Women Founders, AI, and Austin with Jan Ryan
Release Date: 01/06/2026
Photonic Computing Comes to Austin: Bruno Spruth on AI Infrastructure
Austin Tech Connect: The Podcast For The Austin Technology Ecosystem, Business Leaders, and Tech Entrepreneurs!
Bruno Spruth - CTO at Q.ant In this episode of Austin Tech Connect, Thom Singer talks with Bruno Spruth, the newly appointed CTO of Q.ant, a German deep tech company expanding into the United States with its U.S. headquarters in Austin. Q.ant is working on one of the biggest challenges facing the future of AI, energy consumption. As AI systems grow, the demand for compute power continues to rise, and Bruno explains why that creates both a major constraint and a major opportunity. Q.ant’s approach centers on photonic compute acceleration, using light, or photons, instead of traditional...
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From Grief to Purpose, Michael McCown on Building LinnESync
Austin Tech Connect: The Podcast For The Austin Technology Ecosystem, Business Leaders, and Tech Entrepreneurs!
Some episodes of Austin Tech Connect are about startups, leadership, and innovation. This episode is about all of those things, but it is also about grief, courage, and purpose. In this conversation, Thom Singer talks with Michael McCown, founder and CEO of H27 Technologies, about the deeply personal story behind LinnESync. Michael shares how a season of unimaginable loss changed his family’s life and ultimately shaped his mission to build technology that could help communities and emergency teams coordinate more effectively in times of crisis. Michael speaks openly about what he witnessed...
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The Future of Engineering Is the Product Engineer with Balazs Barna from Wise
Austin Tech Connect: The Podcast For The Austin Technology Ecosystem, Business Leaders, and Tech Entrepreneurs!
What does it mean when an top local leader in engineering says, “We don’t hire engineers”? In this episode of Austin Tech Connect, Thom Singer sits down with Balazs Barna, Head of U.S. Engineering at Wise, to unpack that statement and explore what engineering leadership looks like in an AI-driven world. Balazs explains that Wise is not looking for people who simply execute tickets. They want “product engineers"... professionals who can think beyond code, understand customer pain points, evaluate whether a problem is worth solving, and build with the business outcome in mind. The...
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Behind the Data on AI at Work, with Dr. Nick Hallman
Austin Tech Connect: The Podcast For The Austin Technology Ecosystem, Business Leaders, and Tech Entrepreneurs!
In this episode of Austin Tech Connect, Thom Singer sits down with Dr. Nick Hallman, professor at The University of Texas at Austin, to talk about one of the biggest business questions of the moment, how companies are actually using AI, and whether they are measuring success the right way. Drawing on research conducted with KPMG, Dr. Hallman shares what his team learned from studying real workplace interactions with large language models over time. What makes this conversation especially interesting is that the study did not just look at whether employees were using AI. It looked deeper. Dr....
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What Commercial Real Estate Reveals About Austin’s Tech Economy (with Taylor McHargue)
Austin Tech Connect: The Podcast For The Austin Technology Ecosystem, Business Leaders, and Tech Entrepreneurs!
In this episode of Austin Tech Connect, Thom Singer sits down with Taylor McHargue of Cushman & Wakefield. Taylor is a new board member at the Austin Technology Council, and is a good example of the next generation of people in the tech ecosystem that want to show up and help build the future for all. In this interview we explore what the commercial real estate market can tell us about the current state of Austin’s tech economy. It is a timely conversation, because office space is no longer just about square footage. It has become a reflection of hiring, funding, culture, confidence, and...
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Startup Ecosystems with Paul O'Brien
Austin Tech Connect: The Podcast For The Austin Technology Ecosystem, Business Leaders, and Tech Entrepreneurs!
This episode of "Austin Tech Connect" (the official podcast of the Austin Technology Council) features a conversation between Thom Singer (CEO at ATC) and Paul O'Brien about Paul's new book "Startup Ecosystems." Paul discussed his career journey from Michigan to Silicon Valley to Austin, where he has lived for 17 years working in public affairs for startup ecosystems. They explored how Austin's tech ecosystem has thrived through effective marketing and storytelling, contrasting it with other cities. Paul explained how his book builds on Brad Feld's earlier work (Feld's book...
