Welcome to this issue of The 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).
As I was walking into my office to work on this email Sunday morning, I bumped into Chrissy McDannell, an M&A broker who works from the same space, and hosts the The AI Implementation Club there every weekend.
“Are you here to work on AI stuff with us,” she asked, brightly.
Now, if you’re trying to carve out time to actually do stuff with these tools, your answer should be, “Yes.” Chrissy runs a tight ship, and everyone who comes to the event leaves with real progress made (seriously, check it out).
But for me, Sundays are for the newsletter, and I very specifically don’t use AI in the making of this email.
The reason is twofold…
First, I try not to let AI manage a thing unless I’m okay with that skill atrophying in myself. One goal of ABR for me is to develop a deep understanding of what’s going on in the Austin business scene, and I can’t do that if AI is spoon-feeding me stories and events.
Second, and more important: The Austin Business Review is about connecting people with other people.
As more and more of what you see online becomes written by AI, I want to make sure you know this is one place you can always come to find real humans and see what they’re up to.
Written and curated the old fashioned way (on a thousand-dollar space age computer).
-Ethan
PS. Did someone forward this to you? If you like it, you can sign up here!
Upcoming Events
🗓️ TODAY: Putt Fore The Parks: Sean Kelly, the founder over at Fortitude Advisors, is running this to benefit the Austin Parks Foundation and it sounds like a blast
🗓️ TODAY: Happy Hour with Cold Cycle: Featuring the local founders of Cold Cycle, an innovative cold brew machine that makes batches in minutes instead of hours
🗓️ TODAY: Applied AI Live: Michael Daigler, Jordaaan Hill, and Travis Oliphant are showing how to build production-grade OpenClaw systems
🗓️ TODAY: Nerd Nite: Like a local version of TED - This month’s is all about NASA’s Lucy Mission, investigating the Trojan Asteroid Belt – “the fossils of our galaxy”
🗓️ Mar. 27: Review Crew Happy Hour: Come on out, and meet other ABR readers for a drink to round out the week
🗓️ Mar. 28: Best Day Ever: Alec Rios’ Young Professionals Network is partnering with Best Day Ever Foundation to support a struggling food truck with 100+ customers
🗓️ Mar. 29: The AI Implementation Club: A great new series by Chrissy McDannell for founders who want focused time and accountability to sit down and learn AI tools
🗓️ Mar. 29: AI’s Impact on SEO & Search: This month, the Austin Tech Council’s Roundtable Breakfast is welcoming a panel to discuss how to make sure you get found
🗓️ Mar. 31: Business After Hours: For those of you out west, tired of going downtown for events, Ray Freers is organizing this on behalf of West Austin Chamber
🗓️ Mar. 31: Founder Coffee Tasting: Drop by Chris Taylor’s Red Fridge Society for coffee and a chance to hang with the founders
🗓️ Apr. 1: Metropolitan Breakfast Club: Meet Stacey Blakely, Executive Director at Builders, a cross-partisan non-profit that pulls citizens together to solve real problems
🗓️ Apr. 2: Workroom After Hours: Sara Loretta is leading a workshop on how to craft a universal client experience that leaves B2B customers raving
🗓️ Apr. 2: Fridge Fire: Chris Taylor’s firing up the brand new sauna over at The Red Fridge Society for a founder social with Jessica Tranchina of Generator Athlete Lab
🗓️ Apr. 3: Coffee & Connections: Another one for those of you out west, hosted by the West Austin Chamber
🗓️ Apr. 3: Cocktails & Conversations: There is no link for Nathan Ryan’s event But it happens at 5PM on the first Friday of every month over at Remedy, on Nueces
🗓️ Apr. 4: Austin OpenClaw Hackathon: James Leach and Alec Stulov are pulling people into a room for five hours of productive building (no panels or pitches)
Okay, this one I’m excited about…
My friend Nicole Forrester told me about this cool event she and her husband went to in London called Thought Experiments in Pubs.
It’s exactly what it sounds like: Interesting people from all over town grab a drink, pull up a chair, and explore a few thought-provoking hypothetical quandaries together (similar to the old Trolley Problem, if you’re familiar with that one).
Well… We’re doing one here 🍻
Join us April 8th over at Cosmic Pickle for the first installment of Thought Experiments on Patios. Cold beers, three hypothetical scenarios to discuss, groups re-mixing every 25 minutes or so – it’ll be a fun way to make some new friends, and have unhinged conversations without the small talk. Come on out!
Other Fun Stuff Coming Up
Mar. 26: Life & Legends of Larry McMurtry
Mar. 27: Big Reds & Bubbles - Elevated Sip ‘n Stroll
Mar. 28: Jim Jeffries at ACL Live
Mar. 29: Roosevelt Room Master Class Series - Home Bartending 101
Mar. 30: Snail Mail Crafty Happy Hour
Apr. 1: High Noon Talk - The Life and Work of Elisabet Ney
Apr. 1: An Evening with Rick Steves at the Historic Paramount Theatre
Apr. 1: Theo Von at ACL Live
Apr. 2: Pulitzer Prize Winner Marie Howe at the Harry Ransom Center
Apr. 3: Wild & Wreathed - Spring Wreath Making Workshop
Apr. 3: Austin Ikebana Group Meeting
Apr. 4: Bloody Mary Fest
Austin Book Trail Kicks Off…
Thirty-six local independent book stores are participating in this year’s ATX Book Trail April 4th - 5th. I actually didn’t even know we had 36 book stores. Kick things off with breakfast at Manana on the 4th or wind down and swap book notes at the after-party at Strangelove on the 5th.
Check out the full map of participating shops here
Word On The Street
A roundup of interesting opportunities to know about – whether it’s fundraising, businesses for sale, mentorship, hiring, etc.
1. Want to punch up your website copy? One of my favorite local copywriters, Liana Patch, has a new offering you should know about (this isn’t a paid ad - she’s just excellent and you should know her)
2. Call For Pitches: Shout out to Mathias Ihlenfeld for putting this on my radar. Round Rock is hosting a $10k pitch contest in May. Applications are open until midnight Friday (3/27)
3. Profitable Red Light Therapy Business For Sale: Founded by a local NYT Best-selling author, this brand did $302k TTM Rev, $147k SDE, all without paid ads or Amazon. Seller carry is on the table for the right buyer.
Building A “Love Letter” to the Employee - The Story Behind EverMore
Courtney Branson and I first connected over a shared friendship with Chris Taylor, founder of The Red Fridge Society here in Austin.
Before he was that, he was the founder of Square Root, an enterprise software company, and Courtney was his Head of Culture.
Together, they built Square Root to Fortune’s No. 2 company in the entire country to work for, and when they won that title, it was they (rather than the first place winner) who got the multi-page full-color writeup.
Because their culture was so unique.
Now, Courtney’s building a company of her own. EverMore is an AI-powered career companion, designed to help employees reflect on their work, track wins, highlight challenges, and build a living resume that makes sure they get noticed for their contributions.
This week, she shared the story of how she and her co-founders got started, the unconventional decisions that have helped so far, books that inspired her (hint: Kurt Vonnegut makes an appearance), and more.
Check out her full story here 👇👇👇
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
