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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).

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:

• 📅 Upcoming Founder Events (a bunch)

• 🍖 Franklin’s Pit Master Live On Stage

• 🎶 The 17-Year Old Artist You Should Know

• And more…

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

-Ethan

❤️ PS. I want to say a huge heartfelt thank you to all of you who responded to last week’s email about losing my dog. Your notes and stories meant a ton, and it was sweet getting to meet your pets.

It gave me an idea too… ABR Pet Wall.

If you want a fun (and free) way to get your company in front of the ABR audience, put your pet in company swag, snap a photo, and send it to me. I’ll share the results here soon, and it’ll be part of onboarding so all new readers see too.

If you don’t have a pet, but you still got that dog in you, and want to market your brand, consider volunteering to walk the marketing interns dogs in Austin Pets Alive’s Dog Day Out program, and bring some swag for them.

Shout out to Shân Osborn (one of my favorite writers) for the inspiration.

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: Nerd Nite Austin: Like a local version of TED – this month’s all about technology’s dark side, and includes talks from: Heather Ringman on the surprising (murderous?) history of Jetpacks, and John Bongaarts on overcoming the tyranny of tech

🗓️ Mar. 28: Friday Writing Club: Hosted by my friend, Kirtana Reddy, this is one of the two most popular writing groups in the city

🗓️ Mar. 29: Vibe & Venture: Alison Gratz is leading a hike for entrepreneurs and creatives out in the greenbelt

🗓️ Apr. 1: The Next Wave of Generative AI: The Austin Forum on Tech and Society is welcoming Google’s Andrew Gates to discuss the current state of GenAI, the rise of agents, and expected advancements

🗓️ Apr. 2: RAG and Agentic Workflows: This month’s AI Camp includes talks from Sean Patterson and Karl Goeltner

🗓️ Apr. 2: TWIB Online Connect: Texas Women in Business’ in-person events always fill up fast so if you haven’t made it to one of those yet, try this

🗓️ Apr. 2: Future of Crypto & Blockchain (online): Gene Ramirez, managing partner at Norrio Capital, is hosting a panel on the tokenization of real-world assets, evolving role of digital assets in investment portfolios, opportunities in DeFi, and more

🗓️ Apr. 2-3: Shaping the Future of Ethical AI: The fifth annual installment of this symposium, experts from various universities will discuss everything from autonomous vehicles to AI’s impact on democracy

🗓️ Apr. 3: Product Marketers of Austin: Join Nick Bhavsar, Harsha Kalapala and other marketers for a drink down at Lazarus Airport Blvd, or check out their Slack group.

🗓️ Apr. 3: Women in Sales: The local chapter of this global community is gathering dozens for an informal happy hour over at Postino South Lamar

🗓️ Apr. 3: Health Hustlers: Hosted by my friends Corey Hiben and Erin Laverone, this is probably the biggest group of health & wellness founders gathering in the city

🗓️ Apr. 4: Coffee & Connections: For those of you out west, tired of going downtown for events, the West Austin Chamber is hosting their coffee hour

🗓️ Apr. 4: AI In Finance: The second year of this conference, it explores how AI is driving change across the financial landscape and what it means for businesses, investors, consumers, and academics

🗓️ Apr. 4: Founder Fridays: Hosted every month by founders Georges Colbert and Ash Uprety in partnership with LAUNCH, the VC firm founded by Jason Calacanis

🗓️ Apr. 5: ATX Writing Club: Hosted by my buddy, Zac Solomon. Not strictly business-related, but a great spot to meet cool people and get good work done

🗓️ Apr. 5: ATX Newsletter Writers: Michael Daigler is bringing together a group of active newsletter writers to meet, trade notes, and build connections

One Last Thing… In a few weeks, The Austin Forum is hosting a virtual discussion of Hamilton Mann’s new book on human-centered AI development, Artificial Integrity.

Mann himself will be leading the chat on April 22nd, so if you’re keen, you’ve still got time to snag the book and read it. You can RSVP here.

Hosting something cool? Email me the details below and I’ll try to share it in the newsletter or on LinkedIn.

Heads Up…

There are two non-work events that I want to call out in detail real quick…

First, if you have kids looking for summer camp… The Austin Camp Fair is this weekend (Mar. 29) at the Bullock State History Museum. There’ll be 40+ camps there showcasing.

Can’t make it but still need a camp? Check out Recess, a venture-backed marketplace for everything from summer camps to after school programs, co-founded by Molly Morse right here in Austin.

