Interviews

How Techstars Impact Wants To Accelerate Social And Environmental Startups

October 19, 2017

Techstars (www.techstars.org) announced its latest startup accelerator--the Techstars Impact Accelerator, which will be based here in Austin. The new program is led by Zoe Schlag, who told us about the new Techstars program, and how it is hoping to accelerate the growth of social and environmental "impact" startups, and why it's in Austin. We've also posted this interview on our sister, Rocky Mountain technology news site, techrockies.com.

 

Vast's Chad Bockius: How CarStory Is Bringing AI To The Business Of Selling Cars

June 29, 2017


Austin-based Vast (www.vast.com) has been in the automotive market for over a decade, powering the automotive information behind many, consumer websites. Recently, the company introduced new, artificial intelligence tools on its consumer platform, CarStory (www.carstory.com), which it says can help consumers make more confident decisions about their car purchase.

 

Interview with Brenda Stoner, CEO, PICKUP

May 1, 2017


Everyone's had to deal with it at least once: you buy a big, heavy object at the local big box retailer, but you find you just can't get it home without a pickup truck. Dallas-based PICKUP (https://pickupnow.com) has a solution for you: an on-demand service which taps what CEO Brenda Stoner calls "the good guys" with pickups to help you get your heavy delivery home. We talked with Brenda about her startup.

 

Interview With TJ Person, CEO, OpenKey

January 3, 2017

Hotels are just starting to adopt Bluetooth-enabled smart locks, meaning that--if you're lucky--you can skip stopping at the desk and just walk up to your room, and not have to hassle with those plastic key fobs. But, just how far are we from ubiquitous, smartphone-enabled hotel locks? We caught up with TJ Person, the CEO of Dallas-based OpenKey (www.openkey.co), to learn more about the company, smartphone-based hotel keys, and where the industry is today.

 

Interview with Jeff Erramouspe, Spanning Cloud Apps

August 15, 2016


How do you successfully take a small, startup company, and keep it growing and thriving after it's been acquired by a big company? Jeff Erramouspe, the head of Austin's Spanning Cloud Apps (www.spanning.com) tells us all about the company's transition from small startup to a division of EMC, how and why it is continuing to grow--plus how the company fits into the world as EMC itself is acquired by Dell.

 

Interview with Adam Arrigo, The Wave VR

August 11, 2016


Earlier this week, The Wave VR announced a round of funding, to develop a virtual reality environment specifically for live music. We spoke with Adam Arrigo, CEO of the startup, to learn more about what the whole idea behind The Wave's VR software is, and how the company it looking to apply VR to the music industry. The Wave VR is backed by PCB Edge, Presence Capital, Rothenberg Ventures, RRE Ventures, The VR Fund, Seedcamp, plus angels, and dual headquartered in Los Angeles and Austin.

 

Flux: Using Artificial Intelligence To Create Smart Farms

July 7, 2016

Is the future of farming in the software? Tying together artificial intelligence (AI) software and hardware sensors, Dallas-based Flux Farm (www.fluxiot.com), led by Texas technology veteran Blake Burris, is hoping to create a new vision of farming, which relies more on software algorithms and less on the vagaries of weather and soil. We spoke with Blake about his new startup—which got its start in Israel—and what it's up to here in Texas.

 

Waldo Photos: Finding Your Photos In the Proverbial Haystack

February 3, 2016

Are you out in public a lot--at festivals, weddings, sporting events, and elsewhere--and wish you had a way to find photos of yourself from those events? Waldo Photos (http://waldo.photos) is hoping to make that as easy as just hopping on your phone and opening an app. The Austin startup recently raised seed funding to build out its solution.

 

How Trunkist Is Enabling Apparel For Up And Coming Fashion Designers

December 14, 2015

If you are an up and coming, fashion and apparel designer who'd like to launch your own apparel brand, it's quite a significant amount of work to not only design your own apparel, but contracting with garment manufacturers, handling ordering and customer service, and more. Luckily, Austin-based startup Trunkist (www.trunkist.com) recently launched, to handle all of that hassle--from working with apparel manufacturers to taking online orders--for up and coming, fashion designers and influencers.

