When a tech company moves to Austin, the first instinct is usually the same: hire a recruiter, find office space, put out a press release, sponsor something big, then assume the community will magically know who you are.
That’s not how Austin works.
Austin is growing fast, but it still operates like a big town with a long memory. People want to know you are here to participate, not just extract talent, customers, and attention. The companies who win in Austin play the long game. They show up, they contribute, they build trust, and they do it consistently.
If your company is new to town, here are four smart moves that help you get established in the Austin tech community without wasting time or money.
First, join the Austin Technology Council, and treat it like your community plan, not a membership you forget about. ATC is where you can plug into the real conversations about what is happening in Austin tech, meet the people who make things happen, and build familiarity over time. Membership works best when you turn it into a rhythm. Put leaders in the room, attend the breakfasts and gatherings, volunteer, sponsor intentionally, and be present enough that people begin to recognize your team. ATC alone is not the ONLY group to support, you should pick a few.
Second, show commitment through a cause. Pick one civic or charity lane that matters in Central Texas and commit for the year. STEM education, workforce development, digital skills, veterans, mental health, housing, food insecurity, there are countless ways to serve. The key is to make it real. Austin can spot performative giving from a mile away. Write checks if you can, but also bring employees, volunteer time, and build relationships with the nonprofits and civic leaders doing the work. When people connect your brand to service, you earn trust faster, and in Austin, trust is the currency.
Third, put boots on the ground, consistently. If you want to be seen as part of the community, your senior leaders cannot be invisible. The “Austin strategy” cannot live only with the recruiter, the sales rep, or the PR agency. It has to be lived by the people who run teams and make decisions. A simple standard for the first six months is two community touches per month. Roundtables, meetups, hosted conversations, peer groups, and not just the big conferences. Familiarity compounds when you become a regular, not a cameo.
Fourth, hire locally, and say it out loud. Austin has an incredible talent base, and the community notices when you invest in it. Partner with local universities, community colleges, veteran programs, and workforce organizations. Create internships, apprenticeships, and mid-career pathways. Highlight local hires, not as a brag, but as proof that you are building here, not just leasing space here. When your employees are from here, their networks become your networks.
One bonus move that accelerates all of this, host an intentional executive event where other leaders meet your senior team. Most companies wait and hope relationships happen. In Austin, you can earn familiarity by being the convener. Keep it small, keep it curated, make it about conversation, not a pitch. Let people meet the humans behind the logo. But the best way is to partner with your law firm, accounting firm, bank, etc… (one or more). This means you can share the cost of the simple (but nice) event, and utilize their networks to bring people into the room.
Austin rewards companies who participate. If you are new to town, the goal is not to be famous next month. The goal is to be trusted next year.