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

John Oberg moved to Austin with his fintech startup in 2005.  Over the years he has been active in the Austin tech scene, and is committed to giving back to the community that gave him so much.     John is the Founder of Precina Health, an adjunct professor at USC, and serves on the boards of several companies.    Check out this episode as John and Thom Singer go down "memory lane" of Austin and look to the future successes that are in the future of Central Texas.    About John Oberg   Dr. John Oberg is a Founder, CEO, Board Director, Advisor, Professor and Investor trusted by organizations to navigate growth, conflict, and change. He founded two Austin-based healthcare innovators: Sedera, a community-based medical cost-sharing organization (#193 on Inc 500, #26 in Financial Times Western Hemisphere), and Precina Health, a first-of-its-kind chronic care virtual medical practice. John serves on the board of directors for both organizations, along with the boards of OnlineMedEd (which writes curriculum for Medical and Physician’s Assistant schools globally) and Point Health. Through John Oberg Advisory, John advises large institutions, healthcare industry leaders, professional services firms, and nonprofits. John received his doctorate from the University of Southern California (Social Work) and his MBA from the University of New Mexico (Policy & Planning and Management of Technology). He is currently an adjunct professor at USC. He has started companies and managed teams larger than 1,000 people. Over the last three decades, he has studied the behavior of individuals, communities, and systems. He now catalyzes improved behaviors to create best-in-class outcomes, not to mention happier people. John was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. He currently lives with his family in Austin, where you’ll find him engaging in many outdoor activities. When traveling, he also enjoys SCUBA diving and golf and has recently taken to hunting and fishing. He holds a second-degree black belt in orthodox karate.   About Precina   Precina helps patients feel better, faster. Our chronic care practice monitors patients’ diabetes every day - just as they do. Our practice combines medical care with social workers to address the complex challenges of controlling diabetes and related comorbidities. We meet with patients consistently and give them unlimited access to our clinicians for any question - all from home. Together with their doctor’s guidance, we make small changes that lead to big improvements in how patients feel - updating patients’ doctors every step of the way. Our practice works to improve quality and length of life for everyone, especially those with low income or in rural areas.

On this week's "Austin Tech Connect Podcast" we focus on economic development in an in depth conversation with Gary Farmer.  Gary has been the chair of Opportunity Austin for many years, and served as the interim CEO for the past several months.     Since the early 2000s, Opportunity Austin has been focused on helping Austin grow, attract business, grow the workforce, etc...     In this interview Gary talks about how Austin has changed since his early days in business in the 1980s, and how we need to continue to plan for the future and plant the seeds for growth. He also talks about how the time is coming (again) for the seasoned leaders to pass the baton to the next generation of civic minded entrepreneurs.   If you are not familiar with Opportunity Austin and the efforts this group has made over the past 20 years, be sure to listen to all of this interview.     About Gary Farmer   Gary S. Farmer is President of Heritage Title Company of Austin, Inc., a commercially oriented title insurance agency operating throughout the major markets of Texas. He has been in the title insurance business since 1985. During Gary’s tenure, Heritage has been recognized for its excellence in the commercial title insurance arena as it has grown to be among the largest independently owned title agencies in Texas. Gary is involved in a variety of civic and charitable endeavors. Currently, Gary serves as Chairman of the Greater Austin Economic Development Corporation, Opportunity Austin 4.0 Campaign and Co-Chair of the Waller Creek Conservancy Capital Campaign. Additionally, Gary serves as a Board Member of the following organizations: The University of Texas Chancellor’s Council, The University of Texas Development Board, the President’s Council of The Real Estate Council of Austin, the National Multi Housing Council, The Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce and The Greater Austin Crime Commission. Gary founded the Greater Austin Economic Development Corporation in 2003 and has served as its Chairman for thirteen (13) years. Gary is the Past Chair of Opportunity Austin (1.0, 2.0 and 3.0), Past Chair of Advantage Austin III, Co-Founder and Past Chair of The Real Estate Council of Austin, Past Chair of Capital Area Transportation Coalition, Past Chair of Take on Traffic Initiative, Past Chair of Caritas Community Advisory Board (two terms) and has served as a Board Member on numerous other civic and charitable boards. He has chaired/co-chaired eight (8) Capital Campaigns which have raised approximately $145,000,000 for community endeavors. Additionally, Gary has served on three (3) Mayoral Task Forces dealing with the economy, the environment and healthcare. Gary and his wife, Susan, are graduates of The University of Texas, the proud parents of three daughters and members of Tarrytown United Methodist Church.     What does opportunity Austin do?   Opportunity Austin is able to provide confidential support for projects, including real estate research, and the facilitation of all aspects of the site selection process. They work to boost economic diversification to proactively strengthen the economy, deepen the talent pool through development and attraction, and helping to keep the Austin region attractive to entrepreneurs, business leaders, and site selectors. Opportunity Austin targets key industries for future economic development, including advanced manufacturing, automotive, semiconductors, creative and digital media, clean technology, financial services, life sciences, data management, space technology, and corporate headquarters and regional offices.

