Austinites

Lisa Strandberg, along with her sister Kaitie Sjostedt, is a Co-Founder of The Shore Line, an independent women's resort wear brand. Lisa talks about her modeling career, what gave her the idea for The Shore Line, and the launch of their first clothing line. You can check out The Shore Line at: https://www.thisistheshoreline.com/

Drew Echelberger spent two years biking around the United States. When he got to Austin, it was supposed to be a short-term pitstop. But then he never left. Why? To learn more about Drew, check out his website: https://www.irodeherefromkentucky.com/ If you'd like to support the Austinites podcast, please consider becoming a Patreon supporter: https://www.patreon.com/austinites

Taylor Prinsen is a professional photographer and one of her specialties is boudoir, a style of photography that highlights the female body in a way that is sexy but also tasteful. So what makes Taylor so passionate about her boudoir work? If you'd like to learn more about Taylor, check out her site: https://www.taylorprinsenphotography.com/ If you'd like to support the Austinites podcast, please consider becoming a Patreon supporter: https://www.patreon.com/austinites

After spending nearly a decade working his way up through various restaurants, Davis Turner was burnt out and ready to give up cooking. What changed his mind? If you'd like to learn more about Davis and his team at Huckleberry, check out their site: https://www.huckleberrytx.com/ If you'd like to support the Austinites podcast, please consider becoming a Patreon supporter: https://www.patreon.com/austinites

Stephanie Scherzer is the Co-Founder & CEO of Farmhouse Delivery. She describes Farmhouse Delivery as an online farmers market, specializing in organic produce, sustainable meat, and groceries. Their mission is to connect communities with their land and make local food more accessible. Back in the early 90's, Stephanie and her partner purchased a 4 acre property in East Austin. Right away, they started to think about how they could use the land for good and to serve the community. Stephanie started growing food on the land and she quickly realized she'd have to figure out what to do with everything she was growing. At first, she was just selling it to local restaurants and at farmers markets. But things grew quickly and soon Farmhouse Delivery was born. In our conversation today, Stephanie shares more details on the origin story of Farmhouse Delivery. She also talks about her passion for urban farming, local food systems, and much more! You can learn more about Stephanie and Farmhouse Delivery here: https://www.farmhousedelivery.com/ If you'd like to try Farmhouse Delivery, Stephanie and her team are offering a special discount for listeners of the show. You can get $10 OFF your first order ($60 or more) + they'll waive the $9.99 membership fee. Just use the discount code AUSTINITES before July 31, 2021.

Localeur offers authentic insights from locals in nearly 200 cities around the world. Joah Spearman started the company back in 2013. To fund Localeur, Joah has raised more than $5 million dollars which is an incredible accomplishment in itself. But it's how he did it and the obstacles he faced along the way that are even more interesting. Joah didn't land some big venture capital deal out of Silicon Valley. Instead, he put together the funds from over 100 different angel investors. In our conversation today, Joah talks about the obstacles he faced raising those funds, why he went the route that he did to raise them, and more about the founding story of Localeur. We also talk about Joah's life before founding the company including the time he spent with star athletes at UT while working as a Media Relations Student Assistant and his first big entrepreneurial venture in Austin, a sneaker pop-up store. If you'd like to learn more about Joah and Localeur, check out the websites below: https://www.joahspearman.com/ https://www.localeur.com/

When things aren't going well, I tend to beat myself up over it. That's where a little self-compassion can help. My guest today, Pittman McGehee, helped me understand that in a nutshell, self-compassion is about speaking to ourselves a little bit more like we would speak to a close friend or loved one. Pittman is a licensed psychologist providing individual psychotherapy for adults in Austin, Texas. In addition to his clinical practice, Pittman holds teaching and clinical faculty positions at the University of Texas, Austin, is adjunct faculty at Seton Cove, Austin, and he's a Certified Mindful Self-Compassion and Compassion for Couples teacher. He's even worked alongside Dr. Kristin Neff, one of the foremost experts in the field of Self-Compassion. If you'd like to learn more about Pittman, checkout his website below: https://www.mcgeheephd.com/

Back in 2002, Melinda Garvey was out for drinks with some friends when she got the idea to start a magazine focused on women in Austin. A few months later, the first issue of Austin Woman Magazine was published. Melinda didn't stop there. She continued to innovate and find new ways to support women. In 2019, her company, On The Dot, launched a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion software platform to help all women and diverse employees connect and advance within organizations. In 2020, they expanded the software to include a platform for virtual events and virtual communities. In my conversation with Melinda today, we'll dig deeper into that founding story of Austin Woman Magazine and how she made the next move from founder of a media company to founder of a tech startup. Melinda also shares how each of us can better support diversity and inclusion. To learn more about Melinda and her work, check out the websites below: https://atxwoman.com/ https://onthedotglobal.com/