 

How RoiKoi Wants To Change Employee Referrals, With Andy Wolfe

October 23, 2015

If you're a big employer, recruiting the right, new employees is usually a big problem--unless you are lucky enough to get some great referrals from your existing employees. Is there a way to make that easier for your employees, and smooth out potential hires for your recruiters and hiring managers? Austin-based Roikoi (www.roikoi.

 

Everfest: Creating The Hub Of All Things Festival

April 28, 2015


Austin is the capital of the large scale festival, give its fame for SXSW--but festivals are becoming a big business everywhere. However, despite that popularity, getting information on those festivals is still very difficult. Austin-based startup Everfest (www.everfest.com) is hoping to change that. We spoke with co-founder Jay Manickam--a veteran of uShip-- on the reasons for the startup.

 

How LawnStarter Is Turning Lawn Care Into An On-Demand Industry

March 27, 2015

In the day and age of ubiquitous connectivity, smartphones, apps, and more, for the most part, lawn care is an old, traditional industry. What if you could apply some of the trends in on-demand apps to that industry? Austin's LawnStarter (www.lawnstarter.com) is doing just that--trying to bring some of the advantages of on-demand apps to what has been a not very technology savvy business. We spoke with Lawnstarter co-founder Ryan Farley about the company.

 

Favor: Running Out For Stuff So You Don't Have To

February 2, 2015

Tired of standing in line at the store, waiting to buy something you need? Wish you didn't have to wait for your take out order? What if you could ask someone else to pick all of that up for you? That's the idea behind Favor(www.favordelivery.

 

Fonality: More Than A Business Phone System, with David Scult

July 28, 2014


In an intensely competitive area, how do you differentiate yourself and grow a company?
Fonality (www.fonality.com) --a Plano-based developer of voice-over-IP phone software and systems--has managed to rise above the crowd of commodity voice-over-IP and PBX service providers, and now has around $40M in revenues. We spoke with David Scult, the company's CEO, to learn more about what the company is doing nowdays.

 

Structured Domains: Making Everyone A Peer-To-Peer Marketplace

July 24, 2014

It's a new world out there, with dozens of industries being disrupted by the whole idea of peer-to-peer marketplaces by such companies as Airbnb, Uber, HomeAway, and Relayrides. However, building a marketplace had--until now--been fairly difficult. A new, Austin startup--Structured Domains (www.structuredomains.

 

#besomebody: How A Hashtag Became A Movement Became A Startup

July 7, 2014

Inspired by his travels across the world, Kash Shaikh started sharing his experience on social media with the hashtag, #besomebody (www.besomebodyblog.com). After stints at Proctor & Gamble and GoPro, Shaikh soon realized he had a bigger mission--to turn what was a hashtag into a global movement. We recently talked to Kash about his new Austin startup and vision for the future.

 

How Mahana Is Powering The Future Of Location and Context

July 3, 2014


It's a new world out there of mobile devices. However, mobile devices are not smart enough--yet--to figure out the context of where you are and what you need, without prompting. Austin's Mahana (www.mahana.io), headed by Bryan Menell, is looking to bring that context to make mobile devices smarter, by using things like beacons. We spoke with Bryan about the company and its vision.

What is Mahana?

Bryan Menell: Mahana is a platform that is comprised of three components.

 

A Conversation With Robb Gaynor, Malauzai

May 30, 2014


All too often, most of the attention in the technology world goes to the flashiest, celebrity-driven or sexy social media companies--while companies building real businesses but which don't have quite a sexy presence are ignored. However, those companies -- particularly in Texas -- have often proven to be the big winners in building long term growth and jobs.

