Austin Spotlight: Recent Episodes
Troy Schlicker
Jimmy Yen has built the largest acupuncture clinic in Austin, TX through a mission to help people restore their body's natural ability so they can do what they love.
Bandolier Media is an award winning company that has created original IP and relevant brand content along with managing day to day social media for clients. They have also developed and launched the world’s first spicy coffee brand, Roasty Buds.
Nicole Palomo McCharen created Mama Bloom in 2016 a powerful guided postpartum group that provides connection, reassurance, and resources. Through the years, Nicole put together a team of professionals and mamas who are committed to facilitating these group experiences.
Jason is a lifelong Austinite, athlete, technology innovator, team builder, and entrepreneur who approaches his career and business as a sport. His latest venture, Wellcore is bringing an ultra-premium health & wellness business that scales through virtual care technologies.
Elijah is an artist with technical, creative, and productive capabilities. He combines stories along with technique to develop works of art with iconic design and timeless beauty that appeals to audiences of all ages and cultures.
Jodie King is your straight-talking friend, fellow paint-slinger, and mindset slayer. She likes to create things while breaking some rules and making a mess, because life is more fun in the splash zone.
Amy Laine is the co-founder and CEO of SandwYch. She is a gerontologist, an entrepreneur, daughter, wife, stepmom, and dog mom. In addition to co-founding SandwYch. As a business owner, she understands what it takes to move mountains and how to get things done.
A Sydney native, Byron is an entrepreneur with a background in commercial real-estate, the family business. He's run and been the co-founder of several ventures in a variety of fields. His lastest XSpace is bringing a new type of commercial space to Austin, TX.
Renée Rouleau is a celebrity esthetician, beauty entrepreneur and skin expert who established her namesake skincare brand in 1996. Having built her company from the ground up over the last 25+ years, Renée has learned the value of growing a great company versus a big company and building a brand that has recently being named as “A Best Place to Work” by Austin Business Journal.
Ever the entrepreneur, Vi Friebertshauser made her first dollar in first grade by trading in found soda cans. She's continued to scale up her life and her business pursuits with her most recent being Homads in 2015. Her philosophy and that of Homads is simple. Don't Settle. Settle In.
After discovering a mutual love of donuts while dating, Andy & Nicole decided they wanted to recreate their favorites from stratch. From starting in their home kitchen over five years ago, to signing a lease on a commercial kitchen they have continued to grow with their community and fans. They've been lucky enough to work with local businesses and events and look forward to the day they can open their own donut shop.
With a love of jiu jitsu and having been trained by some excellent teachers Gabe Pearlman decided to open his own jiu jitsu studio after moving to Austin from Providence, RI. As the owner of Sheild Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Gabe is able to pass on the lessons he learned and build the jiu jitsu community.
Jocelyn Harris is an avid food warrior, invisible disability fighter, and a brain aneurysm and stroke survivor. After a wonderful career at Disney, she left to focus on her own baking project and opened a bakery called SugaPlump Pastries in Austin, TX. Then came her 100+ pound weight loss journey. She started developing more and more recipes that showcased healthier ingredients.
After struggling to find healthcare when she became self-employed, Melissa Blatt turned the struggle into an opportunity and created Indipop, a health care company geared toward the independent popluation of self-employed professionals and small business owners.
Alexander Linn is an entrepreneur with experience in artifical intelligence, building science, energy techologies and economic development. His goal is to build technologies that promotes the development of better communities. His current company Shipshape AI does this by connect home systems to help owners detect and fix potential issues with their homes prior to them becoming serious.
As a graduate of the University of Texas Austin and the CEO of the Austin Monitor, Joel Gross has been interested and invested in what happens in the Austin community for some time. At the Austin Monitor his mission is to educate residence on what is happening and shaping the city they live in.
Since he was a kid, Grant King has had an unwavering love for the kitchen. The inspiration he received from his mother laid the foundation of his cooking skills. Combining that with knowledge acquired from some of his favorite chefs has lead him to develop his own style of cooking and entertaining.
