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

Marc Tucci is the founder and CEO of the Austin Sports & Social Club, the market leader in adult recreational sports leagues and corporate teambuilding events.  With a mission of being the part part of their customers day, they currently serve 40,000 players locally, and 110,000 among five markets.  He has also expanded the brand to Austin SSC Kids, to give all children, as young as two years old, the ability to learn and have fun through leagues & clinics.  And in addition to having three young athletes of his own, he serves on the board for both Leadership Austin & BuildSoccer.   About the Austin Sports and Social Club   The Austin Sports & Social Club (SSC) has been providing co-ed recreational leagues for over 40,000 adults each year, since 2005.  With a dozen different sports, location all over town and emphasis on "social", leagues are open to everyone (no experience necessary) and all games are followed by happy hours.  No team?  No problem.  Austin SSC allows one to sign up by themselves, or with a small group of friends, and be placed with others just like you.  For companies, they offer private leagues, tournaments or field day events, to give all employees the change to laugh and bond with co-workers outside the office.  And for the little ones, SSC Kids offers leagues & clinics for children as young as two years old, with a goal of returning the focus to "fun" in youth sports.

As a tech community we all rely a lot on the ease of air travel, and the first part of that is our local Austin Bergstrom International Airport.  On this episode of Austin Tech Connect we hear from Rick Belliotti, the Deputy Chief Officer- Information Technology at ABIA,   Rick ir relatively new to Austin, but has spent a lifetime in the tech side of the "Airport Business".  He will share his career journey as well as give us a look behind the curtain of the world of "Airport Tech".   About Rick Belliotti Rick Belliotti is currently the Acting Chief Performance and Experience Officer and Deputy Chief Officer, Information Technology (CTO/CIO) for Austin Bergstrom International Airport. Mr. Belliotti has worked in various capacities in the aviation industry since 2001, as a consultant, an airport operator, and a solution provider. Mr. Belliotti’s expertise is in bringing people together to achieve common visions and goals. Mr. Belliotti was instrumental in bringing to life the Airport Innovation Lab at San Diego, enabling innovators to create solutions for the airport industry, and forever changing the way that innovation was done in airports.  Prior to joining the City of Austin, Mr. Belliotti served as CIO at San Diego International Airport, and led various departments, including IT, business development, small business development, and the arts program. About Austin-Bergstrom International Airport Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS) is owned by the City of Austin and operated by the Department of Aviation. The airport is self-sustaining and generates revenue to cover operating costs. What was once the site for the Bergstrom Air Force Base, the federally-owned property was transformed into a commercial airport with the opening of Austin-Bergstrom International Airport on May 23, 1999 replacing the former, smaller Austin Robert Mueller Municipal airport. Since then, AUS has connected more Austin and Central Texas travelers to the world all while providing a uniquely authentic Austin experience to every customer that travels through the Barbara Jordan Terminal. Known for live music, local concession brands, and Texas hospitality, AUS prides itself on reflecting the culture and values of the community it serves. The airport’s overall estimated economic impact on the Central Texas region is $7.6 billion, supporting 74,000 jobs (source: TxDOT 2018 Economic Impact), 6% of the total jobs in the Austin MSA. In 2023, AUS projects to serve a record-breaking 22 million annual passengers, more than a quarter increase in total annual travelers since the world’s pre-pandemic benchmark year of 2019. To address the rapid pace of passenger and airline activity, AUS has launched the Journey With AUS airport expansion and development program, multi-year capital improvement and development effort that will improve and modernize AUS facilities in the near-term and for generations to come.  

This week on the "Austin Tech Connect" podcast we chat with Balazs Barna, Head of US Engineering and Austin Site Lead for Wise.  As Wise continues to grow their US presence, Austin has become a key location for the company.  Since 2017 Wise has grown from 500 people worldwide to over 5500 employees.     In this interview we hear about Mr Barna's career journey (including being a 2x Kick Boxing World Champion), the growth of Wise, and his take on why Austin is such a great place to grow a company and raise a family.   About Balazs BarnaBalazs Barna is the Head of US Engineering and Austin Site Lead at Wise. At Wise, Balazs oversees the US engineering team, which is building the tech and infrastructure needed to facilitate instant, convenient and affordable cross border transactions. He also heads up our newly formed Austin office.   Over his 7 years at Wise, Balazs has led and helped his team build the company’s historic direct access integration to the Hungarian banking sector’s instant payment system, the first of its kind for a company with a payment service license. He also oversaw and built Wise’s core infrastructure that enables the company’s European operations. Prior to joining Wise, Balazs worked at MSCI and Morgan Stanley. He graduated from Corvinus University of Budapest in Business Information Systems (BSc), and Computer Engineering (MSc) from Pannon University.   About Wise Wise is a global technology company, building the best way to move and manage the world’s money. With Wise Account and Wise Business, people and businesses can hold 40 currencies, move money between countries and spend money abroad. Large companies and banks use Wise technology too; an entirely new network for the world’s money. Co-founded by Kristo Käärmann and Taavet Hinrikus, Wise launched in 2011 under its original name TransferWise. It is one of the world’s fastest growing, profitable tech companies and is listed on the London Stock Exchange under the ticker, WISE. 16 million people and businesses use Wise. In fiscal year 2023, Wise processed approximately £105 billion in cross-border transactions, saving customers around £1.5 billion.  

