Welcome to this issue of The Austin Business Review, a weekly roundup of great local events and insights for Austin business owners (plus some other cool stuff for your life outside of work).

This week is a special one, because we’re highlighting Tom Gimbel, who oversees what I believe is one of the most important art collections in the city (you’ll see why in a sec).

We’ve also got…

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-Ethan

PS. In case you didn’t see my email Tuesday night, I’m starting a community for readers of this email – a place to take the conversation further, to make fascinating connections, and learn from/share with one another.

It’s been fun to see the excitement around this, and we’ll be officially kicking the group off Monday. But if you want to get in at the founding-member rate, I’m leaving it open until midnight Sunday (that’s about when everyone’s seen this email). This city’s full of fascinating founders, investors, and operators. Join us 👇

🗓️ TONIGHT: Agentict Demo Night: Andrew Forsyth, Brad Videon, and crew are gathering local founders for a showcase of six production-grade AI demos

🗓️ TONIGHT: First Commit: Jake O’Shea is sitting down for a fireside chat with Bryon Jacob, co-founder of data.world (valued at $350m+ and sold last May to ServiceNow)

🗓️ Jan. 26: Reflect & Realign: Kat Stacy is kicking off the year for Austin Enlightenment Society with a workshop to guide 2026 planning

🗓️ Jan. 27: Women in Business Networking: Co-hosted by the Creative Collective and Parlor Social Club

🗓️ Jan. 27: State of AI in ATX: KILLER panel from the Austin AI alliance, with opening keynote from Vivek Mohindra, SVP, Special Advisor to Vice Chair & COO, at Dell

🗓️ Jan. 28: AI Impact Summit: Hosted by the US India Chamber of Commerce over at the public library on W. Cesar Chavez

🗓️ Jan. 28: Robotics & AI: HICAM is bringing in Ivelin Ivanov and Lax Mandal for talks on the future of collaborative robots and decentralized learning for machines

🗓️ Jan. 28: Chamber Social: Laid back happy hour down at Happy Chicks with the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce

🗓️ Jan. 29: Hold The Booze Founder Hold’Em: A new one by John Davison, Connor Tomkies, and Nate Schiedehaus for anyone rounding out Dry January

🗓️ Jan. 29: Founders After Five: Preston James’ organization, Divinc, is hosting a get-together at Remedy, one of my favorite bars in town (co-owned by Jay Boisseau, founder of Austin AI Alliance, and Austin Forum on Tech & Society)

🗓️ Jan. 29: Fridge Fire: Chris Taylor’s firing up the brand new sauna over at The Red Fridge Society for a morning social with Mark Hellweg, founder of Vim Custom Saunas

🗓️ Jan. 30: Founders Pickup Basketball: Every month, Nick Schenck hosts a pickup game for founders at Ramsey Neighborhood Park starting at 5PM. Drop in, or email him here to get on the list for future dates

Other Fun Stuff Coming Up

💸 1. GTM Resolutions for 2026: I really enjoyed Hayes Davis’ recent piece breaking down three focus areas for sales leaders in the new year. It’s calm, practical, and focused on results rather than noise

🤖 2. Building Agents To Automate CPG Supply Chain: A year ago, Colin McNamara was waking up with panic attacks. Now, thanks to three key systems he’s automated over time, his life is better. This is an excellent and very practical piece on using AI to free up mental bandwidth as a founder.

🎙️ 3. The CMO Exit Playbook: Isaiah Studivent sat down for a great interview with local investor and former CMO, Nick Tippman, to talk about negotiating comp packages, working with boards, scaling from $0 to 8-figures, and more.

If you ever read the welcome email I send out right after signing up for this newsletter, you’ll recognize this little frog-guy, Jeremiah The Innocent, and know the role he plays in preserving the unique culture of Austin.

If you haven’t, the short version is that the Jeremiah mural was commissioned on the old Sound Exchange record shop by artist Daniel Johnston, a musician here in town who built a cult following by passing out cassettes one at a time, who was known to be a favorite of legends like Kurt Cobain, and who grappled with mental health his whole life.

Sound Exchange shut down back in 2003. But the mural meant so much to people, multiple owners who’ve inhabited the building ever since have chosen to preserve it (sometimes, at great expense to themselves).

To me, it’s always been a meaningful reminder of how we as business owners have a role to play preserving what makes Austin great, even as it grows into something new.

It’s been an important story to me ever since I started this newsletter, which is why it’s SO cool have Tom Gimbel in here today, talking about the Hi, How Are You Project.