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New to Austin - with Entrepreneur Christine McDannell
Austin Tech Connect: The Podcast For The Austin Technology Ecosystem, Business Leaders, and Tech Entrepreneurs!
The episode of Austin Tech Connect is an interview with Christine McDannell, an M&A advisor who recently moved to Austin from San Diego. Christine discussed her entrepreneurial journey, including her experience selling multiple companies and founding The Magnolia Firm, which specializes in helping digital businesses and SaaS companies find buyers. She explained her unique approach of turning away 95% of potential sellers to focus on high-quality listings and offered insights into the current market challenges, such as finding willing sellers. Christine also shared her perspective on...
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Irresistible Change with Phil Gilbert
Austin Tech Connect: The Podcast For The Austin Technology Ecosystem, Business Leaders, and Tech Entrepreneurs!
In this episode of the Austin Tech Connect podcast, Thom Singer interviewed Phil Gilbert, author of "Irresistible Change: The Blueprint for Earning Buy-In and Breakout Success," about his career in technology and his experiences transforming IBM after its acquisition of Lombardi Software. Gilbert shared his journey from founding a PC consulting company in the 1980s to leading design at IBM, where he implemented a successful change management program that improved employee engagement and market share. They discussed the changing landscape of Austin's tech community, with Gilbert expressing...
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Purposeful Connection with Matt Zilli, CEO at Planview
Austin Tech Connect: The Podcast For The Austin Technology Ecosystem, Business Leaders, and Tech Entrepreneurs!
In this episode of Austin Tech Connect, Thom Singer sits down with Matt Zilli, the new CEO of Planview, for a grounded conversation about leadership, career growth, and why real relationships still matter in a tech world chasing speed. Matt shares his unusual path through SaaS, from computer science at Santa Clara, to Marketo, to leading private equity backed software companies, and how a strong network of people willing to “take a bet” on you can unlock unexpected opportunities. Matt also unpacks Planview’s approach to hybrid work through what the company calls “purposeful...
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Phoenix Semiconductor: Solving the “End-of-Life” Chip Crisis
Austin Tech Connect: The Podcast For The Austin Technology Ecosystem, Business Leaders, and Tech Entrepreneurs!
What happens when a single, outdated $5 semiconductor can stall an aircraft program, delay medical equipment, or freeze production lines? In this episode of Austin Tech Connect, Thom Singer sits down with Ryan Hatcher, CEO and founder of Phoenix Semiconductor, to unpack a supply chain problem that quietly cripples industries: “end-of-life” chips that are no longer manufactured, but are still essential to the systems we depend on. Ryan shares how his career path from physics to defense electronics to tech scouting put him front-row during the COVID-era shortages, where the real bottlenecks...
info_outlineAustin did not become a tech city by accident, and it will not stay an innovation center on autopilot. In the first Austin Tech Connect episode of 2026, Thom Singer sits down with Jan Ryan, CEO of Three Hills, a longtime operator in venture backed startups, a builder of community, and a force behind expanding opportunity for women founders in Austin.
Jan takes us back to the mid 90s when Austin was still “a lovable, slightly disorganized teenager,” then connects the lessons of the dot com era to what is happening now with AI and frontier tech.
This is a conversation about leadership, not hype. Jan lays out why innovation is moving faster than the institutions that are supposed to support it, talent pipelines, capital networks, and policy frameworks, and why inclusion is not a tagline, it is a growth strategy. Thom and Jan dig into what it will take for Austin to lead the next decade, how leaders can show up without burning out, and why it is not just networking, it is equipping. If you care about the next chapter of Austin tech, this one is your seat at the table.
Thank you to the 2026 sponsor of Austin Tech Connect.... Calavista Software. It is companies that are true "Community Champions" that sponsor organizations like the Austin Technology Council.