January 31, 2025 • 33 mins
TOPICS FOR TODAY INCLUDE:
- City Finally Rolling out with Mobility projects approved in 2016!
- Austin startup funding back to more normal levels, report shows
- Data centers are booming in Texas. What does that mean for the grid?
- Plus! Fun Facts with Fiona!
Welcome to the Austin LGBT Chamber Podcast where we chat all things local and national business. Join Tina, Colton, Amy and Fiona every Friday.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Welcome to the Austin LGBT Chamber of Commerce podcast. I'm Tina Cannon, your host and CEO
(00:14):
of the Chamber. On today's pod, we're going to talk local business news headlines this
week include the city is finally rolling out mobility projects approved back in 2016. Austin
startup funding is back to normal levels. We'll take a look at some what the report shows and
data centers are the boom in Texas. What is that going to mean for our grid? And of course, fun
(00:37):
facts with Fiona. We'll be back. Hola crew. Amy Colton Fiona. How is the world treating everyone
today? It's real wet outside. Amazing. Good weather for ducks. For ducks. That's what we'd say in
(01:03):
England. This today is always great weather for ducks. Reason number 732 that we left.
And newfoundland they would say the air's right close. The air's right close. That makes sense.
I dig that. In Ireland, they would just probably say sup. Good morning. Good morning. Looks like
(01:23):
this every day. How you getting on? Yeah. How you going? I've never understood like some Australians
say that news. How you going? How you going? How you going, Mike? Yeah. They do say good day. Do
they? Yeah, 100% they say good day. They do not say top of the morning in Ireland. No, they do not.
They say how you getting on? How you getting on? Yes. Up early, where you? We're just going to
(01:48):
bastardize everybody's culture today. Yeah, we're going for it. We're not doing any of that. Fiona,
back me up here. I'm just going to say quietly and smile. I'm not getting involved in this one.
Me too. Although at this point, I would be happy for you guys to reclaim us. Reclaim. Oh, yes. I
know. Would you like us to come back and concrete? We take that whole red coat thing back. We take
(02:11):
it back. Oh, doesn't this like every four to eight years, depending on who wins the election, you get
that classic meme that goes around the socials. Like it used to be Queen Elizabeth, but I'm sure
there's stuff out there, isn't it? Like Prince Charles, come back. But I mean, I don't think
England is, I mean, the UK isn't that great. I mean, but I was texting with my sister late last
(02:32):
night and she's like, dead serious. Are you, is this mean you're going to come back? Maybe you
should come back to the UK because they're not attacking DEI as much. And maybe you should just
work from the outside in. I'm not sure it's going to work like that either. But anyway,
it's definitely, you know, a global phenomenon as we see US elections having an impact in other
(02:54):
countries. We saw that last cycle, right? With Macron and that the woman who was running against him,
that was kind of a far right person. We saw with Boris too. Yeah. Yeah. In the UK. Yeah. No,
there's lots of far right movements politically all over the world, but I haven't finished the
conversation with dad yet. But he's like, okay, I would love to tell you what we think of you right
(03:16):
now. Oh, yeah. We're so confused. What's going on? Let it rip. But this is a positive part,
isn't it? I will say there is a bit of good news though that happened this week. The
Statue of Liberty sized meteor missed the earth. How about it? And everyone was like, dude,
do do. Yeah. No, baby. Yeah. That movie don't look up. Yes. Spoiler on that one. But have you
(03:42):
seen it? I love that movie. Yeah. Very cute. Yeah. Very cute. We're trying to watch severance right
now. And you're in the first season. I want to scoop my eyeball. Trust me. Stick with it. Yeah.
Yeah. It took me a minute to do this show is weird. But then like, I would say like 65% of the
way I was like, okay, things are starting to like heat up around here. And you're going to start
(04:05):
seeing the connection. You're like, oh, it gets really good. For season one is one of the best
cliffhangers I've seen on TV in years. I don't have time for 65%. I want like the first episode.
Maybe not 65%. Maybe like, no, it was a good 65% because we finished season one last night.
(04:28):
Oh, you did. And so you saw the cliffhanger. I was finally interested. I finally actually put my
phone down, I think for the last episode, they paid attention instead of playing on the phone.
