By STUDIO ESTATES
Sponsored Post

On a former cotton farm in Kyle sits a beautiful piece of land with expansive views and Hill Country charm.

At Studio Estates, David Cuddy has built a burgeoning business park, home development, movie studio complex and now tech center.

Cuddy’s 800 acres is prime real estate in one of the hottest markets in the country. It sits between two of Texas’ major cities, Austin and San Antonio and easily accessible via major highways.

Studio Estates has one brand new office building at 7212 Goforth Road ready to be leased to tenants. It’s 6,000 square feet of office space outfitted with high-speed Internet. The building can be divided up into offices with a conference room and a small kitchen area for a break room.

“We would like to have high tech businesses out here,” Cuddy said.

Cuddy spends half his time in Texas managing the Studio Estates and the rest in his native state of Alaska. He spent 20 years a commercial banker and served one term in the Alaska State Legislature. He ran for the U.S. Senate in 1996.

The Studio Estates property is perfect for virtual reality, gaming companies, artificial intelligence, robotics, software and hardware development, internet web and app development, podcasting, co-working businesses and others in the high tech industry.
Another identical building next door is nearly fully leased.

Nestled in the countryside, Studio Estates seems like the perfect spot for the high tech industry. It’s a peaceful and gorgeous retreat that creative people love. And it’s perfect for digital nomads, people who telecommute and need professional office space. The site is easily accessible via Intrastate 35 or toll road 130 and highways 183 and 21. It’s only minutes away from Bergstrom International Airport and downtown Austin.

Cuddy, a producer and executive producer on a dozen films and a P&A investor on five films, currently manages Studio Estates. In 2015, he was going to build a $52 million studio complex on his land, but the project was halted due to the Governor of Texas not continuing the funding of the state’s film and TV incentives.

That 40-acre plot of land is ready to go for anyone interested in developing it.

Several movies have been shot on the location. And several commercials have also been filmed there including a recent one for Harley Davidson motorcycles.
In addition, Cuddy operates the Millennium Park, which has 10 warehouses that are rented by light industrial businesses. But there is room to expand with additional buildings.

The Noelle Business Park is the second phase of the business park development and it contains another ten warehouses that are almost all leased. There are a couple of warehouses available in that complex.

A housing development contains several beautiful brick custom built homes already and is almost fully occupied. Another 150 acres are primed are ready for additional homes. The housing complex includes a beautiful lake with some waterfront lots.

The Coyote Garden Hall serves as the events center for the area and is available for lease.

On a portion of the land, cattle still graze, and another tenant has leased land to house racehorses.

This is a sponsored post from advertiser Studio Estates. Please contact Raschell Spillers with Studio Estates at 512-668-4888 or Studioestatesoffice@yahoo.com for more information.

Tim Ferriss, angel investor and bestselling author and podcaster, recently moved to Austin.

For 17 years, Ferriss lived in Silicon Valley.

But now he’s a resident of Austin. Ferris is the author of “The 4-Hour Workweek,” “The 4-Hour Body,” “The 4-Hour Chef,” “Tools of Titans,” and his latest book: “Tribe of Mentors.”

“In the end, I absolutely LOVE the Bay Area, but it’s become a perverted Bizarro world version of what attracted me there in 2000,” Ferriss wrote in response to a question during an Ask Me Anything session on Reddit. “Many of my best friends in the world are there, and it pained me to leave, but I had to relocate for my own sanity, growth, and happiness.”

Ferriss also wrote that he wanted to move to Austin “after college but didn’t get the job at Trilogy Software. Since 2007, I’ve visited Austin every year and felt the pull to move there each time. It’s a wonderful exploding scene of art, music, film, tech, food and more. The people are also – in general – much friendlier.”

This year, Ferriss served as keynote at the 2017 SXSW Edu event and he also interviewed Cheryl Strayed about her creative process during SXSW, according to Hugh Forrest, who wrote that Ferriss is one of his favorite SXSW speakers in a blog post on Medium.

Last Saturday, Ferriss spoke and did a book signing at Book People for his latest book, “Tribe of Mentors.”

Other reasons Ferriss cited for moving to Austin include BBQ and that he really likes the sun and San Francisco is foggy and that the Golden Gate Bridge is a terrorist target and he likes to be someplace with a lower profile.

And Austin is “far more dog friendly than SF,” according to Ferriss.

“Sometimes you need to think about the “where” of happiness and change your scenery to prompt new chapters in your life,” Ferriss wrote.

Want more? Ferriss also did this Q&A with Austin Monthly about moving here.

And even more Ferriss on moving to Austin, including a video, at Business Insider.