"Don't Be Complacent and Stay Hungry".  This week on Austin Tech Connect Thom Singer sits down with Martin Martinez from Founder Institute.  In this chat he shares his journey and the history of Founder Institute. He also gets real talking about the future of our tech ecosystem.    Martin has a long history in Austin and is a big fan of the best tech events, and has been known to host several memorable technology gatherings.    About Martin Martinez   Martín Martinez is the Entrepreneur in Residence for the Founder Institute, the world’s most proven network to turn ideas into fundable startups, and startups into global businesses, helping over 6,500 companies across 6 continents build businesses since 2009. He is the Host and Producer of the online show Global Startup Report and the FounderX Conference Series, featuring the top Founder Institute Alumni, Mentors, Investors, and Leaders from around the world. Since 2017, Martín has served as the Executive Director of the Founder Institute Texas programs, overseeing events, operations, partnerships, and graduate success across chapters in the Lone Star State. In that span, the program has launched 125 companies statewide, with top companies raising over $25 million dollars in venture capital A serial entrepreneur, he spends time working with startup founders and serving on boards for multiple entrepreneurship programs, including the University of Southern California, the Cambridge University, and the University of Texas at Austin. He's founded and exited 3 companies, produced high-profile events across the country in multiple industries, and serves as an advisor to the South by Southwest (SXSW) Conference and Music Festival.

This week on "Austin Tech Connect" is a conversation with Autumn Manning.  She is an entrepreneur, investor and teach executive for over 20 years.  Many of you many know her from her role with Motley Fool Ventures, but she has now gone back into the world of Startup Entrepreneurship (listen to this interview to get the first glimpses into her new company).   About Autumn Manning   Arkansas Razorback at heart, Autumn Manning dove into the corporate world with a psych degree, focusing the first decade on reshaping organizational culture and leadership, enabling enterprise organizations with modern talent management, workforce effectiveness, and leadership strategy. From assessments to transformative models, she went broad and deep across the organization to create irresistible companies with extraordinary people.  Fast-forward a bit: Autumn Co-founded and led YouEarnedIt—a SaaS employee engagement, culture, and performance management platform. She exited the business to Vista Equity Partners in 2018, which allowed her to then immerse herself in the consumer world as President & COO of Cratejoy, focusing on community-centric eCommerce. From there, she served as Partner at Motley Fool Ventures championing early-stage entrepreneurs with founder-friendly capital for a handful of years.  Mentoring and advocacy are top priority for Autumn, especially helping underestimated founders and emerging leaders. Board member at Scholarship America and a seasoned CASA advocate for kids in the system. You can find her thoughts in: The New York Times, HuffPost, Business Insider, Entrepreneur, and the Economist. And, proudly: named as Austin's Best CEO (2018), received the Stevie Award for Best Female Executive of the Year (2018) Oh, and the most important part of all. Mom to Miles (16) and Marin (14).