Whilst watching. That's that's put the phone away. What are you doing? Nothing happening on that
screen. It's a bunch of people walking through white hallways. There isn't. You've got to pay
attention. It's wild. Yeah. If you're on your phone, you're going to miss everything. It's like,
(04:51):
did you see that activation that they did in New York? Like genius activation. They basically
put the severance cast in a glass box at the train station to like, like they're in character,
just living their severance life. I wonder how much they got paid for that one.
Did not like interact with passengers or people in the area inside the train station and people
(05:12):
were just like watching them do their severance thing. That is a peculiar show. It's an interesting
premise. But yeah, at the white walls, it's just, and never is walking fast. It's like the
homogenized West Wing. Yeah. It's just that's all they did in West Wing. That is so deluded.
No, it's, it's no, it's no, they do put zeros and sixes into little, maybe three boxes.
(05:35):
Uh huh. Yeah, I don't understand. I love it. We still don't even know what they're doing.
Well, if you get really bored, there's a new season of the bachelor that's just started. So,
you know, we're on it. Back on that trash TV. I need it. I need it too. I'm a traders watcher.
I can't do a bachelor. It's to me because the bachelor shows for me still
(05:58):
bastardized like marriage. And I just feel like we fought so freaking hard for it that I just can't
make a game show out of it. But I'm happy to make a game show out of dating and a bunch of, you know,
beach, beach, bimbos, bugs and marry people for money. Yeah. Oh, special forces. That's good stuff.
Denise Richards pop both her boobs on, on an episode. It's great.
(06:19):
The first season of special forces is pretty good. I will say.
Little disappointed and carly Lloyd, but I was to you. I was to you. But you know, that's,
that's some, that's tough stuff. It is, it's hard. Yeah, I couldn't do it. That is for show.
We do hard things for Denise. I love you.
(06:44):
So the city is finally rolling out some mobility projects that were approved back in 2016.
Honestly, it's, I think I worked for the city back then. It's been so long.
The city expects to move forward with the, about 146 million in construction projects on
major vehicle corridors this year. Improvements to Burnett road, slaughter lane are expected
to go to bid as the next steps using funding from the 2016 mobility bond package. Other efforts
(07:09):
planned to move forward include bike and pedestrian improvements along key corridors like airport,
Boulevard, Burnett road and North Lamar. A recent meeting of the city council's mobility committee
concluded a comprehensive update on the work completed and the next project scheduled to
move forward. You can look at the whole list at the Austin monitor.com. Progress. Only a decade.
(07:35):
It only took 10 years. I just want to know, is it going to keep those down electric scooters out the
way? Yeah. I'm a scooter user. I love a good scooter. But you're a responsible parker. I do
park responsibly, but I will not say that I always ride responsibly on a scooter that has
happened before, especially during South by right. I will not confirm nor deny any dates
(08:00):
of my scootering habits, but I will say it was a little warbly. It was a warbly ride over for
disappointment to see the P Terries was so rampact. I hated it. I hated it. I was having a
temper tantrum on Congress. It's yeah, I'm having temperature on South Lamar right now
because they've had the barriers up for like the last I don't know, six months and no work's
(08:25):
being done. And so they've got to squish down into a lane, but the drawings and the illustrations
are all at the Austin monitor. You can see what the street escape will look like, but it is designed
to be more pedestrian and multimodal friendly. So dedicated bike lanes, pedestrian refuge,
refuge, I mean, we could be tomorrow. We haven't seen the executive orders go out for tomorrow,
(08:50):
so I don't know. Are you out there? Please help us. Deep reference. I like it. Yes, I'm hoping
that they I'm glad to see they're getting started because I also serve on the bond, the new bond
advisory task force, which we're going to decide what projects will be in the next bond, which
(09:10):
we won't see come to fruition. Apparently until the 10 years 2036. What's happening on slaughter
lane and which side of the highway or both can go to the Austin monitor.com. Do you know? I am
curious. I drove down there and it appears to all be like right along that stretch near the HB
(09:30):
and all those little shopping centers on the west side of 35. Oh, like further down slaughter.
Yeah. Wow. Okay. Yeah, but it's like all right in front of that, like intersection by the HB
and like between South Park meadows. Yeah. Okay. Great. Let's do it. Hurry up. Yes. I want to see
(09:53):
orange vests moving. I do too. I want to see those little minions out there drilling and yeah,
and not congregating in little pumpkin patches. That's what we used to when I worked for Home Depot
when there was like a group of people and a friends would be like, Hey, look at this pumpkin
patch. Everybody get to work. Because I am a true lesbian. I worked at Home Depot a million and a
(10:15):
half years ago. I know it's a right of passage. It is. And I remember it was back when Arthur
blank and Bernie's something owned the company and now they're both cuckoo cuckoo billionaires who
support Arthur blank never owned. He was pumpkins. Yeah. And so he was part owner. Yes. Yes. Yeah.