China Smith is the Founder and Executive Artistic Director of Ballet Afrique, a professional contemporary dance company that employs a synthesis of ballet, modern, and African traditional movement. Growing up, China was a track star. However, a devastating injury during her senior year in high school forced her to find a new passion to pursue. She eventually fell in love with dance and started Ballet Afrique in 2008. In our conversation today, China shares how she made that transition from track star to dancer. She looks back on the very first class that Ballet Afrique ever put on and how it grew from there. China also talks about an important new project that just got underway for the company. To learn more about China and Ballet Afrique, check out their website below: https://balletafriqueaustin.org/

Jay B Sauceda is the Founder at Sauceda Industries and Texas Humor. Sauceda Industries is a third party logistics company that direct-to-consumer brands outsource logistical operations to. Texas Humor is a social media brand for Texans who love being Texan and have a sense of humor about it. Jay B has started and been involved with a number of interesting projects in his life. For example, he flew a plane around the perimeter of Texas and took a series of aerial photographs that eventually turned into a piece for Texas Monthly, a book, and a museum exhibit. There's also the Texas Humor brand he launched on Twitter that grew to almost a million followers and later turned into an e-commerce store. There's also his deep knowledge of Texas and what he thinks are some of the best small towns and rural areas you should visit. If you'd like to learn more about Jay B and his various businesses, check out the websites below: http://saucedaindustries.com/ https://txhumor.com/

Gerald Youngblood is the Founder of Tankee, a family-friendly entertainment platform that helps parents protect their kids from inappropriate online content while giving kids access to the gaming and entertainment videos they love. Gerald got the idea for Tankee when he noticed that his young son and his friends were more likely to be on YouTube watching gaming content than watching Nickelodeon, Disney, or anything else. As a parent, this made him a bit nervous. He thought about all the non-family friendly stuff that his son could be seeing. Who knew what video or ad could pop up next on the screen. So Gerald did some research. He started to look for the Nickelodeon of gaming content. But he couldn't find anything. So he got an interesting idea. What if he built something himself? To do this, he would have to leave a job that he loved and a career that was going really well. He decided to seek out the advice of his mentor. While they were talking, she asked him a question that really got his attention. In fact, it was a question he could never get away from. From that moment on, he knew he had to do it. Soon after, he launched Tankee. In my conversation with Gerald today, he shares what that pivotal question was that his mentor asked him. He also talks about what happened on day one, when they flipped the switch and Tankee went live for the first time. To learn more about Gerald and Tankee, check out their website below: https://www.tankee.com/

Bonnie Cullum, along with three fellow graduate students, started The VORTEX Repertory Company back in 1988. From the very beginning, the group wanted to make theatre in Austin that was new and different. They wanted it to be provocative, push the envelope, and tackle politically charged issues. More than 30 years later, The VORTEX is still doing just that, inside their theatre off Manor Road in East Austin. Bonnie still serves as the theatre's Producing Artistic Director. In my conversation with her today, she shares why making new, provocative theatre was so important to her. Bonnie shares what some of the most memorable and shocking moments have been on stage. She also discusses her efforts to make theatre a more essential part of the community here in Austin. To learn more about Bonnie and The VORTEX, check out their website below: http://vortexrep.org/

Randy Hester is a person who's not afraid to make a big pivot in his life. It's something he's done over and over again since a young age. For example, there was the time when Randy was working as a sales rep for Glazer's, a large wine & spirits distributor, here in Texas. It was a job he was very good at. He was moving up the company ladder and being told by some customers that he was selling more of their wines than anyone else in the state. But Randy started to get interested in something else. Instead of selling the wine, he wanted to make it. And so at the age of 36, he left his career and nice salary behind, and he moved to Napa Valley, California, so he could learn the winemaking craft. After almost a decade there, Randy had made it. He had worked at some of the top cellars in Napa. He was working with winemakers that are revered as some of the best on the planet. He had even launched his own wine label, Lightning, that was being received really well. But it was here that Randy made, perhaps, the biggest and most surprising pivot of them all. He decided that he wanted to make Texas wines. So he moved to Austin and he started a new winery, naming it after his great-grandfather C.L. Butaud. So why did he do it? And how did he do it? And was it tough to leave everything behind, just as he was securing his place inside Napa Valley's elite club of winemakers. Well, Randy's going to tell us. He'll also explain what makes Texas wine unique and why the winemaking future of this state is so bright. To learn more about Randy and C.L. Butaud, check out their website below: https://clbutaud.com/