Liz is an entreprenuer in the film, TV and voiceover industry. Her latest venture CastVoices is working to make the business of voiceover casting simple, accessible and transparent.
Aaron Bergman has a passion for two things: teaching and golf. He has blended his two passions into a one-of-a-kind golfing experience that’s changing the face of the game for the better. Golfinity is the vision for a better, more effective golf instruction experience.
Jennifer Porton has always loved making spaces beautiful, functional, and organized. She's taken that passion and created Jen's Pro Organizing to adapt her skills to her clients personalized needs to make their spaces calming, relaxing and inviting.
Forrest is a 7th Generation Texan who is enthusiastic about Texas history. She provide insight on rare stories from the history of Texas on her social media platforms.
Patter Paws Pet Company was born with the vision from Tessa Nappi of providing services for pets in the comfort of their home to allow for lowest level of stress for pets and the highest level of convenience for pet owners.
Frustrated by the landscape of baby foods in 2016, Joe and his wife Serenity, decided to start their own healthy and nutritious baby food brand, and Serenity Kids was born.
In this episode I answer some real estate questions submitted by listeners from if we are in a housing bubble to things to help if you are planning to buy or sell your home.
Cristina Puscas is a nutritional health coach and personal trainer, empowering women who are looking to break down dieting habits to become stronger and more powerful in fitness and in life.
Grant Hanson shares his journey through addiction and how he now spends his career providing tools and guidance to his patients and clients to ensure they maintain their health and gain strength in recovery so they can live with excellent mental fitness.
As the owner of Forever Forward PT, Mark has taken the physical therapy process and made it mobile to provide easier access for his patients and clients and has brought the physical therapy clinic to the community.
Krista is a nutritionist who's mission is to guide you to discover the body, health, and lifestyle that feels best for you, which you can maintain while living life to the fullest. Living Large is about experiencing life, dreaming big, setting goals, and aligning your health with your unique values.
George Vance McGee is a native Austinite, author of 3 self-published books and a Realtor with Austin Silent Market. He has seen all of the tremendous growth and changes that Austin has experienced and enjoys helping his clients navigate the current market.
Jen Shultz quit her career as a teacher when it left her without purposes but with anxious and depression. She then dedicated herself to creating her own career path and now educates and coaches others that are meant to leave the typical 9-5 and venture out on their own.
Ryan Kober is a chef, actor and food blogger who has recently relocated to Austin and is enjoying exploring the city and sharing his adventures. He has a top 5 happy hour deal recommendations and we discuss the 5 restaurants and what makes each a great place to check out.
Pavel Kolenda and Kelly Kassian from Backyard Pod join me to discuss the first year of building a startup. They share the fun in seeing the quick growth as well as some of the challenges they have had to navigate along the way.
Elisa creates curated online enrichment programs that take your employee's interest in mind. Whether you're bringing your remote teams together to focus on personal growth or dedicate to their wellness. Elisa believes when you invest in your employees, they become more invested in you.
In this interview with Dr. Brynna Connor we discuss the journey to opening up her own practice. The challenges in running a family medicine practice and the innovations that the last few years have brought to her practice.
Danielle Fewings has been a business owner for a number of years, but after having challenging experiences with various marketing companies, she decided to invest in herself and learn how to effectively run marketing which is how Styledaf Consulting was born.
Victor Celania helps men build a wardrobe that can really transform the way a man dresses. On top of running his own company he's also into the early 1900s era and enjoys playing in a band and the swing dancing that help keep that era alive.
This episode is an interview with Daniel Tyranski, Founder & Chief Creative at Nomadic Beerworks in south Austin. We talk about his love of beer, starting a business with family and what some of the biggest challenges have been for him as an entrepreneur.
Michael Barnes joins me to discuss his early career as a teacher, then his transition into the startup world and creating business to help teachers, renters and others.
