate HR at Fortune 100 companies before running for the board on a platform of teacher retention and community engagement. She and her family have lived in Frisco for 13 years. 

Subscribe for more conversations with the people building Texas communities.

#FriscoISD #BuildingTexas #SchoolBoard #TexasEducation #StephanieElad

Mark Kundysek started NexCourt in 1989 with a $250 dealer kit and a satchel of plastic tile samples. Today, his company has built close to 50 basketball courts for the Dallas Mavericks Foundation, 50 Dream Courts with Nancy Lieberman, and 6 mini-pitch futsal courts across North Texas for the 2026 World Cup.Mark sat down with Justin McKenzie at The Building Texas Show to talk about 35 years of sport court construction in DFW. 

From building some of the first courts in Southlake and Frisco when Highway 121 was still a two-lane road, to the pickleball boom of 2021 that transformed his commercial pipeline. Backyard game courts are still 60% of NexCourt's business. 

The conversation covers NexCourt's partnerships with the Dallas Mavericks (25 years), Nancy Lieberman's Dream Courts (17 years), FC Dallas Foundation, Dallas Stars Foundation, Make a Wish, and the Dak Prescott Foundation. Plus the World Cup ribbon cuttings at Espinarza Community Center in North Dallas (June 20) and George Stevens Park in downtown Arlington (June 26).0:00 Introduction - Mark Kundysek, CEO & Founder of NexCourt

0:39 From $250 to 35 Years: How NexCourt Started (1988-89)
2:13 When Frisco Was a Two-Lane Road: Building the Metroplex
3:18 6 World Cup Futsal Courts Across North Texas
6:04 Arlington Roots: Mark's Soccer Origins (1969)
7:13 50 Courts for the Dallas Mavericks Foundation
8:30 Nancy Lieberman Dream Courts & FC Dallas Partnership
10:01 Backyard Courts (60% of Business) & the Pickleball Boom
12:37 Where to Find NexCourt Online
13:41 World Cup Ribbon Cuttings: June 20 & June 26

NexCourt: https://www.nexcourt.com

In this episode of the Building Texas Show, host Justin sits down with Kelly to discuss the realities of operating multiple companies. If you are an entrepreneur looking for insights on scaling operations or navigating the local market, this conversation offers a grounded perspective on what it takes to succeed in the region.

We break down the professional journey of building a portfolio of businesses from the ground up. Kelly shares her approach to leadership and the specific challenges of maintaining growth while balancing various ventures in Fair Oaks Ranch. This discussion provides a clear look at the daily discipline required to sustain a business owner interview style career.

Kelli Hull enjoys a career in Washington DC but is also opening Monkee's of Fair Oaks Ranch, a women's contemporary boutique franchise in Lemon Creek Ranch. She found a gap in the Texas Hill Country market: no one was carrying the contemporary designers she was used to finding in major cities. The Monkee's franchise model gave her the buying power to pull brands like Aviator Nation, Paige Denim, and Frame into a small-town boutique. Bexar County approved her building permit in 72 hours. The store opens August 20th.

Justin McKenzie sits down with Kelli to talk about the franchise discovery process, why she chose Lemon Creek Ranch over established shopping centers, and how the Monkee's franchise model provides "guardrails and training wheels" for first-time business owners. They also cover the military community programs she's building into the store and her promise to never let a customer walk out looking anything less than phenomenal.

00:00 — Why Kelli Hull Left DC for Fair Oaks Ranch
01:15 — The Fashion Gap in Boerne & Texas Hill Country
03:30 — How Kelli Discovered the Monkee's Franchise Model
06:45 — Franchise Buying Power vs Independent Boutique
09:20 — Why Lemon Creek Ranch Beat La Cantera
12:10 — Bexar County 72-Hour Building Permit
14:00 — Customer Experience at Monkee's of Fair Oaks
16:30 — Military Community Programs & Support
19:00 — The "Solemn Vow" Customer Promise
20:45 — What Franchising Teaches First-Time Entrepreneurs
22:00 — Opening Day: August 20th in Lemon Creek Ranch

Building Texas Show host Justin McKenzie covers the Texas economy, Texas business growth, and the innovators building the future of Texas.

🔗 Follow Monkee's of Fair Oaks Ranch:   / monkeysoffairoaks   🌐 Monkee's franchise info: https://ownamonkees.com
Hear from a successful multi-business owner in Fair Oaks Ranch. Discover the practical strategies behind managing diverse ventures in Texas.

Subscribe for weekly Texas business growth interviews and comment below on which industry you would like to see featured next.

Intelligence Farming is coming by 2027, but are rural communities ready for the shift? Learn how AI tools can assist local leaders.

This video explores why many small towns remain unprepared for the rapid arrival of intelligence farming. We look at the specific challenges facing volunteer mayors and city councils as they attempt to manage modern infrastructure and community resources with limited budgets. Understanding these gaps is essential for anyone interested in the future of local governance.

By providing better access to civic technology, we can bridge the divide between major cities and smaller municipalities. The discussion centers on how AI acts as a democratizing force, giving local government AI users the visibility and data needed to make informed decisions. You will see how these resources empower community leadership to advocate for their constituents more effectively.

Subscribe for weekly rural development insights, and comment your thoughts on whether your local town council is prepared for these technological changes.

Rural Texas communities are falling behind in the AI economy, and the gap is widening fast. Katie Milton Jordan, founder and CEO of simpleedo.ai, says the strategies that used to require big budgets and big-city staff are now within reach for volunteer mayors and small-town economic development teams. The problem is not access to AI. It is adoption.

Katie sits down with Justin McKenzie in Mason, Texas to explain why municipalities are late adopters, what "intelligence farming" means for local economic development, and how a consortium of 120+ AI transformation experts is working to close the preparedness gap between site selectors and rural communities. They cover revenue optimization and risk management for municipalities, the Hill Country Venture Fest (October 1st in the Texas Hill Country), and the Texas Venture Gala and Forum in Austin.

If you lead a Texas community or invest in the Texas growth corridor, this conversation is your playbook for 2027.

CHAPTERS
00:00 - Introduction: Katie Milton Jordan, Founder & CEO of simpleedo.ai
01:30 - The AI preparedness gap in rural Texas
04:15 - Meeting 30 EDOs at a time: what Katie is seeing nationally
07:45 - Revenue optimization and risk management for municipalities
10:20 - Why municipalities are late adopters (and how to fix it)
12:59 - 2027: The year of intelligence farming and context mining
15:00 - The site-selector problem: rural communities are under-prepared
17:34 - How AI democratizes strategy for volunteer mayors
18:55 - Hill Country Venture Fest (October 1st) and Texas Venture Gala
21:00 - What Texas leaders should do next
Connect with Katie Milton Jordan:

simpleedo.ai: https://simpleedo.ai
thetownie.ai: https://thetownie.ai
Hill Country Venture Fest: October 1st, Texas Hill Country

@katiemiltonjordanmba

Connect with The Building Texas Show:

YouTube: @BuildingTexasShow
Hosted by Justin McKenzie

#BuildingTexas #TexasGrowth #AI #EconomicDevelopment #TexasHillCountry