One of the most unexpectedly rewarding speeches I’ve been delivering over the past couple of years is my keynote titled “The History of Austin Tech.” What started as a fun idea to share some context about how this city became one of the world’s leading tech hubs has grown into a presentation I now give regularly to local nonprofits, associations, and companies.
As someone who has lived in Austin for over three decades, and as the CEO of the Austin Technology Council, I’ve had a front-row seat to this city’s transformation. I’ve also had the chance to meet and learn from many of the visionaries who built the foundation. But I don’t know everything. That’s part of the magic of this talk: every time I give it, I discover something new. Someone in the audience will share a memory or a name or a story that adds another brick to the foundation of this fast-growing ecosystem.
This talk is part storytelling, part civic history, and part call to action. It’s both informative and entertaining… and I do my best to make it engaging (with a few laughs thrown in). There are ten pillars that I believe helped build the Austin tech scene, and they go all the way back to the 1960s. It’s not just about startups and unicorns. It’s about policy, higher education, culture, collaboration, leadership, and a bit of Austin weirdness.
When I’m invited to give this talk for local nonprofits and ATC member companies, I do it at no charge. I believe the story matters… and it’s important that people in our city understand how we got here so we can think clearly about where we’re going next.
That said, this is also a fantastic keynote for a tech conference or corporate event happening in Austin. It’s the perfect way to open a conference with local flavor and big-picture context. Visitors love hearing how Austin became Austin… and locals walk away with a deeper appreciation of our shared story.
If you’re hosting an event in Austin and want to ground your attendees in something that’s uniquely tied to the city, this is they keynote for your event.
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Thom Singer, CSP, is a professional keynote speaker and the CEO at the Austin Technology Council