Serendipity
Austin Technology Council’s CEO Summit is a sign that it is time to give serendipity a chance
In October, the Austin Technology Council hosted our annual ATC CEO Summit — convening 150 top executives from the Austin tech community. There are many reasons to skip an in-person event: we’re all busy running as fast as we can with our companies. We have families to attend to. We have a million things going on — and one more thing — a conference of fellow tech CEO’s — may not be the top thing on your radar.
But the word of the day at the CEO Summit, was serendipity. And you don’t get that serendipity sitting at home. That Serendipity is seeing friends from 25 years ago see each other again in person for the same time (yes, some who have left Austin in the past have found their way back). Serendipity is starting new relationships, rekindling old friendships, and finding opportunities and commonality together. Many CEOs are on a lonely path, but you are not on this path alone.
Three panels got the discussion moving:
- The Future of Work: How Remote and Hybrid Work Impact Employee and Company Success
- How Austin Startups got $350 Million in Government Funding
- Cybersecurity: Lessons in Risk and Resilience
Each one was a great discussion, and it was capped off with a great fireside chat, Autumn Manning interviewing our keynote speaker: Sarah Jones Simmer. This is one of those talks that had people taking notes and listening intently, because her story and her ability to put everything into a narrative are just amazing.
At one point, Sarah voiced this about culture: “what is culture but the words we use, the stories we tell, and the heroes we elevate?” This is a fantastic way to articulate culture — and I think more powerful than another framing I’ve often heard — that culture is what you reward and what you punish.
What is culture but the words we use, the stories we tell, and the heroes we elevate?
We’ve never had better opportunities for Austin, and for tech in Austin, than we have right now, in front of us. And we have the opportunity to help shape Austin. This isn’t someone else’s town that we happen to live in — this is our home. So maybe, as tech CEOs, we shouldn’t wait for someone else to fix it or to make the changes we’re hoping will happen. We can be a part of it.
It’s good to be back…
Over the last 30 years, Austin Technology Council has represented the voices of Austin Tech to our community. Our original mission was to put “Tech” on the map in Austin. Mission accomplished! Our next mission is up to the members of ATC. I’ll put one thought out there: that ATC is about building the community of Austin Tech — and now that Austin Tech is a primary driver of the Austin economy, our responsibility to the rest of our community must also be recognized. We’re not the upstarts in Austin anymore, we’re responsible parties to what Austin is and will become.
I’m really optimistic about our future — as Austin, as a tech hub, and as the Austin Technology Council.
One more thing… there’s plenty of data to support the thesis that Austin Tech is ascendant. Look no further than the Austin Chamber of Commerce’s data shared here.
And there are other signs of Austin’s tech ecosystem driving a higher profile: Richard Branson initiating flights here, and companies from Silicon Valley relocating here. It’s an “older” article but a good one, and fairly correctly indicated the future direction of travel with respect to tech talent — and tech companies — moving to Austin over the next year or two.
Originally published at https://sfrancisatx.substack.com on October 23, 2022.
