Austin Next
Jason Scharf
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Top 10 Austin Next Episodes
Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best Austin Next episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to Austin Next for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite Austin Next episode by adding your comments to the episode page.
A New Era Begins for Austin Next and the Future of Austin's Thriving Innovation Ecosystem
Austin Next
07/06/23 • 72 min
In this culminating episode of Austin Next's first era, Jason engages with AndiBot, the AI-powered chatbot that amalgamates the insights of 19 innovation thinkers. Together, they explore AndiBot’s perspectives on how Austin can ascend to a superstar innovation hub. Later, Michael joins in for a reflective discussion on the AI's capabilities and the insights shared. Plus, don’t miss our special announcement that marks the beginning of a new chapter for Austin Next.
Episode Highlights
- The Austin Next Dynamic Innovation ChatBot, or AndiBot, is an AI-powered chatbot anchored on ChatGPT, and is powered by a “hivemind” that brings together the intellectual prowess of innovation trailblazers such as Clayton Christensen, Everett Rogers, and Mariana Mazzucato.
- Tasked with unraveling insights and forging new pathways, AndiBot endeavors to illuminate the steps necessary for Austin to transition from a thriving ecosystem to a superstar innovation hub.
- Characterizing an innovation superstar hub, AndiBot outlines the quintessential traits: setting global trends, attracting a diverse talent pool, nurturing groundbreaking innovations, fostering a spirited entrepreneurial culture, establishing global collaborations, and achieving brand ubiquity in innovation.
- AndiBot evaluates Austin’s innovation ecosystem at 7.5 with Silicon Valley as the pinnacle scoring a 10. She commends Austin's startup landscape, academic strength, and appeal to tech giants, but signals the imperatives of escalating startup density, talent diversity, capital influx, and global network expansion.
- Jason and Michael reflect on the AndiBot interview and discuss the shift from coding to prompting in AI technology, signaling the emergence of more sophisticated and intuitive user interfaces.
- Exploring Austin's startup landscape, they articulate the connection between productivity and external perception, proposing that a boost in perceived value could stimulate infrastructural improvements.
- Jason spotlights Austin’s ability to “punch above its weight” noting the discrepancies between Austin's startup infrastructure rank (25th in the country) and its high ranking in exit values (6th in the nation, 9th globally) according to a recent Dealroom report.
- This episode marks a transition as Michael is taking a step back from the podcast and will return as the occasional guest.
- What’s next Austin? “I honestly believe only good things are going to happen next. I think we're going to have a recession nationwide within the next six months. But Austin, as we've discussed, is the last in and the first out. We need to keep Austin weird. It has worked so far for this town.”
Episode Links
The Next Generation of Tech Ecosystems Report by Dealroom
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Austin Next Links: Website, X/Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn
1 Listener
09/19/23 • 60 min
Fostering connectivity within an innovation ecosystem is crucial for its ongoing vitality and growth. Often revolutionary concepts emerge from the most unforeseen origins. My guest, Elle Beecher, founded The Board Walks, where community and innovation unite through a simple yet powerful concept—a five-mile walk. In this episode, we explore this social experiment, examine how these walks serve as catalysts for creative collisions, and bring back the intellectual dynamism of Paris in the ‘20s.
Episode Highlights
- Drawing inspiration from the 1920s Parisian cafe culture, Elle crafted The Board Walks to ignite creative collisions in Austin, offering a fresh, organic approach to networking.
- Curiosity stands at the heart of Elle's vision; she champions the idea that bringing together inquisitive minds sparks deeper, more meaningful dialogues.
- Though spontaneous in nature, The Board Walks are intentionally designed with playbooks and guidelines to foster genuine connections and fruitful discussions.
- Overheard dialogues during the walks resonate with Austin's innovative aura, reminiscent of Paul Graham's "eavesdropping quality" notion from his 2008 Cities essay.
- The walks serve as a platform for attendees to not only build professional relationships but also to delve into personal narratives and aspirations.
- Given its success in Austin, Elle envisions taking The Board Walks to other cities, like San Francisco, while ensuring the preservation of its foundational values and communal essence.
- What’s next Austin? “More creative collisions that will bring about Paris in the 20s energy.”
Elle Beecher: Website, LinkedIn, X/Twitter, Instagram
The Board Walks: Website, X/Twitter, Instagram
“Cities and Ambition” by Paul Graham
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Austin Next Links: Website, X/Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn
10/18/22 • 40 min
Austin Next is still on the road and today we are visiting another point of the Texas Triangle. Houston has been on a tear the last few years growing from $400M in annual startup funding in 2018 to crossing the $2B threshold last year. There is the Texas Medical Center, the Ion, Rice University, and many more influential and growing institutions. Today we dive into the Houston innovation ecosystem with Lawson Gow and Chris Buckner the forces now behind Houston Exponential.
What's next Houston?
