Introducing Executive Dispatch: A Newsletter Group for Busy Founders

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).

I was at a group dinner the other night with Chris Seals, the founder of Still Austin, and one of the most thoughtful business owners I’ve ever met, and he asked me what it’s been like running this newsletter for almost two years now.

The simple answer: It’s changed my life.

Set aside the fact that I never would have been in that room without ABR. The doors it’s opened, friendships it’s sparked, and experiences its fostered have changed everything about my career and how I spend my days.

I’ve been having more and more conversations with founders about newsletters lately. My position is simple…

If you’re thinking of starting a newsletter, do it. And if you’re looking for help, I’m hosting an accountability group, designed to teach you the basics and help you get going.

• Dates: Oct 5th - Nov. 16th (6 weeks)

• Who: Founders & CEOs

• Cost: It’s $1k to join, and you get 100% of that back by finishing

You read that right – you get 100% of your entry fee back. All you need to do is press ‘send’ on one newsletter per week during the six weeks. Even if it’s short. Even if I’m the only reader (Hint: I won’t be).

Along the way, I’ll be hosting weekly sessions to teach things like what tools to use, how to come up with irresistible story ideas, the basics of growth, monetization, and more.

I’ve also got friends of mine coming in to do guest Q&A’s. Industry experts who’ve built 6- to 8-figure businesses driven by email.

If you’ve been thinking of doing a newsletter, and you’re looking for a peer group to do it with, this is a great option. You can read more here or sign up directly.

-Ethan

PS. 👇👇👇

Upcoming Events

🗓️ TONIGHT: Austin Hardware Meetup: If you geek out on hard tech, join Nick Frank and others for show & tells (feel free to bring your own demo too)

🗓️ TONIGHT: Continuing To Serve Through Ownership: Brittney Bianchi is hosting a group of veterans to talk about their experience owning businesses after the uniform

🗓️ TONIGHT: Pat & Umar’s PE/VC Happy Hour: Pat Moody and Umar Brimah are back with their epic meetup for 150+ founders, VCs, and operators in ATX

🗓️ TONIGHT: Sales OStin: Fractional GTM Execs Chris Palmisano and Tiffany Gonzalez talk data-driven sales management at different enterprise stages

🗓️ TONIGHT: AI Talk: Nancy Burditt and Atlas Cloud team are hosting a live discussion, following up on CEO Jerry Tang’s recent appearance on the AI Space Podcast

🗓️ Sept. 26: Guided Coworking + Founder Q&A: Featuring Angie Lee co-founder of SOUL, which is a quite successful THC/CBD company.

🗓️ Sept. 29: Current Trends in M&A: Robyn Siers has worked hundreds of M&A deals, and will share trends she’s seeing in various industries (founders only)

🗓️ Sept. 30: ScaleUp - Raising Venture: Part of Shannon Sibold’s annual series, for founders scaling from 7- to 8-figures

🗓️ Sept. 30: Workforce of Tomorrow: Chris Hyams, former CEO of Indeed, will speak with Dr. Lindsay Whorton about preparing people for a rapidly changing workforce

🗓️ Oct. 1: TWIB Online Connect: Texas Women in Business’ in-person events always fill up fast so if you haven’t made it to one of those yet, try this

🗓️ Oct. 1: Startup Grind AI Summit: More than a dozen speakers will cover everything from fundraising in the new AI economy to Trust, Safety, and Authenticity under AI

🗓️ Oct. 2 Health Hustlers: An exclusive group for health and wellness founders, hosted by my friends, Corey Hiben and Erin Laverone

🗓️ Oct. 2: Beyond the Broadcast: The Greater Austin Asian Chamber is hosting Syeda Carillo, Blair Waltman-Alexin, and other leaders from local media

Other Fun Stuff Coming Up

• TONIGHT: Sauvignon Blanc: From Sancerre to Stellenbosch

• TONIGHT: Jazz Outside on East 11th

• Sept. 26: First Annual Pancake Eating Contest at Toasty Badger

• Sept. 26: Rooftop Chess at Vanta Athletics

• Sept. 26: Movie Under The Stars - Monsters Inc at Ski Shores

• Sept. 26-27: Waterwork - Art projected on the Historic Seaholm Waterfront

• Sept. 27: Forty Love - Cold Plunge & Cocktails

• Sept 27-28: Matt Rife Live at the Moody Theatre

• Oct. 2: An Evening of Lionel Richie at The Paramount

• Oct. 2: Vivid Parlor - Interactive Art &. Cocktail Party

• Oct. 4: Watercolors in the Wild at Shoal Creek Conservancy

• Oct. 4: The Grape Lot - Austin FC Parking Lot Wine Party

• Oct. 4: Radiohead Trip

• Oct. 4: Oyster Fest

• Oct. 4-5: World Coffee Fest at Mozarts

• Oct. 5: Wild At Heart - Floral Design Class

• Oct. 5: Austin Shakespeare Beatles Cabaret

Word On The Street

A roundup of cool local opportunities to grow, or give back

💪 Call For Mentors: UT’s Social Entrepreneurship Learning Lab (SELL) is looking for mentors for their upcoming batch of student fellows. It’s an 8-week program, helping undergrads who want to start social-good companies, and if you’d like to get involved, email Ben Pfeffer for more info

Insights

Thought-provoking pieces, published by founders and business leaders in ATX

1. Love Conquers Fear: Multi-time unicorn founder, Brett A. Hurt, launched his new podcast focused on the optimistic take on tech, AI, and the future. Brett recently sold his third 9-figure company, and this is his new focus, so definitely worth following

2 This Is Mind-Blowing: Justin Mares, founder of Kettle & Fire, writes one of my all-time favorite newsletters about health & wellness. The latest issue explores a jaw-dropping stat: Newborns in America today are expected to spend 37 years (men) and 48 years (women) taking prescription meds!!! What the actual f*ck?!

3. Extreme Brainstorming: Tim Ferriss recently resurfaced this gem from local founder, Jason Cohen, full of questions that force you to consider drastic changes in your biz. As we head into 2026 planning, this feels like the time to read.

Founder You Should Know: Jesse Lozano

Jesse Lozano is the founder of Intellectible, a company that works hands-on with consultants and other complex service co’s to automate their manual processes with AI.

We first met through a program here in Austin called Boost ATX, where Jesse and I had one of my favorite conversations in recent memory – about aging as a founder, and how neither one of us competes in quite the same way we used to.

“The younger version of me would just eat through any mountain,” he said, staring into the middle distance as nearly two decades of business experience flashed before his eyes.

“He’d still lose to me today though.”

It was a great reminder for me about why we need to learn from each other in this space – because I’m not always sure I’d out-compete the younger version of myself. There’s a lot I’m not sure about. And in those moments, it helps to borrow the certainty of others, like Jesse.

Check out this piece for a closer look at how he’s building his second large company, the unconventional decisions he’s made, where they are (or aren’t) spending money, and more.

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