2018 Austin Tech Predictions & Resolutions
The Forrest Four-cast: January 5, 2018
What‘s ahead for the Austin tech / startup ecosystem for 2018? We asked 40+ city leaders for their prediction or resolution for the next 12 months (and beyond). Answers covered a variety of topics — but more AI, more engagement, and more inclusion emerged as recurrent themes. Plus most of the people queried anticipate another big year for the Central Texas scene.
Amber Allen (Double A): My resolution is to help make technology more experiential; to blend the digital with the physical!
David Altounian (St Edward’s University): My prediction is that this is the year of consolidation and breakout successes with more mergers, acquisitions, and some big company growth. We have reached a critical mass of innovators and innovations here and acquirers and investors are taking notice.
Angelos G. Angelou (Angelou Economics): My prediction is that in 2018 we will further expand our national brand for innovation, venture capital investing and angel and corporate funding. It is an exciting time for entrepreneurs in Austin.
Richard Bagdonas (Twinedge): My prediction is that the Austin tech / startup ecosystem is going to pop with acquisitions in SaaS and CPG driving reinvestment in BI, healthcare, and AI. And Kendra Scott Jewelry will get purchased by a PE firm.
Barbary Brunner (Austin Technology Council): My prediction is that we’ll see at least a couple of companies prepping to IPO, our fascination with crypto will continue to grow, and we’ll launch a number of new accelerator programs.
Shawna Butler (Singularity University): My resolution is to ampllify the entrepreneurs addressing sensitive, complex social and human care challenges like end-of-life care, living with a disability, and the social isolation epidemic.
Ruben Cantu (LevelUp Institute): My resolution is to share a new model on how social impact ecosystems are built and how Austin can help lead in that effort globally.
Leigh F. Christie (Austin Chamber): My prediction is that our local female leaders will continue to soar and their companies and our community will be better for it.
Ed Curtis (YTEXAS): My resolution is to get more engaged and educated on the opportunities and challenges facing the Austin startup community.
Gordon Daugherty (Capital Factory): My prediction is that the Austin tech / startup ecosystem will evolve into the hub for a globally recognized and coordinated Texas startup ecosystem.
Candice Digby (Austin Design Week & General Assembly): My resolution is to spur thoughtful, strategic improvements to startup-supporting infrastructures, from education & community to operations & design.
Josh Jones-Dilworth (Jones-Dilworth, Inc): My resolution is to get involved politically, and especially locally. National races will dominate headlines leading up to November midterms, but our local elections matter even more.
Ben Dyer (TechSquare Labs): My resolution is to strengthen the bridges between the Austin and Atlanta startup ecosystems. The two cities are quite complementary and not really competitive.
David Edmonson (Austin Tech Alliance): My prediction is that the tech sector becomes even more involved in working to address Austin’s civic challenges.
Rod Favaron (Spredfast): My resolution is to engage more with Austin’s tech leaders and groups like Culturati, Capital Factory and Techstars. I’m looking forward to being more involved and giving back to the tech community.
Scott Francis (BP3 Global): My prediction is that the Austin tech / startup ecosystem is will have another breakout startup success in 2018, and that Indeed will continue to grow leaps and bounds, yet under the radar.
Ashish Gadnis (Banqu): My prediction is that the Austin tech / startup ecosystem will produce 2–3 amazing examples of how tech can transform lives for the homeless and create gender equality.
Steve Golab (Creative Alignments): My prediction is that the Austin tech / startup ecosystem will become more segmented with divided focus on more social innovation versus only capital growth.
Bijoy Goswami (ATX Equation): My resolution is that we steward entrepreneurs to create completely unique ventures with Austin’s “be yourself” ethos to guide them!
Brett Hurt (data.world): My prediction is that Austin is going to continue its epic rise with tech startups (the $250m deal with WP Engine is just the beginning). I’m doing my part to help by rekindling my passion for writing and helping entrepreneurs (check out my latest post on learning).
Amir Husain (Spark Cognition): My prediction is that Austin’s AI companies will land at least another $100M in investments, further enriching the already booming ATX AI landscape.
Gerardo Interiano (Google): My resolution is is that we continue to identify ways to support our local community through initiatives that narrow the opportunity gaps and represent Austin’s values.
Mitch Jacobson (Austin Technology Incubator): My prediction related to the Austin tech / startup ecosystem is that there will be more, more, more! More startups, more resources, more money, more activity, more excitement, more publicity for Austin!
