Austin Tech Stories – Volume Four

What Makes Austin Tech Tick? The People.

Forget the hype, the hot takes, and the think-pieces that treat Austin’s tech momentum like a trend to be scored. If you want to understand why this city keeps rising, talk to the people building companies, writing code, making hires, and choosing Austin… over and over again.

At the Austin Technology Council, we’re collecting these real stories. Not just the unicorns (though they’re fun), but the honest accounts of why people choose to grow their careers, teams, and lives here. These “Austin Tech Stories” spotlight the quiet wins, the meaningful moments, and the reasons Austin still works.

Because the real future of our tech ecosystem? It’s personal.

**************************************

From Jeff Fryer, Founder & CEO of The Fryer Group | Fractional CMO for
AI + Semiconductor Companies

We didn’t want to raise a New York City kid.

At the time, we were in Weehawken, New Jersey, commuting home late each night
from Port Authority to a two-year-old. No house. No backyard to call our own. No
breathing room.

We’d been searching for years for a way to get to Texas with the right job and the
right city. Then I spotted a role at Arm in a Facebook group: global social media
leadership, based in Austin. My wife had family here. She works in music PR. I’d
been to SXSW and felt the energy. It was tech-forward, but grounded. We were
ready for a reset.

I applied. A few weeks later, while boarding a flight to Houston to visit family, the
recruiter called. “I just learned that they’re starting in-person interviews
tomorrow,” she said. “But I know you’re not local…

“I’ll figure it out,” I told her.

I booked a rental car at the gate. Drove up the next morning. Got the job. We made
the move.

That was over a decade ago. A year later, our daughter was born here. We already
had friends in town from our NYC/NJ days, so it didn’t feel like starting over. It
felt like finally arriving.

Since then, I’ve built the kind of career I couldn’t have pulled off anywhere else. I
work nationally with mid-size semiconductor companies, AI chip startups, and
B2B tech founders who want their marketing to actually work. And I get to do that
from Austin – raising a family, walking my dog, having real conversations with the
people behind the companies I help – and with the cashiers at HEB.

Austin made that possible. The talent is strong. The community is real. And the
city still rewards people who show up.

There’s a reason why Austin is often named the best city for entrepreneurs to start
a business.

The next wave of Austin tech won’t be the loudest. It’ll be the most resilient. And
that’s exactly what this city is built for.