What Building in Austin Actually Feels Like Right Now | Will Johnson & Alex Cohen

This was not the episode we planned. Will Johnson, founder and CEO of Gyde, and Alex Cohen, founder and CEO of Hello Patient, came on to talk about innovation in the business of health. Instead it became our off the record conversations, but behind the microphone.

An unfiltered field report on what it actually feels like to build a startup in Austin right now. The talent math, hunting for mid-size office space, the venture culture, Austin vs Miami, the press gap, and the political friction.

All of it from two founders who chose this city, are hiring here, and are naming what needs to change because they want it to work.

Agenda

• 0:00 Why Alex and Will chose Austin
• 5:17 The engineering talent gap 
• 14:10 Who gets hired and the conference hustle 
• 20:58 Miami, Palantir, and competing for wins 
• 26:02 What SF's venture culture has that Austin is still building
• 32:58 Operator density problem and the office gap 
• 41:05 Why selling to Main Street works better from Austin 
• 50:16 More storytellers needed
• 59:16 SXSW's decline 
• 1:05:18 King of Austin for a day

Guest Links and Bios
Alex Cohen: X/Twitter, LinkedIn, Hello Patient
Will Johnson: X/Twitter, LinkedIn, Gyde

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Austin Next Links: Website, X/Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn
Ecosystem Metacognition Substack