Founder Interviews
Exclusive conversations with Austin's most inspiring founders
Padel Society
The World's Fastest-Growing Sport Is Moving Indoors in Austin
Thanh Pham is an AI consultant who trains Austin companies on putting AI to work, and alongside two co-founders he's building Padel Society, one of Austin's first indoor padel clubs, opening this September. He shares the lowest-hanging AI wins for business owners, why Austin is the second biggest padel market in the country, and what it takes to bring a new sport indoors.
Thanh Pham · 2026-07-17
Momentum ADHD Coaching
Do All Founders Have ADHD?
Nicole Skotz is a board-certified behavior analyst who built Momentum ADHD Coaching, a clinical coaching practice for people with ADHD, after getting her own diagnosis in her early 30s. She explains why entrepreneurs and content creators are drawn to work that lights up ADHD brains, and shares her framework for turning barrier symptoms into systems that hold up.
Nicole Skotz · 2026-07-10
WhatsGoodATX
How WhatsGoodATX Grew to 10K Austinites Organically
Michelle Rueda built WhatsGoodATX to help Austinites discover the city's weirdest and most interesting events. She shares how the platform grew to almost 10,000 Austinites organically, without a dollar of ad spend, and why patience is the DNA of every successful niche community.
Michelle Rueda · 2026-07-03
Austin Business Review
Why Ethan Brooks Thinks Austin Has Room for 100 More Newsletters
Ethan Brooks wrote for The Hustle and helped Sam Parr launch Hampton before coming home to start Austin Business Review. He makes the contrarian case that local media isn't zero-sum — Austin has 50,000+ business owners and room for a hundred more newsletters — and shares what Hampton's wealthiest members taught him about how little you actually need.
Ethan Brooks · 2026-06-26
DRVN Community
How Leon Hendrix Turned Creator Burnout Into a Community Business
Leon Hendrix burned out on high-production solo YouTube videos, took two years off, and came back with a different bet: make the community itself the content. He breaks down why content is the ultimate distribution, how any business owner can start, and why 500 of the right viewers can change everything.
Leon Hendrix · 2026-06-19
Internet Marketing Party
How David Gonzalez Kept Austin's Internet Marketing Party Alive for 18 Years
For nearly 18 years, David Gonzalez's Internet Marketing Party has been one of Austin's longest-running marketing communities. His edge isn't the room or the guest list — it's a think-tank format where solutions are banned for the first hour and better questions do the work.
David Gonzalez · 2026-06-12
Stray Vista Studios
How Nate Strayer Built Austin's Largest LED Volume Stage
Nate Strayer turned a COVID detour into Stray Vista Studios, home of Austin's largest LED volume stage — an 80-foot curved LED wall that Google booked before the AC and bathrooms worked. Here's how he built before the market looked obvious.
Nate Strayer · 2026-06-05
Soup Leaf Hot Pot
How Nelson Lin Plays the Real Estate Market to Beat Chain Restaurants
Nelson Lin runs Soup Leaf Hot Pot with his mom, the oldest hot pot restaurant in Austin. He's also director of research at Aquila Commercial. That overlap — restaurateur and real estate insider — is the moat.
Nelson Lin · 2026-05-29
Wakeup CPG
How Austin Became America's CPG Capital, One Coffee Meetup at a Time
Marc Nathan has spent a decade running the quiet rooms that turned Austin into a CPG powerhouse — from Open Coffee Austin to monthly Wakeup CPG meetups. He breaks down why consistency, shelf velocity, and local retail (H-E-B, Whole Foods, Buc-ee's) make Austin the country's most important market for consumer brands.
Marc Nathan · 2026-05-22
Austin Next
The 40-Year Overnight Success: Why Jason Scharf Says Austin Is Still Early
Jason Scharf started Austin Next as a hack to meet people after moving from San Diego. 100+ episodes later, he's built one of the sharpest theses on why Austin works — and what founders should steal from it.
Jason Scharf · 2026-05-15
Best Day Ever Foundation
How Austin's Best Day Ever Foundation Brings Joy to Families Who Need It Most
Matt Worthington turned personal loss into a movement — building Best Day Ever Foundation, a 501c3 that has delivered 400+ tailored experiences to Austin individuals and families going through their hardest seasons.
Matt Worthington · 2026-05-08
Hunting Leads
How Moby Turned $90K in Ad Spend Into a $1.12M Year in Austin
Moby runs a B2B paid ads agency in Austin, where he helped a solopreneur dentist scale from $40K to $1.12M in a single year — proving that when paid ads are aimed at the right audience, leverage shows up fast.
Moby · 2026-05-01
Young Professionals Network
How to Build Communities that 10x Your Business in Austin
Alec Rios is building Young Professionals Network in Austin around events, media, and nonprofit service — proving that when you get the right people in the room with intention, community compounds into something powerful.
Alec Rios · 2026-04-24
Entrepremedian
How a Joke Landed a $30K Client in Austin (and Can 5X Your Pitch)
JaMarr John Johnson shares how humor opens doors, builds trust, and makes sales conversations feel human — and how a comedy performance led to a $30K client.
JaMarr John Johnson · 2026-04-17
Curios
How Austin's Curios Eliminates Greedy Publishing Platforms
Greg Keogh built Curios to help creators of premium content sell directly to their audience, keeping 100% of their revenue and owning their customer relationships.
Greg Keogh · 2026-04-10
United Solutions
Why Your Payment Processor Is Costing You More Than You Think
Luis Gutierrez shares how United Solutions helps Austin business owners cut through confusing payment processing costs — and how one restaurant saved over $14,000 in a single month.
Luis Gutierrez · 2026-04-01
happyhopper
How Austin's happyhopper Hit the iOS Top 100 with TikTok
The happyhopper team shares how they turned a common local frustration into a Top 100 iOS app using TikTok and hyper-local content.
happyhopper Team · 2026-03-28
Talent Stream
How This Austin Startup Cut Recruiting Costs By 80% With AI
Mike Black shares how Talent Stream is using AI to dramatically reduce recruiting costs and increase recruiter output by 50-100x.
Mike Black · 2026-03-20
Austin Founders Feed
The Story Behind Austin Founders Feed
Ken and Warren share how they built Austin's #1 newsletter for founders — from a LinkedIn connection to a thriving community.
Ken Jee & Warren Wales · 2026-03-07
SideHustle Live
This Austin Board Game Turned Into a Live Comedy Show
Darby Rollins shares how a bar joke about a wobbly table turned into a funded Kickstarter board game and a live comedy show for entrepreneurs.
Darby Rollins · 2026-03-01
Conscious Builders
Building Austin's Most Intentional Founder Community
Nate Ginsburg shares how Conscious Builders merges entrepreneurship with intentional living to create Austin's most unique founder community.
Nate Ginsburg · 2026-02-21
Gold Hunt
From Meetup Host to Game Creator: The Gold Hunt Story
Grace Huang shares how hosting Austin community events inspired her to create Gold Hunt, a social deduction game designed to spark real conversations.
Grace Huang · 2026-02-14