In this episode of Austin Tech Connect (the official podcast of the Austin Technology Council), Thom Singer talks with Jess Ross from Austin Free-Net.  They provide services to help eliminate the "Digital Divide" in Central Texas.  Those of us who work in tech do not often think about people in our community who do not know how to use computers and smartphones, and as our society goes more digital, these people are being left behind. Austin Free-Net works to empower people through technology.     About JESS ROSS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF AUSTIN FREE-NET Jess Ross is the Executive Director of the legacy non-profit Austin Free-Net. When not dedicating her passion and efforts to digital equity and inclusion in Austin, Jess is a singer-songwriter and enjoys performing live in central Texas. Her voice transcends a variety of different genres including blues, soul, pop, rock, jazz, latin and country. Inspired at an early age by her public grade school music teacher and strong female artists including Selena Quintanilla-Pérez, Whitney Houston and Alanis Morissette, Jess Ross has been performing for an audience since 1995. Jess attended Berklee College of Music in 2003 and later was employed by Berklee to lead management of academic performance facilities in various locations on campus. Her shows offer a variety of musicianship including full band, trio and duet compositions. Jess Ross moved to Austin, Texas in 2011 to immerse herself in the music scene of the Live Music Capital of the World and later worked alongside executives at the local iconic establishment Strait Music Company before shifting gears during the 2020 pandemic to help marginalized community members easily access digital resources to improve their lives with Austin Free-Net. Jess Ross was selected by Austin Free-Net's Board of Directors to serve as Interim Executive Director in 2021 and accepted the role of Executive Director in 2022. She created and launched the Learn & Earn Program in March 2022 to great success and was recognized by The Texas State Library and Archives Commission in the same year. Austin Free-Net was named finalist for Best Non-Profit in Austin in 2023 and their digital literacy programs were nationally recognized by the Community Broadband and Digital Equity awards in 2023 for Digital Equity Project of the year. Jess was also selected to co-chair the National Digital Inclusion Alliance's Digital Inclusion Week Committee 2023. Jess Ross is committed to helping improve the quality of life for everyone in Texas by empowerment through technology, creating and performing music and reconnecting communities so that we may all thrive together.    About AUSTIN FREE-NET  Austin Free-Net is a legacy non-profit organization dedicated to bridging the digital divide and promoting digital inclusion in Central Texas. Founded in 1995, Austin Free-Net has been a cornerstone in the community, providing essential digital literacy training, internet access, and technology resources to underserved populations, empowering individuals with the skills they need to thrive in the digital age. We have the unique distinction of being the first organization to provide wired internet and computers into Austin Public Library branches. 26 years later, we are the first organization to introduce free, bilingual Digital Navigator services to Austin Public Library branches. As technology continues to evolve, we are thoroughly committed to trailblazing digital inclusion efforts in Central Texas and nationwide. Austin Free-Net's mission is empowerment through technology. At the heart of our mission is the belief that access to technology and digital literacy is a fundamental right. We provide a safe and judgement free space to ensure that everyone in the Austin community, regardless of their socio-economic background, has equal opportunities to access and use digital tools, thus empowering them to improve their lives and participate fully in the digital world. We serve all residents under the Texas sun. 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.

At the beginning of 2023 there was a lot of talk about recession and layoffs.  While there have been many layoffs across the country, Austin seems to have not been hit too hard so far, and the economy continues to move along.  But the "Macro Economic Uncertainty" is still impacting hiring.   Wade Allen, President and CEO at Cendea joins the conversation to talk about hiring for tech companies in our new world.     About Wade Allen: Wade Allen has a keen, innate ability to apply his extensive experience and deep understanding of business and technology to help companies secure the right executive talent to take them to the next level.  The unique 3-D Analysis™ process he developed and refined over the last 30 years at Cendea® establishes the Partners as invaluable advisors to their clients. He has built and mastered the critical executive recruiting and retention principles companies need to drive success and maximize ROI, and that’s TLC - Talent-Leadership-Culture.  Executive ROI is maximized by understanding what is required on all three legs of the TLC stool and then securing true Impact Leaders™ who meet those requirements! From Fortune 50 to startups and turnarounds, Wade has helped drive company growth by applying his blend of executive management, board participation, strategy, product, sales, marketing and development skills.  He holds an Executive MBA from the University of Texas and a Master’s and Bachelor’s degrees in EE, CS, and Math Science from Rice University.  About Cendea: Cendea® believes that building great organizations is not the result of blind luck.  Alignment is required to take steps forward toward greatness.  Our 3-D Analysis™ assesses and then articulates a company’s needs, including culture and chemistry.   We think differently: ·       have avoided the traditional recruiting methodology because we know better results are achievable ·       can help navigate through this critical process because the Partners have been executives in multiple industries ·       determine the culture and chemistry required, and then secure a match ·       allow companies to choose from several candidates who all clear the bar – anything less should be unacceptable ·       deliver an Impact Leader who can help take a company to the next level   We are Retained but firmly believe in pay-for-performance to get the job done right.  We partner with our Clients to make a significant difference!  We focus on C-Suite to key management to high-end individual contributors, and our reputation and referrals take us nationwide across a wide range of industries.