So they used to come through because that's how long ago it was. They used to come through the
(10:37):
stores. And so, uh, but I remember I asked him, uh, one day he was walking through. I said,
How come, how come these signs are always called BFS? And because my manager would say, Well,
go make a BFS about this, whatever. I was big. Really? Yeah. And Arthur goes to me. He goes,
Yeah, it means big sign. Oh, yeah. We used to have a sign making station like back in the day.
(11:05):
Yeah. There was this whole like easel cart with these giant, high as a kite sharpies in this thing
that like the tips of these things were two inches wide. And there would be a legit payrolled
sign maker. Yeah. And they would make big signs all day. I couldn't believe it was like crafting.
(11:26):
It was a nice touch. Fun fact about Home Depot when they first opened up box store concept,
right? Everything in the overhead was empty. Fun fact when I should do loss prevention for them,
store managers used to tag them as if they're a product in it and count it. So their shrinkage
number wouldn't be high. Oh, that's not okay. But like they would all the suppliers, they asked for
(11:48):
empty packaging. So like paint buckets, boxes, there was no, and it was just to give the appearance
that there was all this overstock. Big warehouse. We've got it all. Yeah. Yes. It's cool stuff.
I mean, it's kind of genius. Every small business has figured out a way to make it. And then they
grow up and what do you call it a growing empire? Oh, yeah. Small business. Yeah, I don't want to
(12:09):
call myself a small business. I'm a growing empire. Okay, we've got to get her some
growing. Just plotting world domination over here. Absolutely. Okay. That's what else would I stay in
this country? One giant sharpie at a time. All right. We went from from road construction to
big, big signs. World domination. I love this. I checked out when I heard Home Depot.
(12:34):
What? You're more of a Lowe's girlie anyway. They keep blinds at Lowe's. You love a tiled floor.
Yeah. Better window treatments. Are we stereotyping you as you sit here with a flower shirt on?
No, I don't go to either one of them. That's a lie. I've been there with you more than once.
Because you were there. Yeah. To Lowe's. You made him. And when we had Pride and Local Music,
(12:58):
when it was on the street, we had to go to Home Depot and we had to do a big shop, remember?
Yeah. To hang our BFSs. To hang our BFSs. Yeah. We bought PVC pipe. Look at you use an acronyms.
That's impressive.
(13:18):
Austin Startup Funding is back to normal levels. A report over at Austin INNO says that the VC
ecosystem seems to appear to have normalized after some of the boom years in 21 and 22.
A couple of years of additional data. It looks like the Metro startup scene has
settled back into relatively stable funding numbers where we can expect to see about 700
(13:39):
million to a billion in deals each quarter. And that is according to Pitch Book and the
National Adventure Capital Association. I feel like I can see what those guys are wearing.
In the fourth quarter of 2024, startups in the Austin Metro area raised a total of 804 million
across only 71 different deals. It's the lowest deal count in the area since pre-COVID days,
(14:01):
but it's not far off from what we've seen since Venture Capital has cooled off.
So, Humdrum, as far as like the number of startups, but I will tell you having Chase
Startup funding over the years, it's nice to get a big check because it really moves your
company forward. So glad to see the startup wins happening in the area. I think you know
(14:21):
what they're wearing, Tina, because they're sitting behind you. I know, right? They're
khaki pants and a little poofy vest. They're all over.
Kackies. Kackies. Jake from Steve Farm. Expired. Expired. What are you wearing?
Kackies? I mean, the guy sitting in the booth. Don't turn around. You're so not discreet.
(14:45):
Turn back around, please. This is humiliating. Get me out of here. There's a lot of tech
startup businesses all over these shared workspaces. I will say the crappy part about VC. Well,
back in 2006, when I was in that space and searching for funding for PetsMD back in the day,
it was just under 4% of Venture Capital funding went to women. And I was in an event the other
(15:07):
night and there was a woman on stage and she was talking about venture capital market and what it's
looking like for women and then it's still at 4%. It's about the same for women in sports and
scholarship. Yeah, great. But no, according to the administration though, we've made it. We're
good. We don't need any extra leg up or access. Yeah, we're good. This is what it looks like.
