Having been a resident of Austin now for six months, I thought it might be timely to review what I’ve observed here.  I plan to spend the rest of my career in this city, but I will always be mindful of my Georgia roots.  Atlanta and Austin both have their strengths and share many good qualities, so I’m just giving you some of my impressions of Austin now that I’ve gotten fully settled here.

1.  First of all, I have met many people here, particularly those with corporate careers, who have lived in Atlanta somewhere along the way.  And very many seem to have relatives still in the greater metropolitan area.  All have a favorable impression of Atlanta, except perhaps with respect to making connecting flights at Hartsfield-Jackson.  And, there is certainly a strong group of Georgia Tech alumni in central Texas.

2.  Atlantans are generally less familiar with Austin, but those who are and those whom I’ve gotten out here have thoroughly enjoyed themselves.  I first came here in the late 70’s on Peachtree Software missions when Texas Instruments was creating microcomputers at two separate divisions in this town.  Neither knew about the other, and under my NDA I couldn’t disclose one to the other.   I had to plan my travels carefully.  In the end, however, neither was a market success.  And, our main competitor BPI was based here.   I renewed my connection in 1999 when my son entered the University of Texas, later to be followed by my daughter.

3.  There’s no missing the fact that Austin as a whole is much healthier than Atlanta in terms of general economic conditions.  Yes there are homeless people soliciting at many major intersections, and unemployment outside the tech sector is too high, but the backdrop here is one of growth, vitality, and action.  New houses are being built and sold, and the city seems to have dodged the worst of the national plagues of subprime lending, commercial and residential foreclosures, and bank failures.   

4.  The tech scene, although scattered about the city, has its hub in downtown Austin, and it’s a welcoming community.  Needed introductions are gladly made, and there’s a strong sense of mutual help and respect.  Couple that with an ever expanding list of superstar companies, including some IPO headliners this year, and you just feel the “get ‘er done” mentality. 

5.  The financial support system for technology companies is strong.  The Austin Technology Incubator maintains its core areas of focus and its high success rate of getting significant follow-on funding for its companies.  There are at least eleven organized angel groups in Texas; they have a penchant for sharing deals; and the Central Texas Angel Network (CTAN) alone invested $6M last year.   Austin Ventures and DFJ Mercury (Houston) are very active in the local markets, along with many smaller funds – including institutional, family office-based, and super angel groups.  Many of the prominent West Coast funds have existing deals here and are continually shopping this market.  Add to that the numerous easily identified angels who invest on their own, and every deal has places to be shown.  That doesn’t mean that every one gets funded, or that the rules of gravity are suspended as sometimes seems to be the case in San Francisco and the Valley, but suffice it to say there is money here looking to be put to work.  One caveat: it’s looking for Texas deals; I’ve already centered two companies here for that reason.

6.   In addition to the ATI, institutions like Capital Factory, Austin Tech Ranch, ATI’s 3-Day Startup, and others are helping tech entrepreneurs form their companies, get them “pitch perfect,” and launch them.  Capital Factory is even taking in November a group of local companies to General Assembly to expose prominent NYC investors to the opportunities here.  Atlanta too is blessed with many such resources, particularly the new Flash Point associated with the ATDC and Georgia Tech.

7.  Tech companies here are generally gasping for employees.   There have been recent recruiting missions to the West Coast, and plenty of young engineers are moving in, but new companies and major new offices of companies like Facebook, Evernote, Electronic Arts, Google, Zynga, etc. are creating way more demand than supply for qualified talent.   Local apartment builders are responding feverishly to a shortage of housing so that this needed talent can find a place to live when it arrives.

8.  The University of Texas has a strong focus on helping entrepreneurial students create real companies at both undergraduate and graduate levels.  I have been invited to mentor companies at the ATI, Capital Factory, and other venues, but I’m particularly enjoying the 1 Semester Startup class, which has 77 students attempting to create more than 20 real companies.  These are not lab experiments, but attempts to build plausible ventures, and they range from web/mobile apps to automobiles to a novel method of isotope separation.  I mentor two of the teams in this class taught by Josh Baer, John Butler, and Bob Metcalf and augmented by many interesting guest speakers.  And, I have also come across many fine graduates of and participants in the Texas Venture Labs programs at the McCombs School of Business.

9.  SXSWi has a lot to do with the booming tech scene in Austin.   More than 3200 teams applied for about 500 program slots for the March 2012 edition, and there will be a stepped-up focus on venture deal making.  I suspect most of the money from both Coasts that looks for digital media, consumer Internet, and related deals will be on hand for those days.  Get your ticket now, and, more important, line up a room.  My couch is already booked.

10.  The mobile sector has become a major factor in Austin.  I’ve met the founders of most of the key companies, and they are all growing as fast as they can add capacity and are doing business worldwide.   The early ATI focus in this area certainly helped, but it’s hard to explain how such a bustling industry has mushroomed in this relative small city over the last 3 years or so.  Austin is now the go-to city for mobile.

Finally, it’s hard not to like the lifestyle here.   There’s plenty of entertainment, and it’s relatively inexpensive to live in this city.   But, that’s more a topic for Facebook than for this blog.  Suffice it to say, as pictured above, I’ve checked off one bucket list item – a “Texas Truck” license plate.

If you’re reading this from Atlanta, come out for a visit.  I thoroughly enjoy Texas games, but I’m looking forward to being back your way for GT-Clemson for Homecoming next week.