Meghan Gonzalez is the Editor-in-Chief of MyPoint.TV a startup bringing news through digital and social media channels that is curated by local citizens. We discuss her early career of wanting to be an on-air TV personality to transitioning to a producer for several different programs and stations and her current roll shaping the path of the startup MyPoint.TV
Jayme Shiarla spent many years growing through the adversities life brought her way. Her growth through those lessons gave her the passion to find her true calling to help others grow through what life has brought them. Armed with her Life Coaching Certification and lessons from her own life she has becoming a NLP Practitioner to achieve her mission of helping other achieve the greatness they are capable of.
K.Lee Marks is the Founder of Podcast Farm. He uses his experience in digital marketing and podcast to help other podcaster reach their intended audience, grown their community and amplify their businesses.
Albert Baez is the Co-Founder & President of Blended Sense. We discuss his transition from NYC to Austin and his early years in the start-up world prior to starting his own company. We also discuss how his company connect creatives with business owners to help them grow their business by getting their story out.
My interview with Max Kunik of Austin Taster's Table Club discusses his start in building a restaurant club with some friends from college as a way to try out different restaurants in the Austin area as well as connect with other Austin foodies.
Jeanette is the Author of "The Day I Threw Banana Bread and Almost Went to Jail" and has her own coaching practice where she helps parents and families build happier, heathier homes.
I'm joined by Wendy Elder Real Estate Advisor with Compass Real Estate. We discuss the journey of her real estate career and answer some of the most common questions we get from family, friends and clients about the current Austin real estate market.
Katie Fore is the Founder and Owner of The Elevated Stag. A consulting business to help busy, successful men with elevating their lifestyle through carefully curated interior design, home organization and wardrobe styling. Find out more about her lifestyle consulting business as well as the rewards and challenges she has had being a small business owner.
In this episode of the Austin Spotlight I sit down with Adam Creighton the Founder and Studio Director of Enduring Games. We talk about his love of comics, his early career in acting and video game design and how that passion has lead to a career building games for other to enjoy.
The real estate market has been crazy both here in Austin and nationwide. While many people are running into multiple offer situations when trying to buy a home there are some things you can do to help your offer stand out and give you the best chance to win the deal. Check out these tips and reach out if we can provide and advice.
Mark Downs took his expertise at creating games and experiences along with his passion for travel and exploration and started a company with his wife to provide team building and group experiences to bring people close to each other and their cities.
Cinthya was a teacher with no baking experience and a distaste for chocolate who found her passion baking for her students and has turned herself into a Chocolatier. Hear her fascinating story.
Daran is the host of Establishing Your Empire and the CEO of Goboto. We discuss a range of topics from starting small businesses, hosting podcasts and playing beach volleyball.
In this episode I interview Chris Fuller-Wigg a tech employee in Austin who has turned his love of animals into a farm sanctuary for over 100 animals.
I chat with Manuel about his love of the game of pool and he's efforts to grow the game and the community.
Hall T. Martin is the Founder and CEO of the Texas Entrepreneur Network. Hall launched TEN Capital as the Texas Entrepreneur Networks in 2009. Today, the firm has over 12,000 investors in its network, and has helped startups raise over $700M and counting. We discuss the growth of the angel investor community in Austin and Texas.
Paul and I discuss a range of topics around entrepreneurship and technology in Austin. Paul highlights some of the factors that have allowed Austin to become a leading destination for innovation and we take a look at what Austin needs to do to continue fostering its growth.
The housing market in Austin has been "white hot" over the last year. Can we expect the good times to continue or should you prepare for a crash?
I take a look at the Austin housing market from 2020 and highlight my Austin Housing Market Report with all the details and data. I also look at the "white hot" start we've seem in 2021. Check out the report here: https://bit.ly/AustinHousingMarket2020
Award winning interior designed Christina Couvillion sits down to talk about her passion for interior design, running a business in Austin and gives us some design tips that you can inspire you for your next home project.
Hope everyone is surviving the crazy winter weather and utility outages we've been having. It's been inspiring to see the community come together. Please reach out if you need assistance.
This is an interview with Dr. Michelle Natinsky a licensed psychologist with her own private practice here in Austin, TX. Michelle's focus is on working with parents and teachers to help them connect to their own kids and the kids that they teach to build more fulfilling relationships. We discuss a wide range of topics along with her path to running her own practice. We also hit on the hot button topic of kids in technology.
