He Posted Six Times a Day Until Austin Paid Attention

This week's Founder Friday features a local media founder who built one of Austin's biggest independent news accounts through sheer brute force, posting six times each day for over a year.

Sagun Sedai moved to Austin from Michigan last year without knowing anybody. He got his real estate license, then started Austin Report a couple of months later as a way to build a personal brand and get more exposure for his real estate career.

For the first 45 days of running the account, nothing happened. He was getting 200 or 300 views a post with a couple hundred followers. Then a video about the Concert Dome hit 200,000 views, the Firefly IPO hit another 200,000, and NVIDIA moving to The Domain hit 300,000. He kept posting six times a day for 68 straight weeks. Austin Report is now approaching 42,000 followers, and Sagun has become one of the most recognizable chroniclers of Austin's local business scene.

What founders can steal from this:

• Set your quit date far past the point that feels rational
• Put your face on the brand
• Focus on one thing and perfect it before adding the next thing

Here's what Sagun shared about building Austin Report from nothing, why people trust a face over a logo, and how he keeps himself from chasing shiny objects.

What is Austin Report, and who is it for?

Austin Report is local news content about what's happening in Austin. Development, events, technology, AI, the things that make Austin the city it is right now. I built it about a year and a couple of months ago.

Highlighting local businesses has been my main premise, because local businesses are not well represented in this city. There are so many of them, and I want to be a light for them. I've also branched out to cover people who are really making a difference in Austin, whether that's influencers, entrepreneurs, or CEOs, to be an inspiration for the younger generation and for people looking to grow their career or finally start doing what they actually want to do.

What have you learned about local businesses from interviewing so many of them?

Before doing these interviews, I would treat them as just a local business. They're just there. But every business owner I've talked to has a story, a passion, dreams they're moving toward. By interviewing them directly, I got to know them personally and see how much hard work they put in to make what they have real.

Seeing that makes me want to showcase them. I want their story heard by the whole Austin audience. Before, I used to think it was all about making money. It's not just that. They're trying to leave a legacy. They want to make an imprint and make a difference. They want to help people. That's the giver's mentality.

I have to shout out my first one, Sinful Sweets, an amazing chocolate shop. Cynthia has her own story. She loves making chocolate, and everything comes from that passion. It's a family owned business, and she does it because she wants to share it with everyone in Austin. That was my first video and I didn't know if it would work out. I thought of the idea and said, "Let me just do it." It ended up being very successful, and she's supported Austin Report ever since.

How did you get started, and what did the early days actually look like?

I came from Michigan. I lived there 22 years and it just wasn't for me. It wasn't the pace I wanted. I picked Austin because I came here in 2019 for just a few hours and already felt the energy in the city. Something in my mind and my heart told me, "Come to Austin." So I did, last year. I got my real estate license, and a couple of months later I started Austin Report.

I started it because I wanted more exposure for my real estate career, and I knew content is king. If you don't have a brand, it's not going to help you in the long run. So I started posting. Tesla is doing this. NVIDIA is doing that. Samsung has these developments. At the beginning I wasn't getting any traction, so I just kept posting and kept being consistent, and I made sure to be myself, because authenticity is key.

My first viral video was about the Concert Dome. I covered it not knowing it would go viral. That comes back to discipline, doing it every single day. It got 150,000 to 200,000 views and I couldn't believe it. I gained a couple thousand followers that day. Until then I had a couple hundred followers and was getting 200 or 300 views a post. The next day I covered the Firefly IPO, 200,000 views. Then NVIDIA moving to The Domain, 300,000 views. The rest is history, because I kept posting six times a day for 68 weeks straight. That's how I got to almost 42,000 followers.

It just happened. I didn't know anyone when I came to Austin. No friends, nothing. Austin Report kind of accidentally happened. It wasn't my idea to make it a business in the first place. Maybe it was meant to be.

Why do people trust independent media like this more than traditional outlets?

Authenticity. The way I present things is very direct. "Tesla is building this factory here. Here's what's going to happen." I also post a lot of stories about myself, what I do, my daily life. So people don't see me as a news outlet. They see me as a regular guy who loves presenting news.