(15:27):
We just didn't know equality meant 4%. I am not ready for this conversation.
I'm all hopped up on like cold and sinus medication and there's no telling what'll come out of this
mouth. Well, like the big, big startups that are getting all the money both here in Austin and
Silicon Valley are anything with it ends in dot AI and anything in that kind of open AI and
(15:54):
tropic space, NVIDIA, the chip maker that's doing all the AI work. I will say though, it's funny
that all these big companies came out this last week with pronouncements about they were going
to spend, you know, men was going to reserve $65 billion that they're going to spend on AI
infrastructure and all these companies. It was like, no, my number's bigger. No, I'm going to spend
(16:15):
more like they're promising all these things for the market. And then two days ago, shocker, a chip
manufacturer in China is like, yeah, I can do it cheaper. I like a 10th. Big surprise. Yeah, like
we haven't seen that before. Who knew they could do it in cheaper in China? Shocker. So now, of
course, everybody's having to adjust. The markets took a little bit of a dip this last week because
(16:38):
right investors were low over front loading thinking, okay, us, we're going to own the AI
market. We're going to build all this infrastructure. It's going to be great for the economy. All these
giant estimates that all of a sudden the investors like, wait a minute, we can do this for like a
10th of the cost. Do you guys even know what you're doing running your companies? Yeah. It's
shocker. Yeah, but there are some AI data centers coming into Texas. The only one that's been announced
(17:05):
so far is the one in Abilene. And I know there's some people sniffing around the outer skirts of
Austin because you can't put a data center in Austin proper. It just doesn't work. And then
we'll talk in the next story a little bit about kind of what that means for just the impact on
our infrastructure because it takes a great deal of energy to run those centers. Correct.
And I'm holding comment for the next story on that one. Yeah. Some of the top deals and Austin
(17:31):
inno has a full list, but some of the top deals, Firefly Aerospace got 175 million in venture
capital Halcyon, another tech giant got 115, Ladder 105, Parachute 93, and Digital Robotics 43
million. I will say like those are big numbers coming out of us because we don't put big money
in VCs in Austin. But most of the time you'll get a little bit of kind of a super angel or
(17:55):
early startup first round and then you got to go to West Coast to chase the rest. There's just not
a good, there's not a lot of hungry big, big Series A investors here. But we had a boom,
didn't we, a few years ago and now it's, I mean, so what's happened now is just maturity,
like maturing out businesses because it couldn't sustain at that level that they were investing.
(18:16):
Well, mostly investors here just they're not as mavericky as like the big Sequoia investors
types out in the West, on the West Coast. They're just, they're a little bit more, I remember when
I was pitching them, I walked into Austin Ventures office and it looked like the sky does out here
today. It was like, it looked like Severance. It was all white. It was like God's waiting room.
Great. And it was exactly the guys that are sitting behind me, the same looking guys.
(18:41):
And I started my pitch around PetsMD and after I got done, they asked me if I had any funders from
the West Coast because they were too chicken to do their own due diligence or to have independent
thought. So they were happy to be attack on investment if somebody else had already done
(19:02):
all the homework for them. Yeah. These are the guys in like your, in college, like in your group
class on your group project that never did shit and waited for somebody else to do it.
I love a sheep. I love sheeple. Yeah. What was it? What was your response?
I can't remember. I've had a few drinks since then. I don't know.
But good to see investment money flowing again.
(19:28):
So data centers are big time business in Texas. What does that mean for the grid? Energy demand
surges largely due to the crypto mining facilities and data centers and industrial electrification.
Texas officials are looking at how to increase supply and shore up the grid.
The rise of artificial intelligence and digitalization of the economy and everyday
(19:48):
life's growing computing needs have turbocharged the expansion of data centers,
driving the surge in electrical demand across Texas. They're looking at predictions of like
doubling in the next, it's 2030 sounds like so far away, but it's right around the corner.
Due to all of the big data center and crypto mining facilities, hydro production plants and gas
(20:11):
companies. I mean, just the joint venture between Open AI, Softbank and Oracle are looking at investing
$500 billion in AI infrastructure. Again, we mentioned earlier that Texas is already looking
at Abilene as a project for Oracle that's partnering actually with the US government on a data center
out in Abilene. I'd be curious to see like what kind of talent they're going to get
(20:33):
to work in these data centers in Abilene. Yeah. I wonder if they're going to be
inclusive and have good recruitment and retention practices for all of their employees in Texas.
