Remembering Josh Baer

Austin's founder community lost one of its most important builders this week. Joshua Baer, co-founder and CEO of Capital Factory, passed away after a private plane crash near Laredo.

There's no easy way to write about that in a newsletter like this.

Capital Factory is not just another startup space in Austin. For many founders, it has been the front door into the city's startup ecosystem: the place people go for events, investor conversations, pitch practice, mentors, coworking, and the first feeling that Austin might actually be a place where they can build something.

Josh helped make that possible.

He was one of the people who spent years transforming Austin's startup scene from a loose network of builders into what it is today. That kind of work is hard to measure. But founders feel it.

They feel it when there is a room to walk into that welcomes them, before they even know anyone.

They feel it when someone makes an introduction that changes the next few years of their company.

They feel it when a city starts to believe that startups aren't just built in Silicon Valley, but something Austin can build in its own way too.

That's part of Josh's legacy.

Capital Factory has become one of the most recognizable hubs in Texas entrepreneurship because he kept showing up to organize the room, connect the people, back the builders, and make Austin's startup ecosystem more accessible for everyone.

Our thoughts are with Josh's family, the Capital Factory team, and the many founders, investors, operators, and friends across Austin who are grieving this loss.

Austin's startup ecosystem is stronger because Josh Baer helped build it. And the best way to honor that work is to keep making this city easier for founders to find their people, build their companies, and help the next person through the door.