I source from credible outlets like the Austin Business Journal. We vet everything to make sure these are actual, real stories, not some random guy writing an article. And people see me as a normal guy living his life, not a news corporation where you never see the person behind the brand. I'm the person behind my brand. That's why they trust me more.

If I didn't show my face, no one would trust me. Someone told me exactly that at an event. Not everyone is comfortable doing it, and it can work both ways. But for me personally, people see me and think, "This is Sagun. This is actually a real person."

What makes Austin unique?

The energy in the city. It matches my vibe. I'm a very energetic, extroverted person. People here want to help. When I talk to one person, that person introduces me to another, and that person introduces me to someone else. It's nonstop. That's actually how I met Ken, through Matt Worthington.

In other cities, like where I came from in Michigan, it's very reserved. People are okay with where they're at. Austin challenges you to keep growing. That's what I like about the city.

Why are you shifting more of your energy toward in-person events?

I used to focus so much on the digital side, just being in front of a camera. Now I'm going out more. We're humans. We're meant to talk to each other. We're not meant to just be in a digital space pretending to talk. It's not the same as the physical world. When you're interacting in person, you see the emotions. It feels authentic, and everyone appreciates authenticity.

COVID played a big part in 2020, but I think it's bouncing back to a point where more in person events are happening. I'm partnering with more companies to do in person events, because it brings out the real side of you. It's also expression. You get to see the person and their reaction. You can sort of see that on Zoom, but in person it feels different. That presence.

What's your advice for someone trying to build a business in Austin?

Just keep doing it. I've seen a lot of business owners try for a month or two, not see results, and quit. It's a cliche answer, but it's true. When I do podcast interviews, I hear a lot of people say the same thing. Stick it out, because you never know what's coming next. While you're being consistent, you will eventually be successful. It's a matter of time.

With Austin Report, I went 45 days with no results. I could have quit on day 40. We joke about it: you could quit on day 44, and there could be a video that blows up on day 45, and you'd never even know, because you quit. So don't give up, and give it your best effort while you're at it.

Alex Hormozi says volume negates luck. You're doing something so much that you are going to be successful. It's like basketball. You keep shooting hoops, and eventually you're going to be good at it, because of consistency. It's all consistency at the end of the day.

How do you avoid chasing shiny objects?

It's tough, because social media pushes it. You see people doing drop shipping, trading, flipping homes, and they show you the cash amount. Every time you scroll, someone is trying to sell you a course. You see numbers and success and think, "I could do that."

The best way to stop it is discipline. Say, "They're doing that, I'm happy for them, but I already have my own thing going. Let me focus on my own thing and get really good at it. Once it's running by itself, maybe automated, then I can look at that other thing if I still want to." By then you might realize you don't want to.

A lot of what happens in our generation is impulse. We have high impulse because we're scrolling so much. We get a dopamine spike when we see money, and we think we have to chase it. And it can be artificial. "Make $50,000 a month doing this" might not even be true, but you're chasing it because you saw it.

Focus on one thing and get really good at it. Once that gets you what you want, then focus on other things. Too many people do 100 things at once and think that's productive because their day is busy. But are they making progress? Probably not as much as if they focused on one thing and got results.

What's next for Austin Report?

More events, because I really want to give back to the community. I have the Austin Report Doers Club. I mentioned givers and takers earlier. We want more givers, because givers get rewarded in the end. The Doers Club is a limited, exclusive group. We run it like a mastermind and share ideas about how to help each other grow. Relationship comes first, business comes last. And when I say business comes last, I mean it comes right after all that relationship building, so it never sounds salesy. All the money we make from the Doers Club goes to a charity of our choice.

I also want to keep interviewing business owners and people making a huge difference in Austin. And I started a car page, interviewing people with cool cars, because I love cars. So I want to see how that goes and keep meeting cool people.

How can the Austin community help?

Sagun wants to hear from Austin business owners with stories worth telling, especially family owned and independent businesses that have not received much attention from traditional media.

He is also looking to partner with companies on in person events and to connect with business owners, entrepreneurs, and operators interested in the Austin Report Doers Club, a relationship-first mastermind where members help one another grow and proceeds support a charity chosen by the community.

Where can people learn more?

Follow Austin Report on Instagram and TikTok, visit austin-report.com, listen to the Austin Report Podcast, and connect with Sagun on LinkedIn.