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Welcome to this issue of Austin Business Review, a weekly roundup of great local events and insights for Austin business owners (plus some other cool stuff for your life outside of work).

My name’s Ethan and I’m the one writing this (holler at me here!).

This week, we’ve got a few things on-deck:

• 🎤 Two Different Multi-Million Dollar DTC Panels

• 🗣️ TEDx South Congress (and a bunch of other events)

• 🤑 Who’s Raising on WeFunder Right Now?

• And more…

Did someone forward this to you? If you like it, you can sign up here!

-Ethan

Upcoming Events

Running a business is tough. Here are a few great places to meet cool people going through the same sh*t you are.

🗓️ TONIGHT: Investor Poker: My buddies, Justin Schoenfelder and Abhi Sinha, are hosting this table, complete with five exclusive founder pitches to kick the evening off

🗓️ TONIGHT: Women Sellers in Amazon’s Store: Amazon’s ​Abby Malchow, is facilitating this killer panel, including Shannon Ross of Springer Pets (Shark Tank)

🗓️ TONIGHT: Nerd Nite: Like a mini TED, for nerds, by nerds, this month’s topics span music, the uncanny valley, and networking (for people who hate networking)

🗓️ Apr. 25: Creator Marketing Unconference: This one’s for you if you manage creator partnerships for your brand, or are a founder in the creator marketing space

🗓️ Apr. 25-27: Ultimate Speaker Competition: If you’re into public speaking – watch 15 speakers compete across 3 categories, plus workshops and author signings

🗓️ Apr. 26-27: RiverHacks: A 36-hour hackathon, Led by Afaq Ahmad, and open to participants and mentors from the ATX startup scene (150+ so far)

🗓️ Apr. 28: Negotiation Tips & Tricks (Online): Austin Women in Tech is hosting Amber Gunst, founder of FundLyst and former CEO of the Austin Tech Council

🗓️ Apr. 29: Turbulent Times DTC Brand Panel: Featuring author Taylor Pearson, and kick-ass DTC founders Jake Chambers of Pupsentials, and Shaz Rajashekar of SHAZ & KIKS

🗓️ Apr. 29: Business After Hours: For those of you out west, tired of going downtown for events, the West Austin Chamber is hosting their monthly happy hour

🗓️ Apr. 29: Coffee Tasting & Founder Story: Richard Pennock, co-founder of IndigoFire Coffee, is hosting a tasting down at Red Fridge Society, and sharing his story

🗓️ Apr. 30: Black Mirror Reality Check: Watch two episodes live, then listen in on this panel discussion with Numa Dhamani and other AI founders and developers

🗓️ May 1: Elevated Interactions: Investor Cody Todd is gathering people at Cosmic Pickle for laid back drinks. Fun fact: He’s an investor in Cosmic too 🍻 Ask him about it

🗓️ May 1: The Happiest Hour: Swing by the Antler office downtown for drinks with Allie Mullen, Nick Tippman, and other investors around town.

🗓️ May 2: TVL Pitch Day: Grad student founders from UT will compete for $50k in prizes. Swing by to scout new talent

🗓️ May 2: Founder Fridays: Hosted every month by founder Georges Colbert in partnership with LAUNCH, the VC firm founded by Jason Calacanis

🗓️ May 3: Sourdough Starter Party: Texas Women in Business is hosting this event as a fun way to make connections, learn new skills, and support their philanthropy fund

🗓️ May 3: Conquering Crisis: Admiral William H. McRaven, No. 1 NYT bestselling author of Make Your Bed is coming to Book People to discuss his latest release

One More Thing… TEDx South Congress is happening May 3rd. Led by Dr. Ronke Komolafe, this year’s theme is, “Innovative Pulse: What Does the Future Hold?” — and speakers include:

• Andrew Warden: CMO of Semrush

• Claudia Six: Clinical sexologist & relationship therapist

• Alex Fink: Founder of Otherweb (15m+ users) and Swarmer UAV

• My buddy, Jason Scharf: Local investor, and host of the AustinNext podcast

• And more…

See the full lineup and snag tickets here.

Fun Stuff Coming Up

…because if you’re anything like me, you work too much already. So here’s some fun stuff to do around town that’s not necessarily related to business.

