We arrived in Austin late last night/early this morning, slap happy from all the travel. Our first stop was Whataburger, a burger chain that we don’t have in Michigan. After our late night indulgence, we got to our hotel to sleep for a few hours before our next day’s meetings.
Our first meeting was at the Austin Technology Incubator of University of Texas. We met with the principal of the ATI Clean Energy Portfolio, Kathleen Baireuther and a partner, Mitch Jacobson. We learned that ATI takes startups in the areas of Clean Technology, Biotechnology, and IT Wireless. We also discussed the history of companies like Dell being a big part of Austin’s base of success in the technology area. ATI’s model is to get smaller companies sold to larger companies. We also discussed the role of government funding, which is an important part of ATI. ATI keeps its government funding by having measurable economic impact on the Austin community. Although this piece of the community may not seem as romantic as the hip co-working spaces and fast-talking entrepreneurs and investors, I think it is very important to have a connection between the more traditional roles of government and universities to the entrepreneurs themselves and have measured economic impact from a place like ATI.
When then enjoyed a hearty lunch at Rudy’s BBQ. Everyone seemed to enjoy the fast-paced, friendly, and down to earth atmosphere of this restaurant. Although it was most exciting for the meat lovers, even our vegetarian friends found some excellent sides to be excited about.
After lunch we went to TechRanch where we met with the founder and CEO Kevin Kyom. In our meeting we discussed many of the same topics we have been discussing thus far. We talked about how the collaborative culture of Austin is an asset to its startup community. We also discussed how personal passion for your startup is essential to its success. Another common theme we discussed is the acceptance of failure. It seemed as if Kevin was very much in line with what we saw in Boulder. Although the feeling of the cities is different and the vocabulary used differs slightly, it seems that we are really starting to grasp some common ideas about startup communities in the different cities we have visited. Successful startup communities accept failure, collaborate, give back, and have passion for their ideas.
After a short break at the hotel, we went to Chuy’s, a eclectic Tex-Mex restaurant where we met an old friend of John’s, Mark Miller, and some partners of the social media startup, LOVOO. It was great being able to share the story of our class with new friends. We were also able to hear a little about the company LOVOO, which is an app that allows you to meet nearby people based on your shared interests. It seems like a really fun idea.
Today was a long and tiring day, but I am excited to see what tomorrow brings as I believe we have only gotten a taste of what Austin is all about.