 

How LiveOak Hopes To Take Texas Venture To The Next Level

May 22, 2014

There's a new venture fund in town--LiveOak Venture Partners (www.liveoakvp.com)--one of the first, large funds to close commitments in many years here in Texas. The new fund is headed by early stage, technology investment veterans, including Ben Scott, Krishna Srinivasan, and Venu Shamapant, who have all spent a lot of time in the Texas market.

 

Interview with Steve Sachs, OneSpot

January 28, 2014


Content is king--or so they say. However, what if you were creating lots of content, but nobody ever saw it? That's the situation that many marketers and brands are finding, according Steve Sachs, the CEO of Austin-based OneSpot (www.onespot.com)--and a problem that OneSpot is tackling by using content advertising. We sat down with Steve to learn about exactly what content advertising is, why marketers and brands are using it, and how OneSpot's products help in the area.

 

Interview with Christian Okonsky, KLD Energy

November 15, 2013


For our profile today, we're running an interview we recently conducted with Christian Okonsky, CEO of Austin's KLD Energy (www.kldenergy.com), which is developing electric drive systems for the electric motorcycle, car, and other industries. The company has recently been showing off its first, shipping product, the oneDrive, which the company says provides a big advance on existing electric drivetrains.

 

Q2's Quest To Enable Community Financial Institutions

October 24, 2013

In the world of banking, the rapidly changing world of technology is creating a new world for financial institutions, as customers no longer visit branches, but are accessing their banking institutions through their smartphone and tablet. That rapid change in technology has heavily impacted community financial institutions, who do not have the financial resources that big banks do to create and develop their own mobile apps and infrastructure. To that end, Austin's Q2 (www.q2ebanking.

 

Ticketbud's Plans To Transform Online Event Ticketing, With Lynn Yeldell

October 10, 2013


Online event ticketing sites have been around for a long time. However, Austin-based Ticketbud (www.ticketbud.com) thinks it has figured out an even better way to provide online event ticketing. To learn more about how the company wants to transform how people use online event ticketing services, we spoke with CEO Lynn Yeldell about the company.

What is Ticketbud?

Lynn Yeldell: We're an online ticketing, event ticketing and registration service.

 

Startups By Fire: 3 Day Startup's Immersive College Startup Experience

October 1, 2013

What's the best way to learn how to be an entrepreneur? In the belief that you can't learn to be an entrepreneur without some hands on experience, Bart Bohn and the co-founders of the 3 Day Startup (www.3daystartup.org) program have created a program which teaches college students entrepreneurial skills--not by boring lectures or long projects, but through a weekend project. We caught up with Bart to learn more about the program and its roots in Austin.

 

Rackspace, OpenStack, and How Texas Is Driving The Cloud Computing Market

June 6, 2013

Enterprise software may not be the sexiest area for technology news, but it's been the source of some of the biggest IPO and M&A successes in the last year or so in the technology industry. It's also one of the key parts of the high industry here in Texas. So it's no surprise that the state is also behind the move towards cloud computing, thanks to companies such as Rackspace (www.rackspace.

 

Why Identity Management Matters To UnboundID's Customers, with Andy Land

February 14, 2013

What in the world is identity management, and why do the customers of UnboundID (www.unboundid.com), based in Austin, care about such things? We caught up with Andy Land, VP of Marketing of the company, tells us why the ability to scale to hundreds of millions of users is important to their customers. UnboundID is backed by OpenView Partners and Silverton.

 

How Toopher Is Using Your Mobile Phone To Prevent Fraud, with Josh Alexander

February 7, 2013

It seems like nowadays, just about everyone is now using an iPhone or Android smartphone. That shift--which has happened in only the past few years---is the inspiration behind Austin's Toopher (www.toopher.com), which is using the ubiquity of smartphones to make it easier for websites and businesses to prevent fraud.