Second, if you’re a foodie… Aaron Franklin of Franklin’s BBQ, is doing a fireside chat with author/chef Roy Choi over at Paramount Theatre on April 22. Tickets go on sale soon (I’ve seen sources report both Mar. 27 and 28), so if this is your jam, keep an eye out.

Other 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: Adult Spelling Bee at Toasty Badger

• Mar. 28: Knight’s Club Chess Event at Wanderlust Wines

• Mar. 28-30: Hand Built Motorcycle Show

• Mar. 29: Time Traveler’s Vintage Expo

• Mar. 29: Pizza & Pints on the Austin Steam Train

• Mar. 29-30: ATX Cactus Spring Succulent Show at Zilker Botanical

• Mar. 30: Yoga in the Park at Brentwood

• Mar. 30: South Congress Books Pop-Up at Antiques of Oakmont

• Apr. 3: Movies on the Lake: Jurassic Park

• Apr. 5: Live Artist Battle at Central Machine Works

• Apr. 5: Whiskey Riot - 200+ Varieties to Try

• Apr. 5-6: Greater Austin Clay Studio Tour

One Last Thing… On April 4th, Treaty Oaks Distillery is co-hosting for a 5-course spring-themed candle lit dinner beneath the trees with Ghost Hill Supper Club. Tickets are:

• $85 per person for Dinner and Cocktail Pairings

• $55 per person for Dinner and Non-Alcoholic Beverages

To grab your spot, text 714.396.1938 or email the Treaty Oak events team here.

Check Out This House

We don’t do a lot of real estate stuff in here, but should we? Typically, I leave it to Kirtana Reddy, who writes the best damn real estate newsletter in Austin.

But my friend David Shapiro is managing the sale of this beauty down on the lake, and we gotta drool talk about it:

• 8,000+ sq. ft.

• Gourmet kitchen + theatre room

• Guest house & two separate 2-car garages

• Private dock, plus pool, overlooking the water

It’s not listed yet, but it will be soon. So if you know someone who’s either relocating to the city, or looking to upgrade within it, give ‘em an early heads up. David’s got other exclusive listings here, and does these killer deep dives on Youtube every month, covering the ATX market. Check out March’s here.

Also, if you generally want to see more cool houses in here, click this. I’ll look at the click data and if enough people do it, we’ll make it happen.

Local Spot of the Week

Not an ad – just a cool spot you should know

St Elmo Springdale | 8110 Springdale Rd

“I love how you’re just… such a local bitch.”

That’s what my buddy Zac told me when I snagged a can of St. Elmo’s out of his fridge the other day.

He was stuck with me for the afternoon because I’d bought a pork shoulder that was too big for any cooking vessels in my kitchen. The only person I know with a Traeger, this quickly became his problem. And as the shoulder smoked, I rifled through his fridge, saying something like, “Oooh, St. Elmo.” Hence, the comment.

And you know what… He’s right. I’ll push imported German beers out of the way and reach shoulder-deep into the icebox to get something brewed right here in town. Sue me.

Anyways, St. Elmo opened a new location up on Springdale recently and maybe you should check it out.

There’s beer (of course), chicken sandwiches from Spicy Boys, and tacos from Pueblo Viejo. They’re also open early, with full coffee service from Spokesman. (So much local)

Event Hosts: The Springdale team is keen to spread the word about this new location, and they’re open to hosting your events. Especially morning ones (so they can show off their coffee service). Get in touch with Macy here to chat more.

Local Artist of the Week

If you’re new here, we used to have a segment called “Local Artist of the Week” – a bit of culture to balance out our caffeine-fueled savage startup lives.

I haven’t written it in a while (mostly because… caffeine… savage…), but then I got this email:

Well, hell yes. Anyone with hustle like this at seventeen is clearly one of us.

So, dear reader, you heard it here first – Julie Mosher is going places and if you want to be one of those people ten years from now who can nod their head with a wry smile, chuckle, and say, “You know, I once saw her live at a bar down on 4th street,” then grab a spot for April 12th at Scoot Inn.

She generously offered a discount code (“ABR” gets you 25% off), but I’m ignoring it and suggesting you pay full price because you see what I do, and probably remember your own early hustle.

Either way, you can check out her music here. Don’t miss her cover of Fast Car, which is great, and Secrets, an original piece that’ll give you goosebumps.

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