Gimbel has managed Johnston’s art ever since 1996, and his foundation is responsible for running Hi, How Are You Day – a concert and fundraiser here in town that raises money in support of mental health, and bringing people together.

Without further ado, here’s Tom…

The Hi, How Are You Project is a nonprofit that supports mental wellness for young people ages 14–24 through awareness, education, and meaningful connection—using music, art, and community as the front door.

Our origin story starts with a concert. The first Hi, How Are You Day took place on January 22, 2018. At the time, we genuinely thought it would be a one-time event—a celebration of Daniel Johnston and a simple call to action for Austin: reach out to someone and say “Hi, how are you?”—and mean it.

Austin Mayor Steve Adler officially declared it Hi, How Are You Day, and Daniel performed what would be his last live show.

What happened next completely surprised us. We received letters and messages from fans around the world sharing how Daniel’s music had helped them through difficult moments. The media response was overwhelming—SPIN, Rolling Stone, and VICE all covered the event. That combination of real human impact and cultural resonance made it clear this couldn’t just be a one-off. We formed the 501(c)(3) and committed to building something lasting.

Our first real “customer,” in a business sense, was our first anchor partner: American Campus Communities. That relationship began when ACC purchased the Goodall-Wooten dorm, the building that houses Daniel Johnston’s iconic Hi, How Are You mural. It grew into a meaningful partnership and eventually expanded into a national effort. Today, we work with 30 student housing companies through the College Student Mental Wellness Advocacy Coalition, reaching 850,000 students nationwide and in Canada.

We made a very intentional decision to make mental wellness feel “entertaining—not clinical.” Instead of leading with heavy terminology or a traditional “program” model, we built experiences young people actually want to show up for—concerts, creative moments, and community events where music and connection are the entry point.

That choice was also personal. I spent 12 years running Austin City Limits on Austin PBS and have worked in the music business for decades, so I’ve seen firsthand how powerful live music can be as a connector. We leaned on those relationships—artists, managers, labels, media, and the broader creative community—to help book events and amplify our message through storytelling and social campaigns.

That decision shaped everything. It helped us reach people—especially young people—who might never engage with something labeled “mental health.” And it’s helped us build momentum with partners because the work feels positive, authentic, and genuinely engaging while still creating real impact.

It’s not exactly a hidden gem, but I’d say The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle.

The core idea—learning to live in the present—has been incredibly powerful for my mental well-being. Regret is often worrying about the past. Anxiety is worrying about the future. “Now” is the only place we can actually take action.

That message feels especially relevant for young people today. Constant screen time and social media pull attention away from the present moment and away from real connection. A big part of mental wellness, in my opinion, is getting off the screens and back into community—real conversations, real relationships, and real life.

I used to think you needed a map—a detailed business plan—to get where you’re going. I’ve learned that just taking the first step can make all the difference.

With the Hi, How Are You Project, nearly every meaningful opportunity or pivot has come from outside of any plan we could have written. It’s been people in the community reaching out and saying, “I want to get involved,” and that momentum opening doors we couldn’t have predicted. Now I believe in clarity of mission first—and then action. Move, stay open, and let the community help shape the path forward.

My Peloton bike.

The biggest trick is just getting on the bike. Once you do that, everything else follows. I love the virtual classes, and the music element makes a huge difference for me—it makes a 30- or 40-minute workout fly by. It’s been a consistent anchor for my energy, mental health, and overall well-being.

Yes—I’m married. I met my wife, Courtney, at Mean Eyed Cat. And honestly, for someone who loves music as much as I do, meeting your wife at a Johnny Cash tribute bar makes perfect sense.

Courtney has been my inspiration and my partner throughout the Hi, How Are You Project journey. She’s dealt with depression for her adult life and takes medication daily. It used to be something she tried to hide, but now she’s a powerful advocate for being open about mental health challenges. I’ve seen that when she shares her story, others immediately open up and share what they’re going through too. That kind of mutual, peer-to-peer support is really what the Hi, How Are You Project is all about.

The Continental Club.

Business owners and entrepreneurs often live in their heads and on their screens. If you’re in Austin, a night at the Continental is a reset—great live music, a cold Lone Star beer, friendly people, and a reminder that you live in a community known as the “Live Music Capital of the World.” It’s Austin at its best: different kinds of people in the same room, moved by great music. That’s good for unwinding…and just having fun.

That’s all for this week!

Email me here if you want to share any feedback, or let me know about an event you’re hosting.

Until next week,

-Ethan