Have you been to Abilene? I know this is probably like a job fair, like the cattle call, right?
Like they're going to be kids straight out of college. Right out of high school. Like, have
(20:54):
you ever heard of Abilene? Yeah. Let me tell you, they're going to be like, uh, yeah, you can work
at the Buffalo Wild Wings or you can work in AI. Does it have cell service? I think that would be
the first question. I mean, they barely have hotel infrastructure in Abilene. Yeah. As long as there's
a Chili's, there's Buffalo. There's Buffalo Wild. I don't even know if there is a Chili's out there.
(21:17):
In Abilene? I don't think there is. 100% there is. Been out there a half million times. Come on.
I haven't been in like five years. If there's a BDubs, then there's a Chili's. There's a BDub.
There might be. Maybe there's one on the long the highway, but either way, like what kind of talent
are you going to have working in your $500 million AI plant? And then on top of that, you got to be
able to move electricity into that area to be able to support a lot of electricity. Yeah.
(21:43):
Colton and I were talking about this the other day, weren't we? Yeah. Like when you ask chat,
GBT, a question, like what happens when you ask chat? Well,
excuse me. I'm not ready for that either. As you all know, yeah, chat GBT is becoming
a really good friend of mine. I've named them Japeto. They use they them pronouns.
(22:11):
But no, Colton and I were like nerding out on the fact that chat GBT and AI is using so much
energy that we're not aware of. It takes like 10 times the energy to do a basic search. It's
dreadful for the environment. Yes. Plus, central Texas in general, and central Texas especially,
is has a crisis of water, right? And it does take water to manufacture all these chips. Yeah. It does
(22:35):
take energy to then put all toward that. So like, I appreciate they're picking Texas because it's
good for jobs, good for the economy. Do we have infrastructure? I don't know. I think that's
going to be the bleeding question. Are these, I mean, we've just in a session the other day with
listening to who was I listening to? I think it was dogged the other day was talking about
(22:56):
our water pipes and our infrastructure being completely dilapidated. Was it with me on that
one? No, but you came back to the office to talk about it because you meant to be talking about
something else. And the meeting went down a rabbit hole talking about water. Yeah. Because our
infrastructure is just absolutely part of the pun right underwater. Well, next act.
(23:24):
Mr. Fiona, what do you got for us with fun facts? Well, I feel like it's been a really fun week.
So this fun fact is do you love pizza? Because you can thank an LGBTQ plus icon for pizza.
The first recorded use of the word pizza in English came from a lesbian poet. And her name is
(23:49):
Fanny Campbell. And this was in 1845. And she was British. That's a terrible name. British
check A become named Fanny and the B anything associated to do with an Italian food. I don't
know. That's as far as I got. But it's true. She's coined the term pizza. And then I didn't. So
(24:10):
yes, if you find Fanny Campbell, she was a British actress and playwright. And she was born 1809.
And she died in 1893. She was a British actress from a theater family. Fanny, help. We don't use
the word Fanny. The listener understand the origin and use of the word Fanny. Okay, so
(24:33):
I'll say this and keep it PG. So in England, the word Fanny is used for the female genitalia.
The front bum. And so you like you don't say Fanny pack ever like bum bag, but it's a bum bag. Exactly.
And you know, my nephew, Oscar is adorable. He's about 14 years old. And if you said Fanny pack
(25:00):
to him, he would like spit out his Coca Cola. I don't know. It just sounds like a gaggle lesbians.
He's like seven of them were coming at you in the island home Depot. Hey, next time we do the
the podcast for Austin pride. Instead of bikes, we'll be like, here's the Fanny pack.
(25:27):
I like it. I want to get a leather jacket made.
The Fanny packs are back. Oh, hell. Well, thank you for that. Lovely. You're very welcome.
You're very welcome. So did you know that our chamber has roughly 470 ish members give or
take the day of the week that includes everybody from the big corporate giants here in town
all the way down to as we call them mom and mom and pop and pops. Let's welcome some new members.
(25:51):
What do you got for us? We have double Scorpio LLC. Hey, Colton, new care to expand.
