The Story Behind Austin Founders Feed

What is Austin Founders Feed?

Austin Founders Feed is a newsletter for Austin local founders and entrepreneurs sent on Monday and Friday mornings at 7am CT.

On Mondays, we share relevant news and local success stories. We also include relevant economic trends and updates from city hall that could impact your businesses.

On Fridays, we share interviews from local founders (like this one).

How did you come up with the idea? What's the background story?

Warren: We both have backgrounds in data analytics and we originally met through LinkedIn. Ken was my very first podcast guest. We both happened to be a little obsessed with newsletters, and Ken came across the concept of a local newsletter and it struck him as a great way to get involved in the Austin community as well as hedge against the risk of AI taking jobs.

He wanted to start one, but with everything else he was doing, he felt he needed help. Ken pitched me on the idea of starting a newsletter together a little over 3 months ago, and I loved the concept: a local newsletter for business owners in Austin, Texas.

We created a notion page and started brainstorming the very next day, and we haven't stopped since!

Ken: I own a digital media business in the tech space. I've seen the impact that AI is having there. It feels like we are very close to a world where we won't be able to tell what is AI and what is real online.

One of the few places that I think we will still be able to trust is our local community. I believe that local in-person meetups are one of the places that business will thrive in the next few years. We created Austin Founders Feed to make local community news and events accessible to everyone that wants to be a part of it.

Selfishly, this newsletter is also a great way for me to meet other business owners, learn what is going on in my city, and make new friends.

Why is Austin the right place for this?

Ken: Austin is the perfect place for this because of the small business and tech culture that is thriving here. I've never met so many like minded entrepreneurs scaling their local businesses in one place before.

Warren: Austin attracts ambitious entrepreneurs many times bootstrapped and looking to scale. Starting your own business is seen through a different lens here. It feels like the natural thing to do when you're living in Austin, not something out of the ordinary.

What's been the biggest growth lever for you so far?

Ken: Facebook/Instagram ads and word of mouth. Growing a newsletter is notoriously hard, there is very little organic growth compared to platforms like Instagram or YouTube.

We have had good success with paid ads where we share the very clear value of what we are providing here. Our growth has been very consistent and we are grateful for every one of you!

Outside of digital growth, I've been making an effort to attend as many events as possible. I love meeting you all, and if you see me out at anything, please say hi!

What's one thing you're doing right now that's working better than you expected?

Warren: Our curation of resources and events. It started with a weekly social calendar for founders looking to network to plan their weeks. We've since doubled down, creating a complete free founder resource guide, a networking guide, a SXSW guide, and a LinkedIn guide coming soon!

We're able to drive clicks to events at a great rate, and we're actually able to get people to show up to these events for sponsors as well!

What's one trend in the Austin founder scene that excites you right now?

Warren: Right now Austin has this huge small local business scene. What happens when these small businesses mature? Over the next 5 to 10 years Austin is going to be home to some of the largest and most successful new businesses in the world.

Any advice for someone trying to start a business in Austin?

Ken: Two pieces of advice come to mind:

1) Get out there. There are thousands of people out there that could be your customers or who could help your business. While events can be intimidating, some of my best friends, business partners, and customers have come from putting myself out there at in-person events.

2) Leverage the resources. There are tons of free and cheap resources available to Austin founders. These come from the city, the state, nationally, and from companies.

Where can people learn more?

Follow us across all platforms — LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook. Feel free to reach out to us by replying to one of our emails or sending us a DM on one of our social media accounts. We're always happy to chat.