Episode Links:
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Austin Next Links: Website, X/Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn
11/20/24 • 36 min
Recorded live at Austin's Quantonation Day this past September, I sat down with senior leaders from Strangeworks, Qunnect, Pasqal, and Tau Systems to discuss the state of quantum and physics tech. This candid panel went beyond the typical quantum computing conversation to face the market realities of building a business in the space. We explored the tension between the possible future this technology brings and immediate needs of customers today.
Episode Highlights
- Introduction to Quantum and Physics Tech
- Deep Tech Communication
- Scientific-Business Divide
- Hype vs Market Reality vs Innovation Progress
- Solving Customer Problems Today
- The Role of Patience
- Infrastructure and Horizontal Tech
- What’s Next
William 'whurley' Hurley: Strangeworks, LinkedIn, X/TwitterNoel Goddard: Qunnect, LinkedInWasiq Bokhari: Pasqal, LinkedInBjorn Manuel Hegelich: Tau Systems, LinkedInQuantoation
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Austin Next Links: Website, X/Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn
Roy Spence is the co-founder and chairman of GSD&M, an Austin-based advertising agency. With his significant background in the advertising industry, Roy and his team have played a pivotal role in shaping Austin's reputation as a city of ideas and innovation. Roy is also the founder of Make It Movement, a non-profit organization that helps young people discover their own purpose. In this episode, we will delve into Roy's journey as a business leader and advertising pioneer, exploring the early days of GSD&M, how he navigated the challenges of preserving the core values and purpose of Austin, the role of large events in shaping Austin's narrative, and his vision for the future of Austin. The episode will also shed light on Roy's thoughts on the intersection of purpose, values, and business.
Episode Highlights
- The fundamental challenge that Austin faces with our hypergrowth is navigating the tension between persevering the core and stimulating progress
- The original GSD&M Plan - "Well, we wanna stay together. We wanna stay in Austin. We wanna make a difference and get rich. And we’ve lived up to our business plan"
- "We will continue the journey of punching above our weight...if we will continue to be not just a city of innovation...but a city of new ideas"
- The Make It Movement is about letting young people discover what they could become great at and let them start learning to become great. Whether it's a lawyer or whether it's a welder.
- What's next Austin - "We gotta rediscover what made us. I think Austin should do a citywide purpose project"
Episode Links
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Austin Next Links: Website, X/Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn
Mammoths, Tigers, and Genomics, Oh My! with Ben Lamm CEO and Founder of Colossal Biosciences
Austin Next
11/29/22 • 33 min
Bringing back the wooly mammoth, computer aided design for biology, is this a sci-fi novel or just a taste of what’s going on at the intersection of biology, technology, and Austin. Our next guest is Ben Lamm, CEO and Founder of Colossal Biosciences, Founder and Board Member of Form Bio, and a serial technology entrepreneur driven to solve the most complex challenges facing our planet. We talk about the Austin Bio Sector, how his team is leaning into our new distributed model of work, and what's next for the region.
What's next Austin?
Episode Links
- Ben Lamm: LinkedIn, Twitter
- Colossal Biosciences: Website, Twitter, LinkedIn
- Form Bio: Website, Twitter, LinkedIn
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Austin Next Links: Website, X/Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn
11/28/23 • 50 min
As Austin continues to attract leading tech players and establish itself as a magnet for innovation, the role of new entrants becomes increasingly pivotal in shaping its future. In this episode, I talk with Kevin Parakkattu, Partner at Plug and Play, to explore their distinct approach to the entrepreneurial ecosystem. We cover a range of topics including the effects of their strategies on local markets, why Austin’s manufacturing, bio/health, and aerospace/defense sectors are key focus areas, and the broader implications for tech development and regional innovation.
Episode Highlights
- Plug and Play's unique model combines physical space, corporate innovation, and venture capital to foster startup growth and ecosystem development.
- Evolving from real estate to venture capital with early stakes in Google and PayPal, Plug and Play has now accelerated over 2,500 startups worldwide, including more than 35 unicorns.
- Shortly after initiating their program in Alberta, their presence has already prompted notable local shifts, with three cohort companies relocating and four establishing second headquarters.
- Austin's corporate growth, increasing number of unicorns, and tech promise were decisive in its selection as a new Plug and Play hub, with an emphasis on the region's emerging strengths in advanced manufacturing, bio/health, and aerospace/defense sectors.
- Locating Plug and Play in Cedar Park, outside the central core of Austin, mirrors the region's evolution into a multi-hub area. This choice aligns with the needs of specific industries, as exemplified by the practicality of "You can’t build a rocket downtown."
- As Austin's innovation landscape rapidly evolves, there's a growing focus on merging new ideas from recent transplants with local expertise, balancing the infusion of fresh attitudes while preserving the region's unique character.
- What’s next Austin? “Plug and Play in Cedar Park, where we will become the innovation hub of the region.”
Kevin Parakkattu: LinkedIn, X/Twitter
Plug and Play: Website, LinkedIn, X/Twitter, Facebook
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Austin Next Links: Website, X/Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn
Austin Next Goes Boom!
Austin Next
09/06/22 • 47 min
Today, the Austin Next team and the Boom ATX podcast team get together. Lee Snedaker and Glenn Hart have been talking about Austin for about as long as we have. And they have the advantage of much deeper knowledge about Austin’s history and culture.