Yeah. VHS cleaner. You can find them at Wail Can Harry's in several places around town, but
it is a local Austin brand. Did you say a VHS cleaner? Yeah, we're leaving that.
(26:16):
Also, we have welcome. Welcome to the chamber. One line wellness chiropractic
and resilient strategies with your new friend, Rabbi Egger. Welcome. Welcome. I mean, she was
Johnny on the spot. Okay. So resilient strategies legit was like a 30 second join right before
(26:41):
a podcast. Highly resilient. Very resilient. Resilient with a Z Zed. She recognized an opportunity
and she jumped right on it. Yeah, it's good. That is a she's an executive coach. She's a doer.
She's a doer. I love that. And for a full list of our members, of course, you can check our
member directory for all of your needs at the Austin LGBT chamber.com Colton, what do you got
(27:05):
for new events, excitement, things, adorableness? Register now for our February 5th luncheon at
County Line on the Lake. I always get them confused. County Line on the Lake.
Dear, and Jackie with IGC will be speaking on Texas Legislature and nonpartisan civic engagement.
(27:27):
But like I said, registration is open. That event is filling up really quickly.
Barbecue barbecue. Oh, and important note, it is slightly more expensive to register for this
one because we all know that barbecue is expensive, right? But it's really good.
And there are options for people that don't eat meat. Oh, that is true. Good options. And it's
(27:51):
still barbecue. But we still yield. We need you to register and let us know in advance so that
the kitchen can be ready for you as well. Yes, please. Yes, yes, yes. You can also join us on
February 19th. We are partnering with NGLCC on a virtual event celebrating and honoring Black
History Month. Nice. You can also join us on February 20th for our monthly chamber happy hour
(28:18):
at El Raval. I'm excited for that one and excited to celebrate their community impact grants.
I love a good traditional seltzer water. Like the little seltzer canisters they've got behind
the bar when they make their cocktails. Oh, yeah. That's you. You drink seltzer?
(28:39):
Yeah. What? The carbonation station. The carbonation station.
And I don't remember that from I'm just a bill. I'm just a bill. I love that little
cartoon guy. He looks so sad sitting on the steps. Well, he was real sad. Maybe we have a screening
(29:00):
of that. He gets thrown around a lot. Yeah, he's getting thrown around a lot today. Let's have a
screening of that. It's an old American cartoon about how a bill is passed and it's this little
rolled up cartoon. Schoolhouse Rock, right? He's got a little ribbon on him and little legs and
he's going through the process. I'm just a bill here on Capitol Hill. Yep. Got it. Thank you.
(29:21):
Very, very cute. For our international audience, you're welcome.
You can also register to join us February 22nd in Lockhart. We are returning to Lockhart as
part of our small town big pride program. Yay. Yay. We're still ironing out the schedule and a
(29:42):
couple more details, but we'll have a map and a list of members very, very soon. If you know of
any Lockhart businesses that you think would be a good fit for this program, please send them our
way and let's show up and support Lockhart's LGBTQ owned and allied businesses. Yes. And you can pay
$10 and get on a bus downtown Austin on 4th Street. We will bring you back. Yeah. And there will be
(30:08):
beverages on the Lockhart art bus. So it's like Lockhart all around with Chad Ray as our driver
and host on the way down there. If you did not join us last time, holy cow, you have a lot of work
to do. Get your fanny packs. Get your fanny pack together and wear some comfortable shoes because
you got a lot of spots to hit when we hit Lockhart. It was fun. It was like a sprint. So I'm like,
(30:29):
no joke. Definitely wear something super comfy. Don't just get there and like pour yourself into
the first bar you see. No. Get your running shoes on. Go spend some money. Hit all the little
stores. We'll have a great little map for you to go and explore. It's such a cute little square.
There will be plenty of time for us all to congregate and have some fellowship
(30:50):
with a seltzer or something better. And with Mayor Lou. Mayor Lou loves us. Mayor Lou does love us
and he loves the contribution the queer economy makes on Texas. So man, we just knocked his socks
off with those stats. I mentioned Lockhart to somebody the other day. They're fairly new to
Austin. They've only been here a couple of years, but even they knew about the lesbian mafia.
(31:15):
Of Lockhart? Of Lockhart. I know it is powered by lesbians. I love it. You know, we just, we're
there. You may not see us, but we're always watching. This one feels like going to most small
Texas towns. Is it farm or family? Because you can't tell. Is it just a farm chick? Or like,
(31:36):
if you can light a match off her face, farm chick. Too leathered. Hang on just a second.
