A City’s Journey Fred Schmidt Austin, Texas If Cities Were People… Cities & Ambition Paul Graham (Y Combinator founder), 2008 blog post • NEW YORK Be Rich • LOS ANGELES Be Famous • SAN FRANCISCO Go Big, Be Powerful • BOSTON Be Smart • WASHINGTON DC Be An Insider http://www.paulgraham.com/cities.html Austin Be Yourself Bijoy Goswami: Leadership Entrepreneur, Bootstrap Austin, Journey Stewardship How Austin Came To Be The Texas Revolution > Mexican‐American War • The Republic of Texas: 1836‐1846 • Government: state capitol 1839 • Academia: University of Texas • Service industries to above – Lawyers, lobbyists, researchers • Then electronics industry emerged – Tracor in 1955; Texas Instruments, IBM • Semiconductors followed in 80s Formation of Austin’s Creative Class …In the 60s. Why? • Cheap! • Large UT campus: 50K students! • Early music scene was the seed – Armadillo World HQ: hippies mixed with ranch hands over cold beer and great music. “Cosmic Cowboys” • Where musicians congregate, other creatives follow. Minstrel canaries. ATX Creative & Tech Industries Evolution • Music: “Live Music Capital” – Longstanding music history: post Civil War, Chitlin Circuit – 70s: clubs, live music – 80s: SXSW Music, 1987 • Film: “Third Coast” – Texas Film Commission, 1971 – 80s: Austin Film Society, 1985: Richard Linklater – SXSW Film: 1994 • Tech ‐ Interactive/Games: “Silicon Hills” – 60s: IBM, IC2, Mototola, 3M, semiconductors; Dell – 80s: Games: Origin Systems, Electronic Arts, Sony, Disney – SXSW “Multimedia” 1994 > Interactive: 1999 FACTS: SXSW economic impact 2011 = $167M 2012 = $190M 2013 = $218M 2014 = $315M Austin is HOT! Global brand for creativity. A destination! #1 US City For Job Growth (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2009) #1 Best City For The Next Decade & Best Crucible For Small Business (Kiplinger, 2010) #1 City For A Career (Womenco, 2009) #1 Best City In Which To Launch A Small Business (Portfolio.com, 2010) #1 Place Where Young Adults in 20s & 30s Can Establish Themselves (Portfoilo.com, 2010) > #1 Fastest Annual Employment Growth Rate (2.8%) > Strongest Concentration of Young People Ages 18‐34 (28%) #1 Most progressive & Entrepreneurial (Entrepreneur Magazine, July 2011) #1 in USA in Resident Satisfaction (2011 survey by ETC Institute) #1 American “Boom Town” for Next Decade (Forbes & Praxis Strategy Group, July 2011) #1 City Where Creativity & Capitalism Make Sweet Music Together (Entrepreneur, 2010) #1 City For A Fresh Start (Relocation.com, 2009) America’s Top Retail City (Pitney Bowes, 2009) Top 10 Budget Travel Destination (Budget Travel Magazine, 2009) One Of The 10 Greenest Cities In USA (Mother Nature Network, 2009) One Of The Best Cities For Recession Recovery (Forbes, 2009) Just a Few of Austin’s Global Celebs What Austin Has Going For It • Climate: hot better than cold • Great economics vs. either U.S. coast • No state income tax • Central location to world – East/West Coast, Asia/Europe • Solid foundation in all aspects of of creative endeavor – Music, film, tech, writing, photography, web, art, science • Liberal and open‐minded culture – Everybody here generally gets along; passionate; green, socially aware & connected We are a GLOBAL brand now Density: 10 Entertainment Districts Each District Distinct, Different 1. East 6th Street – historic; the most bars, food, shops; Alamo 2. Red River – connects to 6th; more bars; Stubbs 3. Warehouse – few blocks west; dining, bars; Austin Music Hall 4. 2nd St / Willie Nelson Blvd –shops, dining; ACL Live 5. West End / Market – ½ mile west; shopping; Whole Foods 6. Rainey Street –near south; bars & food in old homes 7. Convention Center – ground zero for SXSW conf/fest 8. Eastside – east of IH‐35 highway; more bars 9. SoCo (S. Congress) – ½ mile S. of river; shops, food, bars 10. The Drag / UT –1 mile N; student shopping area; few bars Slogan 1: Live Music Capital of the World Slogan 2: Keep Austin Weird Lessons Learned: Be Careful What You Wish For! • Limited housing availability; affordability issues • Significant traffic congestion; little mass transit • Exodus of the creative class: getting priced out • Shrinkage in African‐American population • Loss of unique/legendary local businesses • Lack of development property in/near CBD • Environmental challenges: ozone readings • Limited contractor pool • Drought and water struggles • Less happy mid‐term residents Austin’s Next Chapter Opportunities • Imagine Austin Plan: recently completed • Downtown Austin plan: recently completed • Completely new city governance structure in 2015 • Rewriting entire zoning code: CodeNEXT • Become THE Innovation City across many verticals – Creative industries and digital media – Life sciences, health & wellness, med tech – Educational technology – Green energy, smart/healthy living • Partner with an emerging, global, Smart Cities Network of similar sized and minded places So, FoCo…What’s YOUR Secret Sauce? INGREDIENTS Mountains, river = beauty, health Military outpost = history CSU = intellect, talent, youth Main Street USA model Festivals = culture, creativityOld Town = vitality Tech = desirable industry Prohibition ’69 > craft beer scene BRANDING ! Lamb Feeding Capital of WorldBest Place to Live Bohemian Nights Tour de Fat.