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).
One of my favorite things about Austin is how you can just bump into heavy hitters doing cool stuff all over town. Example: On June 1, NYT Best-selling author (and ATX local), Austin Kleon, of Steal Like An Artist, is launching his newest book at Book People.
Apparently he launched every book he ever wrote there.
Elsewhere in this issue, we’ve got…
🗓️ Events (…a ton)
🤖 Learn to think like an engineer
🫖 Killer Local CPG Brand For Sale (here)
🎥 Hollywood legend Robert Rodriguez giving a live concert
😆 Writing Funny Copy That Doesn’t Suck
and more…
Did someone forward this to you? If you like it, you can sign up here!
-Ethan
PS. This is an oddly specific PS, but if you have ever started a newsletter, then let it die because you don’t have the time to write it (but you want to bring it back), you should check out the workshop I’m leading. It’s about building an AI workflow to help turn voice notes into newsletters that actually sound like you.
Big thank you to Chris Taylor at The Red Fridge Society for hosting my recent talk on this.
Upcoming Events
🗓️ TODAY: Fridge Got Talent: Get on the wait list for this new one from Chris Taylor, gathering founders to show off their comedy, storytelling, and other surprising talents
🗓️ May 22: Community Ideation Session: Jay Boisseau, founder of the Austin Forum on Tech & Society, is gathering everyone down at his bar to brainstorm events and programming for the second half of the year
🗓️ May 23: Founders & Funders Social Dance: No pitches or panels. Just laid back music and a li’l two-steppin’ with Kevad Belle, Andrew Lane, Zeke Torres and others
🗓️ May 24: The AI Implementation Club: Every week, Chrissy McDannell hosts a dedicated focus sprint to ship that AI project you’ve had in mind for weeks
🗓️ May 26-27: Texas Venture Gala & Forum: CS Freeland is back for the third year, pulling together panels and breakout sessions with dozens of Texas investors
🗓️ May 26: Off The Books: Megan Murray is starting this brand new curated conversation series for founders here in town
🗓️ May 26: Steak Medium Rare, AI Well Done: You had me at “steak.” Applaudo is hosting an executive dinner and discussion on AI over at Perry’s Steakhouse
🗓️ May 27: Austin Robotics & AI: Dr. Ashutosh Saxena is the founder of TorqueAGI, and will talk about how physical AI helps robots handle complex, real-world tasks
🗓️ May 27: Gild AI Dinner: Gino Ferrand runs an AI talent firm called Torc (Inc. 5000, 2025). He recently started this dinner series as a place for C-Suite to discuss AI
🗓️ May 28: Nerd Nite Austin: Like a local version of TED - This month’s installment is all about the weird history of theatre, plus two short plays from a new production house
🗓️ May 28: Fridge Fire: Chris Taylor’s firing up the brand new sauna over at The Red Fridge Society for a founder social with Mark Hellweg of Vim Custom Saunas
🗓️ May 28: Wake Up! CPG Austin: Marc Nathan’s events are hands-down one of the best spots to meet later-stage CPG founders in town
🗓️ May 29: Trail Talks: Walk & Talk with Jim Donnelly, six-time founder whos last company grew to 250+ locations across the US, and Scott Johnston, whospentyears in deep tech at DARPA, MIT, etc, then launched Ad Maiora Ventures
🗓️ May 29: Acquire or Be Acquired: Chrissy McDannell is a multi-time exited founder and M&A broker, and will be talking through the latest changes in valuations, financing, and how AI is re-writing the rules in business buying
🗓️ May 31: AI Implementation Club - Masterclass: Another one from Chrissy MacDannell, this time with Jonathan Malkin teaching a hands-on three-hour workshop on how to build your first agent
See you at happy hour?!
I can’t believe May is almost wrapped. It’s just about time for people to take off for the summer, so before everyone leaves, let’s grab drinks down at Jay Boisseau’s bar, Remedy.
This is a laid back event for anyone in the Austin business ecosystem, so feel free to bring a friend.
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GSD Camp: There’s a huge gap between vibe coding and building software that survives the real world. GSD Camp closes it for you in 6 weeks. Designed for busy founders, PMs, and ops leads – get the 5% of know-how you need to let AI handle the other 95%
Other Fun Stuff Coming Up
May 22: Classic Film Series Kickoff - Casablanca & Maltese Falcon in 35mm
May 23: Where The Forest Roars Screening + Talk with Explorer Kim Frank
May 23: Spy Kids 25th Anniversary + Concert with Director Robert Rodriguez
May 23: Two Step Night at the Moody Amphitheater
May 23: Hands On Beekeeping Experience
May 24: The World Sparkles - Tasting Masterclass
May 26: Freeing Your Creative Practice
May 27: Dig In! - Cookobook Launch with Erin O’Brien
May 28: Movies on the Lake - Top Gun
May 28: Screening in the Park - Dazed and Confused
May 28: Beneath The Bluebonnets - Horror Writer’s Panel
May 29: Jerry Seinfeld - Live at the Bass Concert Hall
May 29: Power Pints - Drink & Learn Stuff
May 30: Moonlight Paddle
May 30: Full Moon Floating Sound Bath
May 30: Austin Pancakes & Booze Art Show
May 30: Pet Tarrot Watercolor Class
May 30: Floral Cake Decorating Class
May 30: The Art of French Pastry Class
May 31: Ear Candy: Ear Cuff Hewelry Making Workshop
June 1: NYT Best-selling author, Austin Kleon, of Steal Like An Artist launching his newest book at Book People
Summer Stuff For The Family
There are two series kicking off here in town that will be fun to check out, and also happen to be family friendly, so if you’re looking for a place to take the kids that won’t bore you to death or melt their brains, check out…
The Drop In: Every Thursday, now through August 13, The Long Center hosts free concerts on the lawn. There’s a different band every time, which they only reveal a few days before. You can sign up to get the name drops here.