I think that you need to modernize your view of rural folk because I know many a gay cowboy
in Lockhart as well. And they are fabulously groomed and are farmers. I'm not surprised they're
(31:57):
fabulously groomed. And the bisexuals are somewhere. Yeah, they're everywhere. Everywhere.
Isn't that like all of Gen Z? I'm sorry. Pretty much. Yes. Yes. For sure. Don't forget to check out
our member events too. There are tons of exciting member events coming up, including a co-op's 30th
(32:18):
birthday bash. So congrats to our friends at co-op. Queer Cinema Screenings, the future of I-35,
and more. As always, you can find out more information about all of these events at
AustinLGBTChamber.com. Never a shortage of things to do to get involved. And right now, right,
people are lamenting and boo-hooing. Get involved. Get off the couch, start off the TV, go do things.
(32:42):
Be with the community. Yeah. Because the community needs that fellowship right now. So definitely.
Correct. For sure. Well, as always, thank you for joining us. If you want to learn more about
becoming a Chamber member or more events, visit us at AustinLGBTChamber.com. If you want to be a
guest or a sponsor, email us at info at AustinLGBTChamber.com. Listen to our show every Friday
(33:08):
wherever you get your podcasts. Be sure to follow us. Thanks, and we'll see you next time.
Welcome to the Austin LGBT Chamber of Commerce podcast. I'm Tina Cannon, your host and CEO
(00:14):
of the Chamber. On today's pod, we're going to talk local business news headlines this
week include the city is finally rolling out mobility projects approved back in 2016. Austin
startup funding is back to normal levels. We'll take a look at some what the report shows and
data centers are the boom in Texas. What is that going to mean for our grid? And of course, fun
(00:37):
facts with Fiona. We'll be back. Hola crew. Amy Colton Fiona. How is the world treating everyone
today? It's real wet outside. Amazing. Good weather for ducks. For ducks. That's what we'd say in
(01:03):
England. This today is always great weather for ducks. Reason number 732 that we left.
And newfoundland they would say the air's right close. The air's right close. That makes sense.
I dig that. In Ireland, they would just probably say sup. Good morning. Good morning. Looks like
(01:23):
this every day. How you getting on? Yeah. How you going? I've never understood like some Australians
say that news. How you going? How you going? How you going, Mike? Yeah. They do say good day. Do
they? Yeah, 100% they say good day. They do not say top of the morning in Ireland. No, they do not.
They say how you getting on? How you getting on? Yes. Up early, where you? We're just going to
(01:48):
bastardize everybody's culture today. Yeah, we're going for it. We're not doing any of that. Fiona,
back me up here. I'm just going to say quietly and smile. I'm not getting involved in this one.
Me too. Although at this point, I would be happy for you guys to reclaim us. Reclaim. Oh, yes. I
know. Would you like us to come back and concrete? We take that whole red coat thing back. We take
(02:11):
it back. Oh, doesn't this like every four to eight years, depending on who wins the election, you get
that classic meme that goes around the socials. Like it used to be Queen Elizabeth, but I'm sure
there's stuff out there, isn't it? Like Prince Charles, come back. But I mean, I don't think
England is, I mean, the UK isn't that great. I mean, but I was texting with my sister late last
(02:32):
night and she's like, dead serious. Are you, is this mean you're going to come back? Maybe you
should come back to the UK because they're not attacking DEI as much. And maybe you should just
work from the outside in. I'm not sure it's going to work like that either. But anyway,
it's definitely, you know, a global phenomenon as we see US elections having an impact in other
(02:54):
countries. We saw that last cycle, right? With Macron and that the woman who was running against him,
that was kind of a far right person. We saw with Boris too. Yeah. Yeah. In the UK. Yeah. No,
there's lots of far right movements politically all over the world, but I haven't finished the
conversation with dad yet. But he's like, okay, I would love to tell you what we think of you right
(03:16):
now. Oh, yeah. We're so confused. What's going on? Let it rip. But this is a positive part,
isn't it? I will say there is a bit of good news though that happened this week. The
Statue of Liberty sized meteor missed the earth. How about it? And everyone was like, dude,
do do. Yeah. No, baby. Yeah. That movie don't look up. Yes. Spoiler on that one. But have you
(03:42):
seen it? I love that movie. Yeah. Very cute. Yeah. Very cute. We're trying to watch severance right
now. And you're in the first season. I want to scoop my eyeball. Trust me. Stick with it. Yeah.