“There has come to be a level of intellectual smugness that I found with every passing month that I spent there a little less tolerable,” Ferriss in the video on Business Insider about why he moved from California’s Silicon Valley to Texas’ Silicon Hills. “Close-mindedness masquerading as open-mindedness.”

By LAURA LOREK
Publisher of Silicon Hills News

Austin is shining brightly in the month of December with all kinds of great events to put knowledge into your noggin. But it’s also a time to have fun and celebrate our successes, which is why we invite you to our 2018 Austin Tech Calendar Party on Dec. 14th at the Zebra. We hope to see you there as we spotlight 12 of Austin’s movers and shakers in the tech industry. And we’ll continue to celebrate them throughout 2018 as each startup or technology advocate gets a month as a “high tech pinup.” So even if you can’t make the party (tickets are limited at this point), please buy a tech calendar to support the work we do at Silicon Hills News all year around. We’ve entered our 7th year as an independent woman-owned media company. Now that’s something to celebrate. Plus, 20 percent of the proceeds of ticket and calendar sales go to Austin Pets Alive!

Tuesday – Dec. 5: The Austin Forum’s Annual Tech for Giving and Sharing Event
Where: Impact Hub North, 5540 N. Lamar Blvd.
When: Doors and cash bar open at 5:45 p.m. and presentations begin at 6:15 p.m.
What: Speakers include Barbary Brunner, Austin Tech Council, Chelsea Collier, Digi.City, John Nehme, Allies Against Slavery, Leo Ramirez Jr. Encast, Zoe Schlag, Techstars Impact and Monica Maldonado Williams, The New Philanthropists. Admission is free but this month, they ask participants to bring a new, unwrapped toy for its Operation Blue Santa Toy Drive. Toy Joy will also be onsite with gift cards to donate.

Tuesday: Dec. 5th: Women in Tech Mega Happy Hour Gathering
Where: Apanas Coffee & Beer, 11501 Rock Rose, No. 118
When: 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
What: A quarterly mega happy hour and networking mixer with the goal of connecting women in tech, data and code in ATX. They are also partnering with Dress for Success Austin to do a drive for shoes and purses at the event.

Wednesday – Dec. 5: iCONIC Exchange Austin
Where: 800 Congress Ave.
When: 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
What: The event put on by Inc. and CNBC features local entrepreneurs and business leaders and Shark Tank’s Kevin “Mr. Wonderful” O’Leary.

Wednesday – Dec. 6: Unconscious Biases
Where: Accruent, 11500 Alterra Parkway #110
When: 5:45 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
What: Unconscious bias can affect how people make decisions. This panel explores what unconscious bias is, how it affects us, and what we can do about it. Panelists include Shonte Jovan Taylor, an author, neuroscientist, success trainer and social entrepreneur, Kate Wilkinson, who oversees Accurent’s recruiting team, Ashley Jennings, co-founder of DivInc and co-owner and executive producer of Spero Labs and Jenn Lowe, an active leader in Accruent EmpoWer.

Thursday – Dec. 7: Austin Tech Happy Hour
Where: The Dogwood, 715 W. 6th Street
When: 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
What: Since 2007, Bryan Menell has been hosting the Austin Tech Happy Hour. It’s an informal gathering of Austin’s technology community and is always a fun and festive event.

Friday- Dec. 8: DivInc Demo Day
Where: Google, 500 W. 2nd Street, 29th floor
When: 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
What: It’s the Fall 2017 DivInc cohort’s Demo Day. Listen to pitches by: Roman Gonzalez, founder of Gardenio, Shambrekia Wise, founder of FuzeU, Yogi Patel, founder of juzeit, Wes Riddick and Cristina Rodgers, founder of the Maximus Box, Sara Brinton, founder of Penguino Travel, Ashley Behnke, founder of Spot Loc8r and Airion Watkins-Clark, founder of WutzGood Inc.

Friday – Dec. 8: Hack Austin presented by The City of Austin and Galvanize
Where: Galvanize, 119 Nueces Street
When: 6 p.m. Friday to 4 p.m. on Sunday
What: A weekend-long hackathon featuring data enthusiasts, developers, designers, analysts, data scientists and data engineering. They are going to tackle strategic initiatives for the City of Austin with a focus on health and safety. The event ends in a demo pitch event on Sunday to a panel of judges.

Saturday- Dec. 9: Hello World Demo Day
Where: Capital Factory, 701 Brazos Street
When: 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
What: Hello World’s Fall 2017 class featuring students from all over Austin will present projects covering a wide range of formats including mobile app competition, live coding competitions, live demos on data science concepts and more.