• TONIGHT: You Grill Girl - Women Pitmasters of ATX

• TONIGHT: Antone’s Stage Kickoff at Still Austin Distillery

• Apr. 27: Horizon of Hope Gala with 2x Olympian Alison Gibson

• Apr. 25-27: Field Guide Festival - Celebrating Local Chefs & Farmers

• Apr. 26: Curate:Create - Austin Creative Market at Radio East

• Apr. 26-27: Creator Camp Film Fest

• Apr. 26-27: Austin Blues Fest

• Apr. 27: Floating Paddleboard Yoga (All Levels) at Mozarts

• Apr. 28: Micro-Brew & Bourbon Pairing Dinner at Cork & Barrel

• Apr. 28: The Chefs Who Shaped Us - Dinner Series

• Apr. 29: The Kill Tony Regulars at Vulcan Gas Co.

• May 1: Kaleidoscope - A Spectrum of Music and Dance

• May 1: Bourbon Barrel Launch Party

• May 2: Margaritaville Pottery & Paint Night at The Art Garage

One Last Thing… NYT Bestselling author and comedian Mamrie Hart is joining Book People on May 2 for a live book signing and discussion of her new cookbook, All I Think About Is Food.

Word On The Street

A roundup of cool local opportunities to grow your business, wealth, or personal brand

• Oxford Seminar on AI & Philosophy: This 8-week seminar, co-taught by ATX founder and investor, Brendan McCord, explores the intersection of cutting-edge AI, and age-old philosophy. The syllabus is open source here, and there are a few virtual seats you can apply for here. All attendees have a shot at builder grants from McCord’s Cosmos Institute.

• (Not) Investment Advice: I thought it’d be fun to do a roundup of cool founders here in ATX who are raising on WeFunder. First up is Jessica Yang, whose new mobile waxing concept, WAX/D On Wheels, is preparing for rollout. Dustin Godevais is raising for Troov, a 1-1 meetup app, to make connections over shared passions. And Jacob Guss has raised a whopping ~$500k for Cold Brooze, an RTD boozey coffee.

• Fundraising Soon? The deadline to apply for Central Texas Angel Network’s third funding round is May 5th. There’s a Zoom info session on April 29th with more info on how to maximize your odds of getting funding.

  NOTE: The Eventbrite page says that sales have ended, but if you expand the details section, you’ll see info to join the Zoom call

Insights

Thought-provoking ideas and stories published by founders in ATX

Typically, this is a roundup… But there’s only one thing that’s really fascinated me this week – this live recording of the All-In pod, taped here in Austin a while back. It’s excellent.

The whole thing is about new media, and local boy Jason Calacanis dives deep with co-host David Friedberg, Colin and Samir, and (fellow Austinite) Chris Williamson on:

• Algorithms vs Subscribers: How content spreads these days

• How Chris monetized Modern Wisdom early on

• Where AI-Gen Content is headed

• and more…

If you’re running a media company, or investing seriously in your brand’s content creation, check it out. And if you’re passionate about this kind of thing, we’ve still got a couple seats left at our upcoming roundtable, all about making money and art.

You can find info and tickets for that here.

Local Artist of the Week

Looking at art is cool. But what I really love is stumbling on unexpected art. Art for its own sake.

That’s how I felt when I found that secret 30,000 sq foot mural on the roof last year. And it’s how I felt last week at Houndstooth when I noticed this – a miniature version of the shop (right down to the light-up interior and latte art), reimagined as a standalone building.

“One of our customers made that for us,” I was told.

That customer goes by Rizzy, and tags her work under the moniker Danger Peligro Studio. A microbiologist by day, she spends her nights making cool creative stuff, including a lot of lazer-cut wood projects and incredibly detailed models of the places she loves.

Aside from Houndstooth, she’s done miniatures of the Seaholm Power Plant downtown, the old Vulcan video store (lost during covid), and other cool spots. She also made the baby-Yoda there.

You can see a roundup on her Instagram page.

The thing that grabbed me wasn’t just the model, but the care with which the whole thing was displayed.

There was a nicely built case, a custom-engraved plaque, and even a professionally printed and bound hardcover book, with photos of the entire process.

I love stuff like this.

That’s all for this week!

Email me here if you want to share any feedback, or let me know about an event you’re hosting.

Until next week,

-Ethan