South Congress Avenue at dusk
How I Knew
A friend of mine tells a story about when he first came to Austin. He was here on business, staying at an Airbnb. The neighbor stopped by with his dog and said, "Hey man, we're cooking out if you want to come over."
That was it. That was the moment for him. Not a pitch deck about the tech scene or a tax incentive. A guy with a dog and a grill. He realized he was in a place where people are genuinely, effortlessly friendly. Where connection isn't transactional. Where you can show up as a stranger and leave as a neighbor.
I had a similar experience. I'd lived in New York, spent serious time in SF, traveled constantly. Austin felt different from the first visit. Not because it had more of something, but because it had less of the things that drain you. Less pretension. Less posturing. Less of the ambient competition that makes other cities exhausting.
Lady Bird Lake at sunrise
The Special Sauce
What makes Austin unlike anywhere else.
- Creative and Technical. Live music capital of the world, massive tech scene, deep entrepreneurial culture. These things coexist here in a way they don't anywhere else.
- Humble and Ambitious. The best people here are brilliant, successful, and easygoing. They share knowledge freely. No ego tax on collaboration.
- Spiritual and Grounded. A Bible Belt city with a progressive streak. People here are on their health tip, their wellness, their faith. The river, the hills, the sunsets. It grounds you.
- Emerging, Not Settled. San Francisco has its dynasties. Austin feels like everything is still up for grabs. That energy draws builders who want to shape something, not just join something.
Ron Roberts, Russell Ballard, and me. None of us were born here. None of us could live anywhere else right now.
The People
Austin is attracting some of the best talent in the country right now. Not just technically sharp, but genuinely good humans. People who are brilliant and successful and still show up to community events, still share their knowledge freely, still make time for a stranger with a good question.
I keep meeting people here who would be the most impressive person in the room in any other city, and they're just... chill. No ego. No gatekeeping. Carnegie Mellon grads, NBA advisors, bestselling authors, world-class engineers. They're all here, they're all accessible, and they're all building.
In SF, the stereotype of the brilliant-but-insufferable builder is a real problem. Here, the default is brilliant-and-generous. That changes everything about what you can build together.
Demoing to Austin Mayor Kirk Watson at South by Southwest
City of the Violet Crown
Austin's nickname is the City of the Violet Crown, after the unique purple sunsets that light up the sky here. The name dates back to the 1800s. And here's what's wild: if you go back and read newspapers from 100+ years ago, the story is the same. "Everyone is coming here from New York and California. The money is pouring in. This city is about to transform."
That has been the story of Austin for over a century. It's always emerging. Always on the verge. Always drawing dreamers and builders from the coasts who feel like they found the promised land. And the people who were here first have always been a little suspicious and a little excited about it.
Maybe that's the secret. Austin is hard to stay in. It gets brutally hot for months. There's no ocean. The investor scene is still maturing. There are real inconveniences. And that might be what makes it great: the people who stay, stay because they love it. Not because it's convenient. You have to choose Austin. And the ones who choose it tend to be exactly the kind of people you want to build with.
With former Austin Mayor Steve Adler
The Epicenter
Austin is the epicenter of culture and tech in the South. Maybe in the country. You've got South by Southwest, the live music capital of the world, a thriving food scene, and a tech ecosystem that feels like early Silicon Valley before it got oversaturated. The cream of the crop is moving here. And they're not just coming for the tax savings.
They're coming because the energy is collaborative instead of competitive. Because it's a place where you can be on your health tip, your wellness, your faith, and still be building cutting-edge technology. Because the nature is beautiful and the river runs right through the city and the sunsets are unlike anything you've seen. Because there's a spiritual grounding here that you can feel, even if you can't quite name it.
I'm building Applied AI Society and Imagos here because this is where the right people are. The kind of people who will build the future and still invite you over for a cookout. That combination doesn't exist anywhere else.
The Violet Crown
If you're thinking about making the move, come visit first. You'll know.