We Asked 30 Austin Founders What Makes This City Different

This week we're doing something a little different. When we started Founder Friday, we had no idea how many incredible people we'd get to sit down with. More than 30 conversations later, we wanted to take a moment to look back on them. So we re-read every interview, from the very first ones to the ones we recorded just a few weeks ago, and pulled out what each founder told us about why they build here.

Some context first. Austin was the fastest-growing large metro in the country for 12 straight years, and it still added nearly 54,000 residents between July 2024 and July 2025. Plenty of cities grow, though. What surprised us was how consistently founders from completely different industries, from CPG to film studios to a hot pot restaurant, described the same handful of things that make doing business here different.

Here's what they told us.

In Austin, people ask how they can help

The line we heard more than any other was some version of "people here want to help." Founders who moved from New York, Boston, and LA kept bringing it up, usually with a little disbelief. Part of the explanation is simple: most people in Austin moved here recently, so most people remember what it felt like to know nobody. That memory turns into a habit of pulling newcomers in.

"I'm from Brooklyn, and I tell this joke: in New York, you walk into a room and it's, 'Are you sure you belong here?' In Austin, people ask, 'How can I help you?'"

Aidan Evans, DSE Media

"Everybody in Austin knows what it's like to have just moved here, because most people have. So there's this attitude of, 'I'll pull you in and invite you to things, the way someone did for me.' I made more new friends in Austin in two weeks than I made in two years after moving to Boston."

Aleric Heck, Ad Outreach

"Everybody's side hustle is helping each other."

Marc Nathan, Wakeup CPG

Everyone is one introduction away

Austin is big enough to have serious companies and serious capital, but its business community still behaves like a small town. Founders described meeting one person at a coffee or a run club and leaving with two more introductions. Geography helps too. Most of the action happens within a few miles of downtown, so getting together doesn't mean an hour on the freeway.

"Within five and a half years, I've either met everybody, been in the room with everybody, or am one degree away."

Jason Scharf, Austin Next

"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."

Sagun Sedai, Austin Report

"Everyone's a little bit closer in terms of proximity... There just feels like there's a different collective spirit of entrepreneurship here."

Darby Rollins, SideHustle Live

Check out the Top Connectors in Austin.

Competitors act like teammates

In most markets, a new player in your niche is a threat. In Austin, founders kept telling us the opposite: another studio, newsletter, or nonprofit grows the pie for everyone. Nate Strayer runs the largest LED volume stage in the city and still describes the other studios as teammates, because a bigger Austin film industry means more work for all of them. We feel this ourselves. Ethan Brooks writes what is technically a competing newsletter, and we recommend it every chance we get.

"Don't view anybody as a competitor, especially in entertainment. We're all on the same team, fighting for an industry to grow here... If I help you, it's going to bring more work for both of us."

Nate Strayer, Stray Vista Studios

"Austin is a place where everybody has a seat at the table... People just want to see each other thrive and grow. There's enough room in Austin for everyone."

Matt Worthington, Best Day Ever Foundation

"I was on a work trip, standing out front of an Airbnb, and a neighbor stopped to chat. Within two minutes he said, 'A bunch of us are having a barbecue next door if you want to swing by.' I didn't know anybody... You can't get along by being hyper competitive. It's not part of the culture."

Ethan Brooks, Austin Business Review

Ambitious, but balanced

Austin founders want to build big things, but very few of them want to do it at the expense of everything else. Several compared the city directly to New York's pace and LA's status games, and said Austin attracts people who want a serious business and a life outside of it. That breathing room is also what makes the community work, because people actually have time to show up for each other.

"The culture is go after your dreams, do what you want to do, but also go to the park on Sunday and throw a frisbee. It attracts people who want both. They don't want the crazy hustle lifestyle of New York. They don't want the status games of LA."

Leon Hendrix, DRVN Community

"The pace here is a little slower than New York, and that creates an opportunity for people to have free time... People here genuinely have the time and resources to invest in building meaningful connections."

Katya Marchenko, Founders Running Club

A city of transplants where you can reinvent yourself

A large share of the founders we interviewed weren't born here. They came from Michigan, Colombia, Brooklyn, San Diego, Fresno, and plenty of other places, often after deciding their old city wasn't the right fit. That mix creates a culture where nobody expects you to have it all figured out, and where the person next to you at an event might be a blacksmith or a robotics engineer.

"You can't talk to anybody here without learning they're a blacksmith, or they do gastronomy, or something really weird... You can become a different person here. You can grow. You can change."

Michelle Rueda, WhatsGoodATX

"It's a mix of people with hustle and grit, and a lot of transplants who came here to figure it out together in this special little bubble."

Alok Gupta, AutoReel

"Austin was just such a blend of that community [small-town hospitality], but also the innovation that's happening, the growth, the capital that's flowing here."

Alec Rios, Young Professionals Network

The builders and the buyers live here

Austin's advantages aren't only cultural. Marc Nathan pointed out that decision-makers for H-E-B, Whole Foods, and Buc-ee's are all based here, which means a CPG founder can meet a future buyer at a morning coffee. Creators told us something similar about their world: comedians, authors, musicians, and podcasters are concentrated enough in Austin that a major partner is usually a short drive away.

"We're fortunate to have not just builders, but buyers here, which is unique. You don't get that in every city."

Marc Nathan, Wakeup CPG

"Austin is an absolute creator hub... At any moment in time I can meet with an absolute powerhouse in the space, tell them about what we do, and usually they're on board."

Greg Keogh, Curios

Austin loves its own

Austin consumers are fiercely loyal to local businesses, and that loyalty is a real advantage for anyone building in food, retail, or CPG. It comes with an expectation, though. The local brands that win here, from H-E-B to P. Terry's, are the ones that show up for the city in return.

"If there's a P. Terry's next to an In-N-Out, the line at P. Terry's is always longer."

Nelson Lin, Soup Leaf Hot Pot

"Local Austinites have a strong love for their brands, but the brands have to give back. You have to donate. You have to support causes that matter to the city."

Nelson Lin, Soup Leaf Hot Pot

Austin was always cooler 10 years ago

If you've lived here longer than a year, you've heard someone say Austin was better before everyone moved here. Ethan Brooks went digging through the city's history and found people saying exactly that in every era he looked at. Jason Scharf has seen the same complaint in articles going back to the 1890s. We take it as a good sign. A city people worry about losing is a city worth building in.

"The most Austin thing about Austin is the idea that it was cooler 10 years ago. People today say it was cooler in the 90s. People in the 90s said it was cooler in the 80s... Ignore everybody who says it isn't cool anymore. They're wrong."

Ethan Brooks, Austin Business Review

"It was perfect yesterday, before all you guys got here. I always joke, and I think this is the right frame: the best day in Austin is tomorrow."

Jason Scharf, Austin Next

How can the Austin community help?

Going back through these conversations reminded us why we started Austin Founders Feed. The founders we've met are generous with their time, serious about what they're building, and a little weird, and almost all of them are one introduction away from someone who could change your business. If one of these quotes made you think of a founder we should interview next, hit reply and tell us who. We'd love to meet them.

Where can people learn more?

Read the full catalog of conversations on the Founder Interviews page, and browse the Top Connectors in Austin.