Austin’s secret sauce… it’s the WHY
By: Joshua Baer
Tags: Startup, Entrepreneur, Austin, Texas, Investors

Rendering of the amphitheater at the new Waterloo Park opening soon in downtown Austin, at the convergence of our technology, medical school and arts districts.

Austin’s secret sauce… it’s the WHY

Austin has been the fastest growing city in the country for a decade and recent events seem to be causing it to accelerate even further. What about Austin is drawing people in and keeping them here? It’s not just about taxes — there are plenty of other cities and states with similar advantages. Why does it feel different here than other cities? Joshua Baer Follow Jan 2 · 7 min read

People are moving to Austin from all over the US and all over the world. They are coming from the East and West Coasts, from London and China and Tel Aviv. COVID-19 has caused global acceleration of many trends that were already happening before the pandemic and the immigration to Texas and especially Austin are no exception.

When anyone can work from anywhere, they don’t evenly distribute across the country. There will be some big winners who attract more and higher quality talent than others. Austin is positioned to be the biggest winner of them all.

Everyone comes for different reasons. Some are running away from skyrocketing tax rates, dysfunctional government, and devastating wildfires. Others are running towards a new opportunity — a new job, a new lifestyle, or a new love.

Everyone comes for the same reason. They are creating a new tomorrow. For themselves, for their families, for their companies, for their country, for their world.

Austin is the aspirational city. It’s a city that other cities want to be when they grow up. It’s a place where people go when they aspire for more.

Planting roots

I was recently talking with someone who moved here from Silicon Valley and he pointed out something that really resonated with me. Silicon Valley is a transitional home for many who are not born there and don’t retire there.

They come to Silicon Valley from all over the world with grand plans for world domination… but after their grand plans succeed or fail they “go back home” to where their family is from or go to a beach somewhere. As a result, he thought that many people in Silicon Valley aren’t as invested in the community or focused on making it better for their children and their neighbors. How different that is than the feeling in Austin right now!

People who are coming to Austin are different. They are leaving somewhere like that because they want more. They want to have it all. A great job is the start, but also a great home, a great neighborhood, a great community they feel a part of.

A culture of active participation

People who move to Austin immediately want to get involved and help make it better. They want to have a voice in Austin’s future. Some want to make sure it doesn’t end up looking like San Francisco. Many who are here would like to make sure new Austinites help address systemic racism that has left a stain on Austin’s past.

Fortunately, we have great role models to look up to. Leaders who have left indelible marks on our city such as Neal Kocurek, George Kozmetsky, Michael & Susan Dell, Tom & Lynn Meredith, and Kirk Watson.

That’s how we ended up with the Dell Medical School and it’s unique, community focused mission. That’s how we ended up with the Texas Tribune, one of the most innovative and successful non-profit, non-partisan news organizations in the world. That’s how we ended up with the soon-to-be-unveiled Waterloo Park downtown, an urban oasis in the middle of downtown where the technology, medical school, and arts districts all converge.

Why Army Futures Command?

When the Army Futures Command was searching for the location to launch their new headquarters, there were also focused on talent… but they knew they didn’t want to be in Silicon Valley. After an exhaustive search, they narrowed it down to three finalist cities: Austin, Boston and Raleigh.

Why did Austin win out? Secretary of the Army Ryan McCarthy told me that was the people of Austin that differentiated us from the other cities. We asked how we could help them be successful, talked about how they would be part of the Austin community, and shared a vision of what we could build together instead of just focusing on how much funding or jobs the Army would bring.

Why Jim Breyer?

Jim Breyer has spent his career on the cutting edge. He was the first institutional investor in Facebook and also an early-stage investor in groundbreaking companies like Etsy, Spotify, C3.AI, 23&Me, Headspace, Stash, Grammarly and many others. Breyer Capital’s Chinese partner IDG Capital, where Jim is Co-Chairman, led some of the first investments in Chinese companies Tencent, Baidu, and Xiaomi. Breyer Capital also has an impact investing arm and has eight portfolio companies based on the African continent. Jim moved to Austin at the end of 2018 and has already become one of the most active venture investors.

“I first fell in love with Austin in the late 1980s and got to know the city more intimately as a Dell Board Member. The recent influx of tech talent from companies like Tesla, Facebook, Apple, Google, and Oracle is a reason I’m optimistic that the entrepreneurial ecosystem will thrive in the years and decades to come. I also think that UT Austin students, post-docs, and professors will found and join transformational companies in Austin. Most importantly, I started Breyer Capital Austin because the women and men in the city make up some of the most creative, talented, and ambitious entrepreneurs, investors, and leaders in the country and world. Breyer Capital has already invested in 10 Austin-based opportunities and aspires to play a role in helping Austin and Texas entrepreneurs achieve extraordinary things in the near and long-term future.”

Why Amy Sun?

Amy Sun is an entrepreneur who is connected in Silicon Valley and could have gone anywhere — but she chose to come to Austin to launch her new company this year. She was a product manager at Microsoft, Uber and Facebook before joining as a partner at Sequoia, one of the most prestigious venture capital firms on Sand Hill Road.

“What drew me to Austin was the vibrant culture and clear point of view. The live music, street art, restaurants, studios and local businesses are amazing. As an artist myself I’ll do my best to keep Austin weird. There’s also a strong tech community here of talented, open minded, and welcoming people.”

Why not?

Austin is by no means perfect, and faces the same challenges in transportation, housing affordability, NIMBY zoning, and gentrification as most other fast growing cities. We have plenty of our own unique challenges as well — a local city council constantly battling with our state legislature, a rising population of people experiencing homelessness, gerrymandering, and a history of systemic racial discrimination.

We have some work to do, but we’re ready to take it on.

Why you?

Why are you moving to Austin? Who do you need to meet? Email me at Josh@QuitYourJob.com and I’ll do my best to connect you.