We had a wide-ranging discussion, from real estate to startups, from music to restaurants, and much more.
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Austin Next Links: Website, X/Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn
05/10/22 • 21 min
Texas has long been a home for the semiconductor industry. I guess it started with a little company named Texas Instruments, but today in the Austin area, we have Samsung, NXP, Micron, AMD, and Intel, But, this growth doesn’t happen in a vacuum, it takes a lot of people doing a lot of work. So today, we’re going to take a deeper look into this part of our ecosystem and try to better understand where Austin’s semiconductor industry is coming from and where it’s going.
SEMI is the international organization representing semiconductor manufacturers and joining us today is David Anderson. At the time of this recording, David was President, SEMI Americas. His responsibilities covered all programs in the region. But more importantly he managed and nurtured relationships with SEMI as well as with local association and constituents in industry, government, and academia. David came to SEMI with a lot of experience, having held positions at Fairchild Semiconductor, National Semiconductor, the Semiconductor Industry Suppliers Association, and SEMATECH, where he helped launch their global initiative. David has moved onto a new position at NY Creates, and we wish him well.
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Austin Next Links: Website, X/Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn
The world of technology is expanding, and we're seeing a convergence of deep tech with traditional software and computation. Today, we're speaking with Andrew Busey, co-founder of Form Bio and Colossal Biosciences, two companies that sit at this intersection. With over 25 years of experience in the industry, Andrew has been a driving force behind some of the internet's most significant technologies. Andrew’s career has taken him through several pivotal moments in tech history, including the early days of the internet, gaming, AI, and now bio.
Episode Highlights
- Andrew’s career spanned key tech products such as Mosaic (the first web browser), iChat (the first web-based chat system), and Zynga (one the most popular gaming companies of the social media era)
- Software entrepreneurs are increasingly applying techniques, business models, and more to the bio, quantum, and AI fields
- His approach is to make Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups “...software is either the chocolate or the peanut butter and then I'm finding some other thing to combine with it to make something that tastes great and is novel”
- Form Bio, the first spinout from Colossal Biosciences, aims to solve the badly managed data issue in the biotech industry
- AI's impact on business and society is shifting toward distributed vertical intelligence
- The availability of remote work technology may lead to a more distributed talent pool and impact the future of Austin as a tech hub
- What’s next Austin? “I think the big thing we're gonna see is fabs and Musk-related companies evolving here and how that affects the mix of things will be very interesting.”
Episode links
Andrew Busey: Twitter, LinkedIn
Form Bio: Website, Twitter, LinkedIn
Colossal Biosciences: Website, Twitter, LinkedIn
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Austin Next Links: Website, X/Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn
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Podcast Q&A
Why did you start this show?
We started the podcast as a way to meet interesting people when we moved in Austin in 2021. We noticed a gap in the podcast space where discussions often centered around the "cool company of the week," but seldom touched on the wider narrative of regional innovation. We sought to fill this void by creating a platform that goes beyond spotlighting individual companies, instead focusing on how the Austin region is evolving into the next innovation powerhouse.
What do you hope listeners gain from listening to your show?
We aim to provide three key insights through our podcast. First, we delve into Austin's transformation into the next superstar innovation hub, offering an inside look at the region's evolution. Second, we provide perspectives on the mechanics of building robust ecosystems, using Austin as a real-world case study. Lastly, we discuss broader trends and technologies, positioning Austin as a window into the wider innovative world.
Which episode should someone start with?
Begin with our first episode with Professor John Butler for a comprehensive history of Austin's innovation ecosystem. This lays the groundwork to understand Austin's transformative journey. Then, listen to "The Tech Tipping Point" with Brett Hurt and William "whurley" Hurley. This episode delves into the pivotal convergence of technologies like AI and quantum computing, and highlights Austin's role in shaping these global trends.
Which have been your favourite episodes so far?
Can you pick a favorite child?
What is your vision for your show?
Help drive Austin's transformation into the next innovation powerhouse, while meeting amazing people along the way.
How did you come up with the name for your podcast?
Austin Next came to us in less of a eureka moment and more of a that makes sense moment. It reflects our fundamental question: "What's Next?". It's all about what's next for this vibrant city, from technological advancements to the macro innovation trends and down to the evolving startup ecosystem. Plus, it's catchy, don't you think? 😁
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FAQ
How many episodes does Austin Next have?
Austin Next currently has 142 episodes available.
What topics does Austin Next cover?
The podcast is about Austin, Venture Capital, Texas, Startups, Podcasts, Technology, Business and Innovation.
What is the most popular episode on Austin Next?
The episode title 'A New Era Begins for Austin Next and the Future of Austin's Thriving Innovation Ecosystem' is the most popular.
What is the average episode length on Austin Next?
The average episode length on Austin Next is 40 minutes.
How often are episodes of Austin Next released?
Episodes of Austin Next are typically released every 7 days.
When was the first episode of Austin Next?
The first episode of Austin Next was released on Jun 27, 2021.
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