As Austin continues to grow, we find more and more that we have lots of different "tech" industries operating in our region.  One area that is growing is the tech used to create movies, TV, music, etc...  Entertainment Tech is a coming together of many technologies that solve problems and make things easier for film makers, producers, directors, etc...     This week on "Austin Tech Connect" we talk to Nate Strayer from Stray Vista.  Stray Vista is the largest Virtual LED Volume Studio in Texas.  Nate went to school to be a film director, moved to LA and directed Music Videos, went home to Michagan and directed his first feature film, and then moved to Austin to launch the studio.   Check out this conversation about how Austin is growing as a place for movie and TV production, how tech in impacting the way movies, shows, and commercials are filmed, and hear how Nate thinks our unique juxtaposition of tech and art makes Austin ideal for more growth in this industry.   About Stray Vista:   Stray Vista is the largest Virtual Production LED Volume studio in the state of Texas. With experts in this emerging technology and how it amplifies storytelling and entertainment, Stray Vista has quickly become a staple in the Austin Film Industry as it grows and expands.   About Nate Strayer:   Nate Strayer is a film producer and studio owner. He opened Stray Vista studios in 2023 after directing his first feature film. Residing in Austin Texas, Nate has grown Stray Vista to become a multi-million dollar media production company, the largest LED Volume studio in Texas, and produced multiple films and commercials that have been seen by millions of people.  

This episode of "Austin Tech Connect" is all about the idea of continuing to build and expand the idea of "Community" in our tech ecosystem.  While most episodes are interviews, this is a solo episode with the Austin Technology Council CEO, Thom Singer.   For nearly two years Thom has been working with ATC to help "Celebrate the past, be present in the NOW, and look to the future.  The Austin Technology Council is a 32 year old organization that was founded for many reasons, a main one being to bring the tech community together.  This need is still important, but very different today than it was in 1992.  Our community is larger, both in geography and population, and we need to discover new ways to serve the whole ecosystem.   ATC is also part of the Technology Councils of North America, that lobbies in Washington DC on behalf of small and mid-sized tech interests.  there are over 100 independent tech councils in North America, and about 66 of them belong to TECNA.  For ATC to be more active with these efforts, we need to hear from our local company leaders to be sure we know what is important in their business.   In this episode Thom talks about why your company should be engaged in the Austin business scene (not just ATC) and shares three tips on how to get your team more involved.

Gary Forni, the Chairman of the Central Texas Angel Network (CTAN) is focused on starting, mentoring, investing in, and growing startups in the Austin area. As an investor, his focus is innovation and disruptive technology. As a member of the business community, he works with accelerators to maximize the success of entrepreneurs at Capital Factory, UT, Austin Technology Incubator, and as a founding investor and mentor in SKU. As an entrepreneur, he has worked to bring eight new businesses to market.  In the distant past, he was an executive at Marvell Semiconductor and Intel Corp. At Intel, he was part of starting four new businesses, including the flash memory business, which exited for $1.2B, and the XScale cellular business, which exited for $600M. At the industry level, Mr. Forni has published over twenty articles and papers, chaired standardization committees, and co-authored a book on flash memory technology.  About CTAN Having invested $129 million in 215 companies since 2006, Central Texas Angel Network (CTAN) is one of the most active angel investing groups in the United States. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, CTAN features more than 120 accredited investor business leaders from an extensive cross-section of sectors and backgrounds. Our experience and passion is what makes us a top venture capital firm in Austin, TX. CTAN members not only invest directly into startups and funds; they mentor and connect entrepreneurs to business resources, providing critical support to the success of early-stage businesses and the Texas economy.

In this episode of the "Austin Tech Connect" podcast we chat with Noah Zandan, Co-Founder and CEO at Quantified.ai.     In this episode we talk about his journey from Austin, to Dartmouth College, to Wall Street, to the Kellogg School of Business, and back to Austin.  You will want to hear all about Quantified.ai and how his growing company is using AI to help make sales professionals more efficient and productive.   Then we move onto all the data in the 2024 Zandan Poll.  He has a wealth of knowledge about how Austinites view the good and bad of our city's growth.    The original Zandan poll was launched by Noah's father, Peter Zandan in 1998. This survey stemmed from a deep curiosity to find a way to scientifically measure how Austin citizens feel about the changes going on around them and about their connection to the city.  For this public opinion poll, 800+ Austin-area residents were surveyed in late 2023 and early 2024, ending on January 4th. Respondents from the City of Austin as well as others from Travis, Williamson, Hays, Caldwell, and Bastrop counties were included and the survey was offered in both English and Spanish. The results are demographically representative. As we embark on the seventh wave of sharing results, Noah hopes that the 2024 poll continues to be a resource and inspiration for conversation for the Austin community. DO NOT MISS THIS INTERVIEW.   More Information:     Noah Zandan is the CEO and Co-Founder of Quantified.ai, and a pioneer in applying AI and behavioral science to help people reach their potential. Noah has delivered TED talks with over 20 million views, is the author of a #1 Amazon best-selling book called Insights into Influence, and is the Executive Director of the Zandan Poll and the Rockway Foundation. You can connect with Noah on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/noahzandan/  Quantified.ai is an AI sales training platform that helps customer-facing teams onboard faster, uplevel performance, and certify capabilities. To learn more visit https://www.quantified.ai/  The Zandan Poll is a public opinion poll, started in 1998, analyzing Austinites’ opinions on important topics including: growth, affordability, technology, and our city’s unique culture. To learn more visit https://www.zandanpoll.org/  