I get Francheska to stop moving long enough to tell me about her fitness journey from initially trying to get in better personal shape in college to the passion and career that led her to and the creation of her community Francheska Fit. She also provides some tips on reaching your fitness goals for 2021.
I interview Jessica campus and we discuss her passions for networking, small businesses in Austin and how she has used those passions to drive a career in helping small business grow.
Angelique sits down and talks about how she was able to turn her hobby and passion for travel into a business and full-time career. We also discuss the challenges that face the travel industry right now and where deals can be had if you are looking to travel.
I interviewed Whitney and Jake and we discussed their journey to starting and running their business Steadfast Life Coaching as husband and wife. We also get into some tips to help you keep your New Year's resolutions for 2021.
This episode is from a recent Facebook Live I did with Ari Rastegar of Rastegar Property. Ari is a local real estate investor and developer in Austin. We discuss the current real estate market in Austin as well as what's happening in other parts of the country and how the national real estate market could affect Austin as we're on our way to becoming the 10th largest city in America.
This episode is a Facebook Live I did earlier this month with Rian Overcash of the The Habit Method. Rian is a Wellness Consultant helping people navigate the labyrinth of the health care system and to advocate for themselves to help find better solutions to their wellness.
I did a Facebook Live with Bri Logue and talked about her journey to Austin as well as running a social media agency in an expanding digital world.
I get the chance to talk with Wilson Hailey of Tezpresso and we discuss his steps to making the perfect cup of coffee.
With everything that going on in the world and the economy what impact is that having on the housing market and does buying or selling a home right now make sense?
Troy takes a look at how the Austin housing market performed in the first quarter of 2020 and highlights a few neighborhoods and subdivisions for more detailed analysis.
I interview Aubrey Lethbridge of Freedom Solar Power. We discuss the basics of solar power, answer some of the most common questions our clients ask us about solar and how to decide if the jump to solar could be the right decision for you.
I get the chance to sit down with Sara Fritsch of Moxie Space Professional Organizers and talk about the challenges of getting a space or home organized, the steps to take to get started and how to overcome some of the challenges along the way.
Most experts agree that we are likely to head into a recession. What would this mean for the real estate market? There are a number of indicators that show that a recession would not have the dramatic impact on the housing market like it did in 2008. Take a look at 5 key indicators that show the housing market is in much better shape this time around.
I interview Joe Barrero of AMP Telecom. We discuss some of the challenges of starting and running a small business including having to be a sales expert when his background is in I.T. and also some of his favorite foods and restaurants in Austin.
I interviewed Jack Cramer of the Austin Salt Cave a halotherapy center located in Lakeway, Texas. We discuss his entrepreneurial tendency as a child. The changes he's seen growing up in the Austin area and what prompted him to start his own business in the town he grew up in.
I interview Mark Woodruff of Woody Creative a website design, branding and marketing company in Austin, TX. We discuss his first website design which was the initial website for the fortune 500 company he was working for. The changes that have happened in the industry and the hands on approach they take to craft unique websites for their clients.
I interview Alberto Cohen a CPA with his own firm in Austin. We discuss his journey from Venezuela to Israel to Austin and he's provides some timely tips and words of caution as tax season approaches.
In the interview with David we talk about what factors went in to choosing Austin to start his new restaurant as well as his scientific approach to menu creation.
In my interview with Michael we talk about the challenges of starting a new business while also relocation across the country, his keys to business success, and I find out about a project he did for the Library of Congress.
I talk about the outlook for the real estate market in 2020 and highlight the 4 main factors that will drive the market.
I talk about school rating for 3 of Austin's most well regarded school districts, Eanes, Lake Travis, and Leander. Highlight a few of Austin's many traffic projects. Real Estate spotlight on Austin's lakes.
Have you heard about Opendoor, Offerpad or Properly? Been getting mail from them wanting to buy your home and have question? Listen to this episode of my podcast to find out more about them and if they might be the right option for you.