In this episode, Thom Singer has a conversation with a local Austin entrepreneur who cares deeply about how technology can positively impact the economy, education, and people.  Chris Fronda is the founder and CEO (and Chief Logic Officer) for Logictry.  Check out this interview where he talks about technology for impact in the world.   About Chris Fronda Chris is a dedicated individual driven by a lifelong commitment to simplify complex subjects and share knowledge. Inspired by his mother's dedication to education and the belief that unequal access to resources fuels global disparities, Chris strives to ensure equitable learning opportunities for all. His journey began at age 11 when a fascination with programming was sparked by a desire for a TI-83 calculator. This ignited a mission to bridge global opportunity gaps exacerbated by resource limitations. Chris's teaching prowess was evident as he tutored math and served as a physics TA, eventually earning him the title of Teacher of the Year at National Instruments. Excelling as a Product Manager for a $25 million product line further demonstrated his dedication. Driven by an entrepreneurial spirit, Chris founded a successful systems integration firm and served as a fractional CTO for startups, exploring varied interests including social media apps, video streaming, and cryptocurrency. In 2019, he founded Logictry to democratize Logic and Logical Intelligence, aiming to empower individuals, break barriers, and provide universal access to opportunities. Chris's visionary mission through Logictry is a testament to his passion for teaching, thirst for knowledge, and commitment to creating a more equitable world. About Logictry Logictry’s vision is providing global access to agency and opportunity. Logictry’s mission is scaling the world’s wisdom to give everyone the power of choice. Logictry is a Knowledge Logic Management SaaS platform (like confluence and notion but with an added logic layer) helping mid-market to large enterprise organizations with complex processes systematize and scale their institutional wisdom.  For example, they help sales teams build next-generation curated and actionable sales playbook(s) that ramp new hires into instant experts making them profitable faster. Logictry partners with startup founders and small businesses to help them jointly commercialize their idea and scale their business.  They act as the CTO, shortcutting the development process by over 50% and delivering a fully managed solution on Logictry's already enterprise-trusted secure platform. Logictry has recently launched Logic.Wiki, a consumer search decision engine, where they are partnering with experts to build curated and actionable content that helps others make better decisions.  They have also incorporated Generative AI and solve problems such as prompt engineering with their logic layer. Lastly, Logictry runs a yearly conference called World Logic Day in partnership with the United Nations to highlight the importance of Logic and Logical Intelligence.   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 Thom Singer talks to Kevin Koym, the founder and CEO of Tech Ranch.  Tech Ranch is a twenty year old "Entrepreneur Support Organization" that helps discover talent and connect entrepreneurs so they can scale.  In this conversation we cover a lot of ground about Entrepreneurship and the history of Austin Tech.    About Kevin Koym Kevin Koym's distinguished career fuels his passion for advising startups, which has seen two $0-to-$1 million startups and four others that made the $500,000 mark, and a number of “firsts” including the development of the first internet banking application in 1995 and the first large-scale e-commerce application engine, which generated over $2 billion in revenue for Dell Computer in the late 1990s. Kevin was at the forefront of exploring profile-driven commerce, the use of Linux to secure networks and exploring the feasibility of Affective Computing. And, his experience working with technology luminary Steve Jobs at NeXT influences his ability to inspire the global entrepreneurs he supports. In 2010, the Association of Information Technology Professionals, Austin Chapter, honored Kevin as “Technology Community Leader of the Year”. Prior to founding his own companies, and in addition to NeXT, Kevin worked for the UT Health Science Center, Southwest Research Institute, Motorola, and IBM, earned a degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Texas, and is an Eagle Scout. About Tech Ranch Tech Ranch® is a venture accelerator comprised of a global ecosystem of entrepreneurs, businesses, investors and community leaders. They equip