Ice Age in the Wild: Now through August 15th, the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center has been taken over by a bunch of animatronic ice age mammals (including a 17,000 pound mammoth). Every week, there’s a new educational challenge too, so it’s something you can take ‘em too a few times, particularly if they nerd out on this stuff.
Word On The Street
A roundup of local opportunities worth knowing about…
Kinship Milk Tea, a bottled RTD milk tea brand with strong local traction and placement in Whole Foods Market, is seeking a new owner. With a new 90-day shelf life, proprietary oat milk formulation, and a clear path to co-packing and expansion across 47 Southwest Whole Foods stores, it’s well-positioned to scale with the right operator. More information can be found here.
A Free Venue To Host Talks: Remedy is the local bar owned by Jay Boisseau, founder of the Austin Forum on Tech and Society, and the Austin AI Alliance. The space is decked out with a full size movie screen, projector, and sound system, and he’s opening it to event hosts who are looking to give interesting presentations. I gave a talk there last week, it’s great. Highly recommend! You can reach out to Jay personally here.
Does LinkedIn Make You Want To Gouge Your Eyes Out? Spotlight with Lianna Patch
From the first moment I laid eyes on Lianna Patch’s LinkedIn profile, I knew I wanted to feature her here.
“Does LinkedIn make you want to gouge out your eyes with a participation trophy?” her profile banner reads. “Hey, me too. How ‘bout you go to punchlinecopy.com instead?”
And then, in very small print, “TYPE IT IN, COWARD!!!!” with about eleven exclamation marks.
And I guess that sets up just about everything you need to know about Lianna, which is exactly the point.
As the owner of a conversion copywriting agency, her job is to get the message across in a way that’s quick and memorable, and always, funny. She specializes in comedy writing, and specifically, in helping SaaS and ecomm founders write stuff people love reading.
In addition to the hands-on client work, she also coaches, speaks at conferences around the country, builds great copy- and storytelling-related products (like The Punchup Deck, of which I am a buyer), and is just generally hilarious.
One of those rare guests whose own marketing materials say it better than I ever could. Case in point, her LinkedIn headline 👇
So without further ado, here’s Lianna…
1. Okay, tell us about your business! What's the backstory? And how did you get your first customer.
Somehow, improbably, I run a conversion copywriting “micro-agency” (aka It Just Me). At www.punchlinecopy.com, I specialize in funny copy that converts for online stores and SaaS.
In 2015, I had been writing and editing for about seven years already when I joined Joanna Wiebe's first Copywriter Mastermind. At the time, I was getting into improv and stand-up comedy in my hometown of New Orleans, and loving it. (My entry into standup consisted of attending one open mic night, thinking, "Wow, these people aren't very good," and deciding to sign up the following week. This was not my most charitable thought of all time.)
The problem was that I felt like I had to put on Ye Olde Business Maske whenever I was doing my client work, which was mostly publications editing at the time. I bemoaned this Jekyll/Hyde sitch to Joanna, and she suggested just ✨combining✨ my two interests. Best decision ever.
One of my old website photos. Look at that carefree little sprite who really liked to day-drink.
As far as I can recall, my first funny copy client was an online pop culture mag that for some reason allowed me to write a snarky column about cute things I found on Etsy. It was called Fashion Friday. That was the first time I realized I could actually have fun writing professionally, and people seemed to really like the column.
I occasionally received feedback from the Etsy sellers whose work I spotlighted. This ranged from appreciation and free stuff to "I hate you, take this down."
2. What’s one unconventional decision you made early in your business that you believe set you apart from competitors, and how do you think it shaped your trajectory?
Not sure how unconventional this was, but I decided to emphasize the benefits of humor psychology and sociology to prove to potential clients that humor could work for them. This was my way of translating the research-backed approach of direct-response and conversion copywriting into the humor realm.
I presume being able to point to hundreds of years of research earned me a bit more trust than potential competitors who relied just on the “Have a personality, it’s good for you” angle. (Though that remains true!!)
Photo by Alicia Leigh Photography, probably taken right after making a dick joke.
3. What’s one book most people have never even heard of that you think is worth reading. (DIG DEEP - we’re looking for the books you’ll never see on the NYT list)
Burning Chrome by William Gibson (known as the father of cyberpunk). My all-time fave sci-fi book. Lots of unbelievably imaginative, evocative short stories that make me mad at Gibson for hoarding all the ideas.
4. What’s one belief about entrepreneurship you held when you started that you’ve completely abandoned, and what made you change your mind?
Hustle Culture™ would have us believe that the bigger the business, the more people it employs, and the more revenue it brings in (regardless of actual profit margin), the more successful it is.
But as entrepreneurs, isn’t the whole point to define your own definition of success?? I felt a lot of pressure to build an agency. But I knew I hated managing people (and also, I am very bad at it and have zero desire to grow those skills). So I've stuck to my solo guns and been happier and more profitable for it.
5. What’s one purchase of less than $1,000 that’s made the biggest impact on your happiness, health, or wealth?
I'm a member of an online Buddhist sangha with a handful of amazing women. Our discussions are the most impactful 90 minutes of my week. (Do I cry basically every week? SURE DO!)
My best friend John knows me so well.
7. If you were to recommend one under-the-radar Austin spot to another founder for brainstorming or unwinding, where would it be and why?
I am a terminally uncool hermit who leaves my house only under intense duress. I doubt I know of anywhere that thousands of other people have not already discovered, catalogued, and promoted. With that in mind, I do enjoy going to Armadillo Den for a late-afternoon frozen Painkiller and email wrap-up sesh.
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