Preston James (DivInc): My prediction is that Austin will become the national leader in creating authentically inclusive tech communities.
Maninder Kahlon (Dell Medical School): My resolution is to connect the possibilities of AI more concretely with improving health to inspire meaningful innovation.
Jon Lebkowsky (Polycot Associates): My prediction is that we’ll see increasing focus on emerging technologies — big data, AI, autonomous cars, mixed reality, etc. — and that we’ll see the local launch of 2–3 potential unicorns.
Cindy Lo (Red Velvet Events): My resolution is to help as many early startups figure out how to best use their marketing dollars to produce memorable and meaningful events.
Oksana Malysheva (Sputnik ATX): My prediction is that the new tax plan will push us to become a nation of entrepreneurs and it will manifest itself in Austin in a particularly meaningful way. The rate of startup formation will go up, and we will see real benefit of that in 2018 and beyond.
Elijah May (The Experience Firm): My resolution is to lead by example. I intend to answer the challenge of one of my mentors and spend less time consulting and go build a tech company of my own, a company obsessed with constructive culture and complete customer experience.
Robyn Metcalfe (Food+City): My prediction is that tech will finally meet food in 2018, giving Austin a place at the table for creating a new food system for the future. Also, Austin will wake up to its potential as a really smart city, including a networked, aero-dynamic food system.
Mike Millard (Mass Challenge): My prediction is that the Austin tech / startup ecosystem will increasingly be viewed as the Texas tech / startup ecosystem.
Manoj Saxena (Cognitive Scale): My resolution is to shift the perception of “AI = Artificially Inflated” to “AI = Amazing Innovations” through proven client outcomes.
Fred Schmidt (Bullseye Business Development): My prediction is that the Austin tech / startup ecosystem will benefit even more from being a fresh and inclusive alternative to the Brotopia cultures of The Valley, DC, NYC and LA.
Eugene Sepulveda (Entrepreneurs Foundation): My prediction is that Austin tech attracts even more top talent and investors as a result of our companies’ commitment to fostering inclusion, environmental sustainability and social equity and the resulting boosts to performance and values.
Chris Shonk (ATX Seed Ventures): My prediction is that there will be a resurgence across our city’s vast talent in the video game industry kindled by virtual reality and augmented reality demand.
Thom Singer (Conference Catalyst): My resolution related to the Austin tech / startup ecosystem is to interview more of the amazing local entrepreneurs for my “Cool Things Entrepreneurs Do” podcast (anyone who wants to be on the show who is a CEO should reach out to me!).
Suzi Sosa (Verb Inc): My resolution is to connect the women CEOs of fast-growth start-ups, like Bumble, Outdoor Voices, You Earned It, Rallyhood, and KEY Concierge, so we can build a better support network for women-led tech companies in Austin. No more bro culture!
Joah Spearman (Localeur): My prediction is there will be several more meaningful acquisitions / exits in the ecosystem leading to more people moving here from Silicon Valley as valuation and metric sensitivity continues to cool down Seed and A funding.
Chris Valentine (SXSW Accelerator Pitch Event): My resolution is to continue to develop ways to bring more international startup companies to Austin.
Ingrid Vanderveldt (Empower a Billion Women by 2020): My resolution is to personally mentor at least 20 emerging women through the EBW Chapter and to bring at least 100 global tech leaders (from outside Austin) who fund and support women to Austin for the EBW Global Summit in November 2018.
Gordon Walton (ArtCraft Entertainment, Inc): My prediction is that we are going to see a lot more company “wins” this coming year. There is a giant array of local entrepreneurial companies poised for success, whether it is through hyper growth or exit.
Whurley (Strangeworks): My prediction is that the Austin tech / startup ecosystem is going to grow dramatically with the addition of major new employers and new startups in non-traditional areas.
Pete Winstead (Winstead PC): My resolution is to get the Austin Chamber Opportunity Austin 4.0 undertaking focused on securing a least one billion dollar new enterprise located in Austin (not centered somewhere else) over each of the next ten years.
Image of Austin skyline courtesy of JH Jackson Photography.
Hugh Forrest serves as Chief Programming Officer at SXSW, the world’s most unique gathering of creative professionals. He also tries to write at least four paragraphs per day on Medium. These posts often cover tech-related trends; other times they focus on books, pop culture, sports and other current events.