Monday – Dec. 11 – Sputnik ATX’s A Very B2C Christmas BBQ
Where: Sputnik ATX Headquarters, 301 Congress, Suite 2200
When: 1 p.m.
What: Sputnik ATX is hosting a barbecue lunch for entrepreneurs. It’s a chance to meet the Sputnik ATX team and learn more about the accelerator. The theme is “A Very B2C Christmas” and interested participants are asked to send their best ideas for a B2C product or service as part of a contest to attend.

Tuesday – Dec. 12 – Wednesday, Dec. 20 – Happy Hanukkah

Wednesday – Dec. 13th – Startup Grind Holiday Party
Where: Capital Factory, 701 Brazos Street
When: 7 p.m.
What: Startup Grind is hosting a holiday party at Capital Factory for tech entrepreneurs.

Thursday Daytime – Dec. 14th – Artificial Intelligence Conference
Where: Capital Factory, 701 Brazos Street: First Floor
When: 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
What: A conference on artificial intelligence by Navidar spotlighting Austin-based AI pioneers featuring several question and answer panels.

Thursday – Dec. 14th – Silicon Hills News 2018 Austin Tech Startup Calendar Party
Where: The Zebra, 98 San Jacinto
When: 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
What: Silicon Hills News is hosting its annual calendar party to celebrate its fourth annual calendar and the technology startups and innovators featured in it. There’s still a few tickets left to the party which kicks off at 6 p.m. at The Zebra. We’ll have Mama Fu’s thanks to TriNet, our food sponsor, and Drink Slingers will be tending bar. We’ll have Austin East Cider chilling, Twisted X beer, Champagne, Rose, White Wine, Pinot Noir, Red wine, ShadeTree Lemonade, HeyDay Cold Brew Coffee, Topo Chico and more. Thanks to our sponsors: ServiceDirect, Manzer Communications, Underminer Studios. And our entertainment sponsor: Sputnik Accelerator. And a big thank you to our venue sponsor: The Zebra and our calendar sponsors: TARC Technology Solutions, InnoTech and the Austin Chamber of Commerce.

Monday – Dec. 25 – Merry Christmas

Tuesday – Dec. 26 – Jan. 1 – Kwanzaa

Monday – Jan. 1 – Get your 2018 Austin Tech Calendar and kick off the year right!

In Austin, Google Fiber unveiled three murals throughout the city that the company commissioned from local artists.

“Google Fiber believes that citizens should be always inspired and empowered to create a better city and a better future and that public art has a central role in the process,” according to a spokeswoman.

In Austin, three artists used their own style to tell the story of Austin.

At the Google Fiber Space at 201 W. Colorado, Austin Artist Mike “Truth” Johnston did a vibrant mural showing a person skateboarding with all kind of Austin icons in the background like a guitar, pinata, cowboy boot and more. The mural “Peace Love Austin” is left open to interpretation, a Google Fiber spokesman said.

When Google Fiber launched in Austin in 2014, the company hired Johnston to do a design on its Google Fiber vans. He also did a mural inside the Google Fiber officer.

A couple blocks over, in a parking garage, Johnston painted a Love Wins mural. He does a lot of murals for tech companies and other businesses in Austin.

“When Austin talks about keep Austin weird, this is one way to keep Austin Weird,” Johnston said. “Austin is creative, Austin is alive. Austin is creative. Austin is fun. Austin is peace, love.”

The other murals are located at I-35 and 6th Street by Zuzu and Encore Records at 809 E. 6th Street by Mila Sketch.

On Giving Tuesday, Austin-based Favor announced it is joining with Feeding Texas and local toy drives across the state to help those in need this holiday season.

Now through Dec. 15th, people can use the Favor app to donate directly to toy drives in six Texas cities and Favor is waiving the delivery fee.

“Simply open the Favor app, choose from various local toy drives featured, select the toy bundle you’d like to donate and your Favor Runner will purchase the items and deliver them to the Toy Drive’s drop-off location,” according to a news release. “Favor will cover the cost of the delivery fee for your donation, users just pay the processing fee and tip (minimum $2) that goes directly to their Runner.”

The toy drive donation feature is available 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. It’s good for the following toy drives:

Austin – Blue Santa Toy Drive
Dallas – Santa’s Helpers Toy Drive
Fort Worth – Cowboy Santas Toy Drive
Houston – Operation Stocking Stuffer
San Antonio – Blue Cares Toy Drive
San Marcos – Blue Santa Toy Drive

And Favor is partnering with Feeding Texas to raise funds to feed hungry people this holiday season. Now through Dec. 31, people can donate to Feeding Texas after completing their Favor transaction. Feeding Texas empowers 21 food banks across Texas and serves all 254 counties in the state.

Emma, a digital marketing platform based in Nashville, announced Tuesday that it is now accepting nominations for its 14th annual Emma 25 honorees.