Jennifer Long is the Executive Director of Casa Marianella. Casa Marianella welcomes displaced immigrants and promotes self-sufficiency by providing shelter and support services. Their ultimate vision is that all immigrants arriving in Austin will have safe housing and access to the services they need to be successful. Jennifer and I talk more about what Casa Marianella does and the residents that they serve. We talk about her background and how she ended up there in the first place. She's been helping people in need for a good part of her life and has an interesting background. What I enjoyed most about our conversation was the education that Jennifer gave me about immigration reform and immigrants in this country. This is something we hear a lot about on the news. It's a pretty polarizing topic at times. However, Jennifer is someone who has been on the ground, working directly with immigrants for the better part of 30 years. I really valued her first hand knowledge and thoughts on the topic and I learned a lot about misconceptions we have as Americans about immigrants and immigration reform. If you'd like to learn more about Jennifer and Casa Marianella, check out their website below: https://www.casamarianella.org/

Jen Grogono is the President and CEO at uStudio. uStudio helps companies better distribute audio and video content to their employees. One example is an app they developed that allows companies to broadcast podcasts securely to their workforce. These podcasts could include content such as interviews with leadership, company news, or training. Employees can then use the app, much like they would use Spotify or Apple Podcasts, to consume this content through a modern, mobile first medium. In our conversation, Jen shares more about what uStudio does and what led her to starting the company. She also talks about some interesting experiences she had earlier in her life such as living in Paris and working for the office of Senator Ted Kennedy. You can learn more about Jen and uStudio here: https://ustudio.com/

Chas Moore is the Founder and Executive Director of the Austin Justice Coalition. Austin Justice Coalition is a Racial Justice Group that educates and builds community power for people of color who live in Austin, Texas that need support, community, and liberation during a time of systemic injustice in America. Chas talks about why he started Austin Justice Coalition and what makes them unique compared to other organizations that are fighting for people of color. He goes through what some of their biggest accomplishments have been to date. He talks about what he would most like to see changed in Austin in the upcoming year. Chas also talks about what it's been like to get to know and work with various city officials, including Mayor Steve Adler. If you'd like to learn more about Chas and the Austin Justice Coalition, check out their website below: https://austinjustice.org/

Alesia Lani is a singer-songwriter. She has three new singles out this year and we talk about the genesis of those songs and about the creative process behind her music. She's known for writing especially personal songs that touch on various things happening in her life. We also talk about her time with Project ATX6, which is an organization that selects six Austin musicians to travel together, live together, and perform together at international music festivals. Alesia traveled around the world as part of that project and she shares a few of her favorite memories from the trip. You'll get to hear what she thought about ramen in Japan and riding elephants in Thailand. We also talk about how that project got interrupted by COVID and the impact that's had on her life and music. You can learn more about Alesia and her music here: https://www.alesialanimusic.com/

Patti Rogers is the Founder and CEO of Rallyhood. Rallyhood is a platform for purpose-driven groups, causes and member organizations. It's a platform that combines the best of social with the best of productivity and collaboration tools to make it easy for groups to come together, engage in, and support the causes they care about, in one place. Patti is a cancer survivor and that ultimately led to her starting Rallyhood. She was a competitive swimmer and that had a real impact on her life. Both her parents were entrepreneurs and that, of course, was a driving force to her becoming an entrepreneur herself. She even worked with her dad in the first company she started and has some really funny stories about that. You can learn more about Patti and Rallyhood here: https://rallyhood.com/

Mauricio Callejas is a musician and the founder of Centroamericanto. Centroamericanto started as a directory for singers and songwriters from Central America but has grown into an annual musical festival in Austin and a podcast, both of which feature musicians from Central America. Mauricio is originally from El Salvador and we talk about what he loves and misses most from there. We talk about what Central American music is and how it differs from music in other parts of Latin America. We get into why he started Centroamericanto and what it's grown into over the years. Mauricio recently released a new album, Crisis, and we discuss his creative process behind that. Mauricio also shares where some of the best places are in Austin to experience Central American culture and food. You can learn more about Mauricio and Centroamericanto at the links below: https://mauriciocallejas.com/ https://centroamericanto.net/

Mobley is a singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. Mobley and I talk about his creative process for his latest album, Young & Dying in the Occident Supreme, and especially his newly released single, James Crow. We talk about his background and how he ultimately morphed into a one-man musical show. Mobley also shares his thoughts on the pandemic and the impact it's had on his life.

Samantha Snabes is the co-founder of re:3D, a startup that makes large-scale, industrial-grade 3D printers. The printers have been used to make compost toilets, personal protective equipment during the pandemic, and even for beer taps at a few local breweries. Samantha and I talk about the origin story of re:3D, how she's been able to travel all over the world as she and her team have built the company, and about her dream of becoming an astronaut.

Leslie Martin is the owner of Bouldin Creek Cafe which serves wholesome vegetarian and vegan food to Austin. We talk about the origin story of Bouldin Creek and Leslie shares some hilarious stories of all the things that went wrong in the early days. She talks about her personal background and why she moved to Austin, how she fell in love with the city, and how operating Bouldin Creek in many ways, is her way of trying to maintain that Austin vibe and feeling of community that she cherished so much when she moved here.