TechCrunch Live is coming to Austin, Texas. Not physically, though — maybe next year! On April 6, TechCrunch Live is recording a special episode focused on Austin startups and investors. It’s free. Please register here to get your invite to Hopin where you’ll be able to ask the speakers questions, network with other attendees and talk to TechCrunch staff.
The episode is going to be great. Keith Melnick, CEO of The Zebra, will speak through its move to Austin, where it raised local capital and eventually earned unicorn status. It’s a great story that resinates with a lot of founders who are struggling to find footing and need to look at moving their company.
Morgan Flager of Silverton lead The Zerba’s first round and Series C and is joining us on this episode too. Flager is a longtime Austin-based investor who has played a major part in building Austin’s surging tech scene.
But that’s not all!
TechCrunch senior reporter and Equity Podcast co-host Mary Ann Azevedo is moderating a panel with three Austin-area investors. We want to know where these investors are writing checks and the best way for a local (or not local) startup to pitch their company. This panel should be revealing as the investors talk about their strategies and best practices.
We’re still looking for a couple of startups to pitch at this event. Apply here if you’re an early-stage startup based in the Austin region. The winner of the pitch off will get exhibition space at TechCrunch Disrupt in San Fransisco this October.
Agenda
April 6, 12:00 – 12:35 pm PDT
TCL Panel with The Zebra and Silverton Partners
The Zebra was an early Austin transplant. Founded in 2012 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the founders, lured by Texas investors, including Mark Cuban and Silverton Partners’ Morgan Flager, relocated to Austin the next year. In 2017, after raising $40 million, the company brought on Keith Melnick as CEO and has grown to be one of the largest tech startups in Austin.
- Keith Melnick, CEO, The Zebra
- Morgan Flager, Managing Partner, Silverton Partners
- Moderated by TechCrunch Managing Editor, Matt Burns
12:35 – 1:00 pm PDT
How to raise early capital in Austin
Austin is quickly becoming a hub of early-stage startups, and there’s a handful of firms writing checks to get these companies off the ground. Hear from three of the top investors in the Austin area about their investment strategies and the best way to get their attention.
- Krishna Srinivasan, Co-Founder, LiveOak Venture Partners
- Sara T. Brand, Founding General Partner, True Wealth Ventures
- Bryan Chambers, President, Capital Factory
- Moderated by TechCrunch Sr. Reporter, Mary Ann Azevedo
1:00 – 1:30 pm PDT
TC City Spotlight Pitch-Off
Apply now! Three Austin-based startups will pitch their company live to a panel of investors and TechCrunch staff. The companies have four minutes to present their pitch deck, and the winner gets exhibition space at TechCrunch Disrupt in San Francisco.
- Krishna Srinivasan, Co-Founder, LiveOak Venture Partners
- Sara T. Brand, Founding General Partner, True Wealth Ventures
- Bryan Chambers, President, Capital Factory
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