entrepreneurs and ecosystems with insights, proven techniques, tools and processes that develop the business, their community and their global impact. They provide the social capital, personal development, professional knowledge and communal support necessary for entrepreneurs around the world to create companies that positively impact their local communities and solve pervasive global social challenges. Tech Ranch believes that innovative entrepreneurs who are well-supported can create a positive impact not only locally but also globally. They provide that support by helping them acquire the relationships, resources, and knowledge they need to succeed. Their mission is to support entrepreneurs to gain access to the markets, resources, and relationships so that they may solve local problems with global insight. They prepare pioneers to take on global challenges together. 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 Thom Singer talks to leaders of Technology Councils across the United States and Canada to hear what is happening in their regions and what they are doing to prepare for the future.     Oftentimes we examine what is happening in the tech world in the Silicon Valley, but we may not always be thinking about how tech companies (local homegrown companies and large international organizations) are impacting every city and state around the world.   Thom spent three days at the TECNA Summer Conference in Seattle last week and spent time with the leaders of over 50 technology councils from cities of all sizes.  He interviewed many of them in short 3-4 minute conversations for this episode of "Austin Tech Connect".     Please enjoy this virtual dialogue with people from some tech centers you know, and some you may not have thought about as being active leaders in the growth of the tech sector across North America.    ATC is happy to introduce our local member companies to the technology councils in any other part of North America.  If you are doing business, or would like to do business, within other communities represented by a TECNA Council, please reach out to the Austin Technology Council to be connected with the leadership of that regions council.    About TECNA   TECNA (Technology Councils of North America) represents 66 IT and Technology trade organizations that, in turn, represent more than 22,000 technology-related companies in North America.   TECNA empowers regional technology organizations and serves as their collective voice in growing the North American technology economy.   They strive to deliver valuable services to member organizations fostering collaboration, innovation, and the exchange of ideas.   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 of "Austin Tech Connect", Laura Patterson from Vision Edge Marketing joins the conversation to talk about how marketing for tech companies is different over the years, but how strategy never goes out of style.     Laura has been active in the local tech scene for over three decades, and this conversation centers on how tech companies should be thinking about Marketing (notice the capital "M").   About Laura Patterson   If you're looking for a practical, no-nonsense proven approach to accelerate customer-centric growth, create customer value, and improve business performance, then you've connected with the right person.  Laura Patterson is a recognized and trusted authority for enabling companies to take a customer-centric outcome-based approach to organic growth by enabling them to use data-driven insights, strategy, performance management,  operational excellence to attract, retain and grow the value of customers.  Laura began her 25+ year career in sales and had the great fortune of working across functions spanning customer relationship management, strategic and product marketing, analytics, and marketing operations. Today she is at the helm of VisionEdge Marketing, a growth strategy firm, founded in 1999. She received a patent for the Accelance® methodology designed to help organizations connect activities and investment to business results. She has published four books, with the recent Fast-Track Your Business: A Customer-Centric Approach to Accelerate Market Growth receiving industry acclaim.  Laura is frequently asked to speak and facilitate workshops for educational institutions, associations, and company meetings.  Laura was recently inducted into the CX Hall of Fame and has been recognized for her thought leadership and has won numerous awards, including Engati’s Top 30 Marketing Influencers and Top 200 Thought Leaders, Piktale’s Top 100 Influencers, and 20 Women to Watch in Business by the Sales Lead Management Association.