Tune into the latest episode of the Austin Tech Connect podcast to hear from Omeed Badkoobeh, Co-Founder and CEO at Yotta Energy.   About Omeed Badkoobeh:   Omeed Badkoobeh is a trailblazer in the energy technology sector, serving as the founder and CEO of Yotta Energy. Under his leadership, Yotta Energy has developed a cutting-edge, distributed, and decentralized solar+storage architecture tailored for commercial and industrial buildings. This innovative approach meets the growing demand for distributed energy generation while transforming these structures into valuable grid assets and virtual power plants. Before establishing Yotta Energy, Badkoobeh gained over 16 years of experience in the energy transition sector. His expertise covers various aspects of the industry, including significant work with Tesla in the electric vehicle field and extensive involvement in the solar industry. Badkoobeh’s dedication to advancing sustainable energy solutions has established him as a key influencer in shaping the future of energy. His professional philosophy emphasizes the importance of technology and wealth serving the global community, which has been a driving force behind his passion for the solar PV industry.   About Austin Technology Council Austin Tech Connect is the official podcast of the Austin Technology Council.  ATC was founded in 1992 to help promote the growth of Austin technology companies and to help create more community in the growth tech ecosystem.  Today the organization is a leading organization and a major voice for the continued growth of tech in Central Texas.

In this episode we talk to Austin's Joseph Kopser.  He is a serial entrepreneur and consultant who played his military career into a successful life in business.  He is one of the best networked and best connected people in the Austin tech community, and is always willing to help others.  About Joseph Kopser Joseph Kopser is a lifelong problem solver committed to building the teams needed to take on our toughest challenges.  In addition, he is a technology entrepreneur and expert in transportation, smart cities, urban mobility, energy, national security issues as well as an Army combat veteran.  His roles include special advisor for military and veteran affairs at the University of Texas as well as leadership development for several companies. Previously, he served as an Executive-in-Residence at the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas.  In addition, he is President of Grayline where he works with people and companies to grow their business by sharing his 30 years of leadership experience. Prior to co-founding Grayline, Joseph co-founded and served as CEO of RideScout, before it was acquired by Mercedes-Benz in 2014. Joseph served in the U.S. Army for 20 years earning the Combat Action Badge, Army Ranger Tab and Bronze Star.  He is a graduate of West Point with a BS in Aerospace Engineering and also received a Masters from the Harvard Kennedy School in 2002. In 2013, he was recognized as a White House Champion of Change for his efforts in Energy and Transportation.  In 2014, his company, RideScout, won the U.S. Department of Transportation Data Innovation Award.  In 2018, Joseph ran for Congress in a race that attracted more voters than any of the 36 districts in Texas.  Losing by less than 3 points in a heavily gerrymandered district, Joseph demonstrated that voters want civility and problem solvers in Congress.  In addition to being a former member of the Army Science Board, he works with The Bunker, an organization dedicated to supporting veteran entrepreneurs.  In 2018, he co-authored the book, Catalyst, whose themes serve as the foundation of his public speaking.  In 2019, Joseph became the inaugural Chair of the Board of Advisors for the CleanTX Foundation, an economic development and professional association for cleantech.  Joseph and his wife of 28 years, Amy, live in Austin and they are extremely proud of their three adult daughters.

The Austin Technology Council is happy to announce the creation (or re-creation) of the Austin Tech Hall of Fame. ATC thinks it is important that our tech community honors the past, is present in the now, and plans for the future. We are launching the Austin Tech Hall of Fame over the next six years.  Each year we will induct six "Legacy" members and one current member of the Hall of Fame.  Anyone in the community can nominate (you need not be an ATC member) and you can nominate whomever you feel is "Hall of Fame Worthy).  For the first year the ATC Board will choose those inducted, and in following years we will create an independent committee from local civic-minded tech leaders. In addition to the Hall of Fame, we are lauching the "First Time Founder Award" to honor someone who is doing a great job with the company they founded (and it was their first go at entrepreneurship).   We will celebrate the Hall of Fame and the First Time Founder Award at a cocktail reception on June 4th.   Title Sponsors of the event are KPMG and Wells Fargo.  The Sponsor of the First Time Founder Award is VeUp.  (We are seeking more sponsors if your company would like to get involved in the ground floor of this multi-year project).