Austinpreneur
Capital Factory
Double click on the stories that made Austin, Texas a global startup hub. Listen to startup stories from entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and technologists shaping the Austin startup community. Austinpreneur will give you a glimpse into how Austin made itself a tier 1 city for technology, creativity and startups. Takeaway key insights for building your own success story in topics like fundraising, building products, sales, investing and creating company culture.Austinpreneur is a podcast highlighting Austin’s startups, entrepreneurs, and innovators. Join in on candid conversations with leaders who have built companies from the ground up and visionaries creating the next wave of world-changing technology. Discover the importance of your network, meet the people supporting your journey, and connect with the community making it all happen.Episodes feature topics like: entrepreneurship, technology, startups, innovation, funding, coworking, mentorship, startup accelerators, VC funding, angel investing, innovation strategies, partnerships, and more.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Dec 12, 2023 • 56min
The Path to Partner in VC
On this episode of Austinpreneur presented by SXSW, we share a conversation recorded at Austin Startup Week with Claire Hansen, a recently promoted partner at Firebrand Ventures. Claire is a leader in the Austin startup community and has worked alongside startups and investors here since 2015. Claire's first role in venture was at Capital Factory and from there led the Central Texas Angel Network before working for the Army Application Lab inside Army Futures Command. Claire received her MA in Organizational Communication from Texas A&M University and a BA in the same subject from Pepperdine.Sign up for the best Austinpreneur updates at www.capitalfactory.com/podcast
Dec 6, 2023 • 1h 1min
AI's Security Platform
Listen to this Austinpreneur conversation presented by SXSW on the cybersecurity implications of artificial intelligence and machine learning with special guest Chris Sestito, CEO of HiddenLayer. Chris' background is in cybersecurity threat research, detection and response. When he was at Cyclance, Chris encountered one of the first adversarial machine learning attacks which inspired his vision for HiddenLayer. HiddeLayer announced a $50M round of funding in September of this year. This session was recorded for a live audience at Austin Startup Week in November 2023.Get the best Austinpreneur updates at www.capitalfactory.com/podcast
Dec 1, 2023 • 1h 17min
Being Your Company's Hero
Presented by SXSW, this episode of Austinpreneur features special guest Matthew Iommi who is the CEO of Fetii. Matthew and his co-founder started Fetii as undergraduates at Texas A&M University. After going through Y-Combinator, Fetii launched in Austin and joined Capital Factory. Fetii's group rideshare service has taken off and quickly become a beacon of Austin's nightlife and social engagements. This episode was recorded for an audience of students in Longhorn Startup at The University of Texas at Austin.Sign up for the best Austinpreneur updates at capitalfactory.com/podcast
Nov 20, 2023 • 1h 26min
Ethernet, I am Your Father
Get insights from the inventor of Ethernet, Dr. Bob Metcalfe, in this episode of Austinpreneur. In this conversation, Metcalfe talks about the early days of Silicon Valley, how he crafted "Metcalfe's Law" as well as the latest revolution in artificial intelligence. Joshua Baer, CEO and Founder of Capital Factory, interviews Metcalfe in this episode recorded for students of Longhorn Startup at The University of Texas at Austin.Sign up for the best Austinpreneur updates at www.capitalfactory.com/podcast
Nov 8, 2023 • 49min
Born in the Dirt
On a tiny hill in Afghanistan, John Goodson asked "Why does nothing work?" for the last time and set out to create the future of autonomous drones. As a U.S. soldier in the field, John went from excited to deploy drones to not even considering it due to the inadequacies of the drone platform he was equipped with. Today, John is CEO & Founder of Darkhive where they are building lightweight, autonomous drones for defense. The company is fueled by $14M of goverment funding and a fresh $5M from venture investors including Capital Factory.Get the best Austinpreneur updates at www.capitalfactory.com/podcast
Oct 31, 2023 • 27min
Mastering the Entrepreneurial Ecosystem
On this episode of Austinpreneur we chat with Kristy Alballero who is Co-Founder of IOOGO. Kristy received three degrees from The University of Texas at Dallas which led to a successful career in a series of product ownership roles. In 2017, Kristy co-founded IOOGO to help ease the pain of tax and accounting for small businesses and startups. In their first year, IOOGO helped 12,000 people file taxes and has grown from there. Kristy is deeply embedded in Capital Factory's community with IOOGO being a portfolio company and key sponsor of our top events like Austin Startup Week and Fed Supernova.Get updates on Austinpreneur by signing up at www.capitalfactory.com/podcast
Oct 24, 2023 • 1h 20min
The Texan Who Mastered Silicon Valley
One of the world's best venture capitalists in the world is our guest for this episode of Austinpreneur. Bill Gurley has been a General Partner at Benchmark Capital since 1998 where he led investments in Uber, GrubHub, OpenTable, Stich Fix and Next Door among others. Recently Bill retired from new funds at Benchmark and moved to Austin, Texas. He also earned his MBA at The University of Texas at Austin. Sign up for the best Austinpreneur updates at capitalfactory.com/podcast
Oct 17, 2023 • 1h 27min
Transcending Success with Play
One of America's breakout toy entrepreneurs joins us for this episode of Austinpreneur. Colin Guinn is CEO of Gel Blaster which can be found on the shelves at 20,000 retail stores in 65 countries. On top of Gel Blaster, Colin launched DJI North America and won The Amazing Race with his wife Christie. Listen now to learn about growing consumer brands, battling with legacy competitors like HASBRO and training your subconscious to feel good every day.Get the latest Austinpreneur updates by signing up at capitalfactory.com/podcast
Oct 10, 2023 • 1h 1min
The Work is Infinite
Look back on how two entrepreneurs jumpstarted their careers through a film production startup in the early 2000s. Chris Hyams, CEO of Indeed, and Meetesh Karia, CTO of Earnest are the special guests who share insights on building companies in Austin. We discuss topics such as Trilogy University which brought top computer science talent to Austin in the late 90s. You'll also learn how to manage your time as a leader, build smarter products and find product market fit.Sign up for all Austinpreneur updates at capitalfactory.com/podcast
Oct 4, 2023 • 22min
Commercial Technology and Defense Innovation
Part 6 of our special season on defense innovation is with Laetitia Garriott de Cayeux, Managing Partner of Global Space Ventures which invests in critical technologies, and was an early-investor in SpaceX. Laetitia is also an advisor to the U.S. Department of Defense and NATO, and a board member of the XPRIZE, which launched in partnership with Elon Musk a $100M Carbon Renewal XPRIZE. Topics covered in this episode include space tech in Texas, SBIC funding for VCs and why the DoD has a new interest in dual-use tech.
