Forming Austin Venture Association
October 2021
As I’ve frequently mentioned here and it’s pretty obvious by now, Austin’s startup and venture scene has majorly exploded since the pandemic. The city was starting to more noticeably attract people from east and west coast around 2014, but now a huge wave of movers have just arrived at the start of this year (2021) and growth will continue to like this city’s never before experienced or imagined.
Many new venture folks in town requested to meet with me and ask about the Austin startup scene. Who should they meet? What events are coming up? What should they be a part of? Who’s doing what?
Although I really enjoy meeting, welcoming, and getting to know people, I realized I was spending a lot of time connecting and helping via these one-on-one’s. It started to dawn on me that I should just “tech” myself out and create a membership club.
I thought maybe I should put together somewhat of an online hub and exclusive portal of the most relevant venture events, groups to join, workouts, profiles, job listings, news, and more, all of which I already was aware of and regularly share.
There were a few key people I consulted with first to see if I overlooked anything already existing. JD Weinstein, currently Oracle’s Head of Startups, was probably the first person I asked since he’d been in the scene for over a decade now and much in-the-know of the venture community previously spending time as a student at UT, and working at Capital Factory and WPP Ventures. Not unlike a typical Austinite, he was super helpful and supportive, and ultimately validated my hypothesis that the previous Austin venture scene was likely too small, and/or possibly too competitive to be able to hold something like a regional venture club.
On a macro level, times have changed and now we have venture firms moving here seemingly almost monthly, or at the least setting up satellite offices, wanting to establish presence, etc. These firms are bringing folks from all over the country to be part of the Austin. The local startups themselves have already attracted a record-breaking $3.8 billion in venture capital in 265 deals.
On a micro level, I had felt pretty stunted in my career before the pandemic. If I planned on working in what I call the “greater venture” community in town, I had maybe less than 20 options. Then regarding my own niche position and atypical background (messy CV), opportunities might prove even more slim. Today there are many more paths to venture, and the jobs in this space are highly competitive, so how do individuals stand out?
It was clear to me Austin requires an organization that focuses on three key areas: amplifying and connecting the community, career advancement in the greater venture scene, and most importantly provide support to startups in the region.
After circulating the idea of a venture hub/membership club around with more professionals in the industry and receiving support from both locals and newcomers, I decided this was an opportunity of a lifetime and to make a stamp in history.
The Vision
Austin’s startup and venture scene is now a new frontier experiencing unprecedented growth. This organization provides members the opportunity to be in-the-know, create positive sum outcomes, and stand at the forefront of this fast expanding community. We help connect and involve a network of: venture capitalists, accelerators, university incubators, corporates, angels, family offices, LPs, and other accredited investors, to take an active role in pushing Austin’s greater venture scene to the next level.
We focus on a wide variety of community development activities in three key areas: amplifying and organizing the greater venture community, professional advancement, and delivering more startup support to the region. Whether your boots are dusty or need some breakin’ in, join the Austin Venture Association to be part of the future of venture in Austin, Texas.
It’s still the early days, but many people have already signed up for the waitlist. Founding sponsors are sending checks. We’re co-creating programming and deepening partnerships. It’s a really exciting time.
Personal Mission
I think this will result in a personal objective of mine to help push the venture world to become better investors and supporters for founders. I have first hand experience of what it’s like “on the other side of the table”. I frequently found myself moving between the startup and venture worlds throughout my career. My “secret” and superpower if you will, in starting an organization focused on the local venture scene, is that I’m way more of an entrepreneur and founder than I am in venture.
So when I say we created this group to work with investors to be as supportive as they can to startups, know that I deeply feel that. After all, it’s the entrepreneurs that spot an opportunity (i.e. challenge) in the market and figure out ways to solve it. The higher quality work and resources provided by the greater venture community will only better situate founders in their journey.
Another key point I’d like to highlight and am very excited and proud about is that the Austin Venture Association’s early members and co-organizers already represent an impressive variety of experience, race, gender, age, perspective, networks, goals, and now way more differences in geographical environments, etc. This can only be even more beneficial to founders and how we understand their needs.
How To Help
We’re open to local venues, products, and services we can work with as we plan events, offer resources, etc.
Please contact me here or via the website below for any other comments and ideas. Thanks!
Thanks to everyone for the feedback and brainstorming (and now building!) this together. I appreciate all the time spent over coffees, drinks, meals, texts, calls, Zooms, etc.