Tips on Raising Funds from Angel Investors at CTAN Workshop

By LAURA LOREK Reporter with Silicon Hills News Raising money is really, really hard, said Bob Baughman, co-founder of HUVRData. “I thought it was hard enough just to develop some great new idea and get the business case, but funding is really hard,” Baughman said. HUVRData closed in August on $2 million in a Series […]

Get Set to Rock at the ATC Battle of the Bands at Austin Startup Week

Tech and music go together like smartphones and selfies. And fresh off the first weekend of the Austin City Limits festival comes one of the biggest tech band battle showdowns of the year. This year, six bands hailing from the offices of local tech companies will compete at the Austin Technology Council’s Battle of the […]

Get Set for the Fifth Annual Austin Startup Week

Austin Startup Week is a great time to socialize and network with people in the Austin startup community and to learn something new. This is the fifth annual five day event. It kicks off Monday, Oct. 5th and runs through Friday, Oct. 9th. It started in 2011, the same week Silicon Hills News launched and […]

FBombs, The Startup Week Panel on Failure

By SUSAN LAHEY Reporter with Silicon Hills News In a panel dedicated to failure in starting up a business, the audience seemed to be most focused on one thing—the risks inherent in picking a co-founder. Panelists shared stories about enormous, botched business deals thanks to people they trusted, horrible lawsuits, embezzlement, and then the more […]

Austin Startup Week’s Werewolves Vs. Villagers

BY SUSAN LAHEY Reporter with Silicon Hills News Mercury Fund director Aziz Gilani says he uses it in board meetings because the premise isn’t who’s right, but who is most persuasive. Ali Syed of Justworks said it helps with pitch competitions. But mostly the 30 or so people who convened to play Werewolf at Techstars […]

Austin Startup Week Kicks Off

It’s that time of year again to celebrate Austin innovation, entrepreneurs and tech companies. Austin Startup Week, which began three years ago – the same week as Silicon Hills News, is bigger and better than ever before. And this week features lots of fun and free events. If you haven’t registered already, sign up now […]

Austin Technology Council Battle of the Bands: Geeks Who Rock

By SUSAN LAHEY Reporter with Silicon Hills News There are moments in a person’s life when the stars line up and they are—at least for that moment—totally cool. Take geeks. Geeks used to be completely uncool, juxtaposed against people who played in a band who were inherently cool. But now, geeks are just about the […]

Startup Week Founder Jacqueline Hughes: The Person Behind the Community

BY SUSAN LAHEY Reporter with Silicon Hills News Jacqueline Hughes seems the antithesis of a typical event coordinator—what Austin Technology Council’s Grover Bynum calls “whistle and clipboard” people. Event coordinators have reputations for being frenetic, type A, wearing frozen, stressed smiles. Hughes, curled up in an easy chair at Techstars Austin, seems relaxed, chill, though […]

VCs and Founders Give Advice on Funding a Startup

By LAURA LOREK Founder of Silicon Hills News Funded companies, which are performing well, get nice offices and free lunches for their employees, said Mike Dodd, partner with Austin Ventures. Mass Relevance is one of its portfolio companies performing quite well. And on Wednesday, the company hosted a panel discussion about successfully raising capital for […]

Battle of the Bands and Made in Austin at Austin Startup Week

By LAURA LOREK Founder of Silicon Hills News For the second year in a row, Eric Bandholz travelled from Spokane, Washington to attend Austin Startup Week. “I lived here in 2003 and 2004 and I’ve been waiting for past ten years to get back here,” Bandholz said. His favorite events during Austin Startup Week include […]