Austin Tech Connect: The Podcast For The Austin Technology Ecosystem, Business Leaders, and Tech Entrepreneurs!

As co-founder and CEO of BP3, it's my job to help our clients find a faster way. Our clients want a specific business outcome, and they want it in the fastest way possible, and that's what BP3 is here to deliver. We deliver those outcomes because we bring a more focus, more foresight, and more followup approach to every single client engagement. We leverage our experience in Process, Design, Robotics (RPA), AI, Machine Learning, Decision Automation, and Software Engineering to deliver Intelligent Automation Solutions for our clients. Prior to BP3, I was Chief Architect and Director of Technical Services and the Lombardi On Demand Assistance program at Lombardi Software, which was an early and innovative entrant in the Business Process Management (BPM) software space, later acquired by IBM in 2010, and becoming the cornerstone of IBM's offering in that space. Prior to Lombardi, I started Westslope Software, LLC to manage my independent software consulting efforts. Prior to Westslope Software, I worked 7 years with Trilogy in several different senior technical, management, and leadership roles - from Development to Consulting to Technical Sales.

This week Austin Technology Council's CEO sits down with the founder & CEO of data.world Brett Hurt and they discuss what startups need to grow, how the pandemic has impacted business, and so much more. Brett Hurt is the CEO and co-founder of data.world, an Austin-based Certified B Corporation and public benefit corporation. data.world makes it easy for everyone—not just the "data people"—to get clear, accurate, fast answers to any business question. data.world's cloud-native data catalog maps its customers siloed, distributed data to familiar and consistent business concepts, creating a unified body of knowledge anyone can find, understand, and use. data.world is also home to the world’s largest collaborative open data community, including public COVID-19 datasets. In 2017, 2018, and 2019, data.world was honored on the “Best for the World” list by B Lab that recognizes the top 10% of all B Corps globally. And in 2020, data.world was named by the Austin Business Journal as one of the top-three companies to work for. Brett is also the co-owner of Hurt Family Investments (HFI), alongside his wife, Debra. HFI are involved in 115 startups, 31 VC funds, and multiple philanthropic endeavors. Brett co-founded and led Bazaarvoice as CEO, through its IPO, follow-on offering, and two acquisitions. Bazaarvoice became the largest public SaaS (Software as a Service) business in social commerce and was named by the WSJ as one of the top IPOs of 2012. Brett also founded and led Coremetrics, which was rated the #1 Web analytics solution by Forrester Research and, like Bazaarvoice, expanded into a global company and leader. Coremetrics was acquired by IBM in 2010 for around $300m. In 2017, Brett was given the Best CEO Legacy Award by the Austin Business Journal. He is a Henry Crown Fellow and Braddock Scholar at the Aspen Institute. Brett began programming at age seven and doing so on the Internet at age eighteen. He finished his book, “The Entrepreneur’s Essentials”, in August 2019 (available at databrett.medium.com for free).

The future of technology and the future of Austin are entangled.  In this episode we hear from Whurley (Will Hurley), the founder and CEO of Strangeworks.  He is a leader in the quantum computing field and serial entrepreneur.  Hear his take on quantum computing’s role in the future, and his predictions and advice for the Austin.   About Whurley:  whurley is founder and CEO of Strangeworks, a quantum computing startup that makes the power of quantum computing easily accessible and available to all. He is an Eisenhower Fellow, Innovator in Residence for the Legatum Center for Development and Entrepreneurship at the Sloan School of Management at MIT, A Senior Member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), Chairman of the Quantum Computing Standards Workgroup at the IEEE, the first Ambassador to CERN and Society, a regular contributor to TechCrunch on the topic of Quantum Computing, and the co-author of "Quantum Computing For Babies”. Prior to starting Strangeworks he was a Managing Director at Goldman Sachs [NYSE: GS]. He came to Goldman Sachs via the acquisition of his second startup, Honest Dollar. Prior to Honest Dollar whurley founded Chaotic Moon Studios which was acquired by Accenture [NYSE: ACN]. 

This week, we sit-down with the CEO of Ticketbud Kayhan Ahmadi  Ticketbud was built on the idea that anyone, anywhere in the world wanting to organize an event should have the tools to do easily. We promote this idea everyday through the dedication of a team based out of Austin, Texas. We make the focus of our efforts the event organizers, who work hard to ensure that their attendees have a great experience. We share their passion for bringing people together to create memories and enrich lives.

On this episode of Austin Tech Connect we talk to Linda Ginac, CEO and Founder of TalentGuard.  Linda has been active in the Austin Technology Community for thirty years, and believes that growing connections and community are the key for all business leaders (of both home grown companies and those who have relocated to Austin).  Hear her story of success and her advice on how to be more engaged in the local community.    About TalentGuard:  TalentGuard’s Workforce Skills Management solution brings together data, software, and ecosystem to unlock complete visibility of skills, intelligent data insights to make informed decisions and help companies develop the highest potential in their workforce.  About Linda Ginac:  Linda is the Founder and CEO of TalentGuard. Before TalentGuard, she founded a successful career development franchise, The Ginac Group, serving clients across the U.S. and Canada since 1999. Prior to this, Linda was Vice President of Product Strategy at Cofiniti, where she was instrumental in pioneering Cofiniti’s global entry into collaborative financial planning using cloud-based technology and helping to prepare the company for a successful exit. Linda also served as marketing executive at pcOrder collaborating with the team that led the company from an start-up to a NASDAQ-listed public corporation. In prior leadership roles, Linda served as Vice President of Marketing at EPSIAA, where she led global expansion of the brand through acquisition by Fiserv, Vice President of Business Development at Computer People and numerous leadership roles at Digital Equipment Corporation. Linda sits on the Board of the Austin Technology Council and several other community organizations. Linda holds a Master’s Degree in Career Development from John F. Kennedy University, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Liberal Arts from Norwich University. 

On the first episode of the Austin Tech Connect, our host and CEO Thom Singer sits down with the Presidnet of NetSpend, one of the most successful FinTech companies in Austin. Kelley Knutson serves as the president of Netspend. Previously, Knutson served as Executive Vice President of TSYS and President of International Issuer Solutions, based in London since 2003. He was responsible for TSYS’ strategic execution, global sales, business development, relationship management, local product partnerships and new growth initiatives outside North America (United States, Canada, Mexico and Central America). Prior to TSYS, Knutson served as CEO and acting chairman of Clear Money Ltd. (Clear), a provider of Electronic Bill Management Services to UK billers and financial institutions; SVP of GE Capital’s Global Consumer Finance (GCF) cards business, where he was responsible for developing and executing GCF’s cards strategy and driving card-based consumer finance initiatives in more than 15 markets around the world. Prior to GE Capital, he was SVP at Visa International, where he was responsible for developing/marketing Visa’s debit products and introducing e-commerce solutions (security, chip and remote banking) throughout Europe.

This podcast is hosted by the CEO of the Austin Technology Council. It sits down with leaders in Austin, Texas who are pushing technology forward.