 

Bringing Lawyers Into The Mobile Age, With PushLegal's Alex Torry

January 10, 2013

If you're an attorney on the go, what's the best way to look up that legal reference or check through current statutes? There aren't that many options. However, a Houston-based startup, PushLegal (www.pushlegal.com), is hoping to change that, by creating a set of mobile applications which allow lawyers to look up statutes, rules, and case law on the go. We spoke with the firm's co-founder and COO, Alex Torry, who helped us understand what the company offers to its users.

 

How MeetMeTix Is Making It Easier To Get Into The Game, with Jesse Dyer

October 29, 2012


If you've ever been sitting around tailgating at a college football game, but don't have any tickets, you're familiar with the issues with trying to find a ticket and having to deal with sometime unscrupulous ticket scalpers at the gate. However, now that everyone has a mobile phone, why not use that phone to connect with other fans who have extra tickets, at the game? That's the idea behind MeetMeTix (www.meetmetix.com), a new Austin startup headed by Jesse B. Dyer.

 
2012 Interview Index

September 26, 2012 Sinclair, James (CanWe Networks)

 

August 27, 2012 White, Steven (ImageVision)

August 20, 2012 Armstrong, Jon (Adlucent)

August 13, 2012 Moler, Lacey (BellyBallot)

July 30, 2012 Susman, Aron (TheSquareFoot)

June 25, 2012 Hopen, Chris (TappIn)

June 18, 2012 Knight, Clay (Safarious)

June 6, 2012 Gordon, Chuck (Sparefoot)

June 4, 2012 Treadaway, Chris (Polygraph)

May 29, 2012 Wyatt, Chris (Youtoo)

April 17, 2012 Decker, Sam (Mass Relevance)

April 10, 2012 Genovese, Matt (Door64)

January 11, 2012 Magierski, Brian (Appconomy)

2011 Interview Index

December 14, 2011 David Borland, Larry Wikelius and (Calxeda)

 

November 28, 2011 Fasullo, Greg (Entouch Controls)

November 7, 2011 Weingarten, Tara (VroomGirls)

October 19, 2011 Layne, Carrie (Bestbuzz)

October 10, 2011 Rogers, Patti (Rallyhood)

September 28, 2011 Gates, Sara (Wisegate)

May 9, 2011 Abel, Scott (Spiceworks)

April 13, 2011 Knitowski, Alan (Phunware)

January 5, 2011 Dachis, Jeffrey (Dachis Group)

2010 Interview Index

November 10, 2010 Agrawal, Rakesh (SnapStream)

 

November 8, 2010 Clark, Bill (MicroVenture Marketplace)

August 4, 2010 Peters, Greg (Zilliant)

July 12, 2010 Koonce, Ryan (aDealio)

June 7, 2010 Arrow, John (MutualMobile)

January 21, 2010 Waterhouse, Trent (Lineage Power)

2009 Interview Index

September 23, 2009 Hood, Dave (Troux)

 

July 7, 2009 Kane, Bill (Mumboe)

June 29, 2009 Kiser, Steve (Sychron)

May 13, 2009 Balthazar, Jim (Nuventix)

April 3, 2009 Wilson, Brad (80legs)

March 27, 2009 Trudeau, Matthew (HourVille)

March 23, 2009 Augustin, Michael (Gendai Games)

2008 Interview Index

December 11, 2008 Reeder, Russell (LibreDigital)

 

September 17, 2008 Gascon, Derek (Caringo)

August 29, 2008 Harriman, Steve (NetQOS)

June 13, 2008 Mills, Brendon (Ripcode)

April 28, 2008 Broockman, Eric (Alereon)

March 18, 2008 Upton, Larry (Edioma)

March 5, 2008 Lochow, John (Sipera Systems)

February 4, 2008 Fasullo, Greg (Eltek Valere)

2007 Interview Index

November 14, 2007 Hoffman, Rick (Clearcube)

 

September 24, 2007 Stewart, Branndon (InovaWave)

September 17, 2007 Shastry, Rahm (Nascentric)

September 12, 2007 Hammock, Jim (itzbig)

August 27, 2007 Malloy, Craig (Lifesize)

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