The program, Emma 25, grants select nonprofit organizations Emma email marketing services for a lifetime. The free accounts let nonprofit organizations distribute email to up to 5,000 contacts per month.

To date, Emma has created 400 free accounts for nonprofit organizations and those organizations have sent more than 55 million emails. And that has helped change countless lives, according to Emma.

Nominations are open to any 501c3 nonprofit organizations with ten or less employees. Applications are due by Friday, Dec. 15th.

“In the spirit of Giving Tuesday, we are excited to announce another year of awarding nonprofits with email marketing services as part of Emma 25,” Colby Cavanaugh, senior vice president of marketing at Emma, said in a news release. “We are so proud of this program and the 400 nonprofits we have supported over the past thirteen years. We look forward to continuing to help change the way those companies are able to spread the word about donations, volunteers and changed lives through the power of email.”

In 2016, Emma 25 recognized a range of nonprofits, including organizations focused on domestic violence, human trafficking, mental health and education.

“Becoming an Emma 25 honoree was a game-changer for us,” Andrea Kelsey, Operations Manager for SIMA (Social Impact Media Awards) said in a news release. “Resources can be hard to come by, but Emma 25 has allowed us to grow our list of supporters and send great-looking email in a way we just couldn’t do before.”

Emma plans to announce the winners in early January.

Austin-based Bazaarvoice has signed a deal to be acquired by Marlin Equity Partners, a global investment firm, for approximately $521 million.

Under the deal, Bazaarvoice would become a private company.

Marlin Equity Partners, based in Los Angeles, plans to pay $5.50 in cash for each share of Bazaarvoice stock. Bazaarvoice is traded on the Nasdaq market under the symbol BV. Marlin’s price is 18 percent higher than the average closing price of Bazaarvoice common stock for the 30-calendar day period ending Nov. 24th, according to a news release.

“The Board of Directors appreciates the patience that our stockholders have shown as we’ve worked to improve our business and operations,” Tom Meredith, chairman of the board, said in a news release. “The Board ultimately decided, after extensive engagement with stockholders and an extended and thorough process, that Marlin’s offer to acquire Bazaarvoice is the best way to maximize value for our stockholders.”

“We are pleased to announce this transaction which enables our stockholders to realize immediate cash value at a premium and provides Bazaarvoice with the operational flexibility it needs to continue its strategic vision,” Gene Austin, Bazaarvoice’s chief executive officer, and president, said in a news statement.

“This transaction represents a unique opportunity to invest in a leading provider of consumer-generated content applications and data offerings,” Nathan Pingelton, a principal at Marlin, said in a news statement. “We are excited to partner with the entire Bazaarvoice team to build upon the company’s success and support their long-term objectives of continued revenue growth and product innovation.”

Bazaarvoice’s headquarters will remain in Austin, according to the release. The transaction is pending shareholder and regulatory approval. It is expected to close early next year.

Bazaarvoice also canceled its previously scheduled conference call set for Wednesday to discuss its fiscal second quarter 2018 financial results.

Brett Hurt and Brant Barton co-founded Bazaarvoice in 2005. The company helps brands and retailers market to customers through consumer-generated content including ratings and reviews.

EverlyWell, the Austin-based startup that makes at-home healthcare tests, asked for a $1 million investment for a 5 percent equity stake in its company, on Shark Tank Sunday night.

Julia Cheek, the founder, and CEO, ended up with a $1 million line of credit at an eight percent interest rate for a five percent equity stake from Shark Lori Greiner.

“We actually desperately need a line of credit,” Cheek said as she accepted the offer.

EverlyWell sells 13 at home lab testing kits for everything from checking cholesterol to vitamin D deficiency. Other kits check for sexually transmitted diseases, thyroid, metabolism and more.

Cheek founded the company in 2015 in her hometown of Dallas. She moved the company to Austin about a year later. EverlyWell has since raised $5 million in total funding.

EverlyWell had revenue of $2.5 million last year and expects revenue of $5 million this year, Cheek told the sharks. The company’s monthly run revenue rate is $400,000 and is growing 20 percent month over month, she said. The company’s burn rate, the amount of money it is losing every month because of expenses, is $150,000 a month, Cheek said.

Mark Cuban went out early saying the business would need a lot of money to scale and he thought it would face increasing competition. Sharks Robert Herjavec and Barbara Corcoran also dropped out.

Guest Shark Rohan Oza said the at-home lab testing business is hugely expensive and it would take tens of millions of dollars of investment to make it a success. He dropped out too.

But Greiner thinks because of the state of healthcare in the country right now is so precarious that EverlyWell has the right product at the right time. She vowed to use her QVC connections to market EverlyWell nationwide.

Cheek appeared pleased with the deal and decided not to make a counteroffer.