Yeah. It took me a minute to do this show is weird. But then like, I would say like 65% of the
way I was like, okay, things are starting to like heat up around here. And you're going to start
(04:05):
seeing the connection. You're like, oh, it gets really good. For season one is one of the best
cliffhangers I've seen on TV in years. I don't have time for 65%. I want like the first episode.
Maybe not 65%. Maybe like, no, it was a good 65% because we finished season one last night.
(04:28):
Oh, you did. And so you saw the cliffhanger. I was finally interested. I finally actually put my
phone down, I think for the last episode, they paid attention instead of playing on the phone.
Whilst watching. That's that's put the phone away. What are you doing? Nothing happening on that
screen. It's a bunch of people walking through white hallways. There isn't. You've got to pay
attention. It's wild. Yeah. If you're on your phone, you're going to miss everything. It's like,
(04:51):
did you see that activation that they did in New York? Like genius activation. They basically
put the severance cast in a glass box at the train station to like, like they're in character,
just living their severance life. I wonder how much they got paid for that one.
Did not like interact with passengers or people in the area inside the train station and people
(05:12):
were just like watching them do their severance thing. That is a peculiar show. It's an interesting
premise. But yeah, at the white walls, it's just, and never is walking fast. It's like the
homogenized West Wing. Yeah. It's just that's all they did in West Wing. That is so deluded.
No, it's, it's no, it's no, they do put zeros and sixes into little, maybe three boxes.
(05:35):
Uh huh. Yeah, I don't understand. I love it. We still don't even know what they're doing.
Well, if you get really bored, there's a new season of the bachelor that's just started. So,
you know, we're on it. Back on that trash TV. I need it. I need it too. I'm a traders watcher.
I can't do a bachelor. It's to me because the bachelor shows for me still
(05:58):
bastardized like marriage. And I just feel like we fought so freaking hard for it that I just can't
make a game show out of it. But I'm happy to make a game show out of dating and a bunch of, you know,
beach, beach, bimbos, bugs and marry people for money. Yeah. Oh, special forces. That's good stuff.
Denise Richards pop both her boobs on, on an episode. It's great.
(06:19):
The first season of special forces is pretty good. I will say.
Little disappointed and carly Lloyd, but I was to you. I was to you. But you know, that's,
that's some, that's tough stuff. It is, it's hard. Yeah, I couldn't do it. That is for show.
We do hard things for Denise. I love you.
(06:44):
So the city is finally rolling out some mobility projects that were approved back in 2016.
Honestly, it's, I think I worked for the city back then. It's been so long.
The city expects to move forward with the, about 146 million in construction projects on
major vehicle corridors this year. Improvements to Burnett road, slaughter lane are expected
to go to bid as the next steps using funding from the 2016 mobility bond package. Other efforts
(07:09):
planned to move forward include bike and pedestrian improvements along key corridors like airport,
Boulevard, Burnett road and North Lamar. A recent meeting of the city council's mobility committee
concluded a comprehensive update on the work completed and the next project scheduled to
move forward. You can look at the whole list at the Austin monitor.com. Progress. Only a decade.
(07:35):
It only took 10 years. I just want to know, is it going to keep those down electric scooters out the
way? Yeah. I'm a scooter user. I love a good scooter. But you're a responsible parker. I do
park responsibly, but I will not say that I always ride responsibly on a scooter that has
happened before, especially during South by right. I will not confirm nor deny any dates
(08:00):
of my scootering habits, but I will say it was a little warbly. It was a warbly ride over for
disappointment to see the P Terries was so rampact. I hated it. I hated it. I was having a
temper tantrum on Congress. It's yeah, I'm having temperature on South Lamar right now
because they've had the barriers up for like the last I don't know, six months and no work's
(08:25):
being done. And so they've got to squish down into a lane, but the drawings and the illustrations
are all at the Austin monitor. You can see what the street escape will look like, but it is designed
to be more pedestrian and multimodal friendly. So dedicated bike lanes, pedestrian refuge,
refuge, I mean, we could be tomorrow. We haven't seen the executive orders go out for tomorrow,
(08:50):
so I don't know. Are you out there? Please help us. Deep reference. I like it. Yes, I'm hoping
that they I'm glad to see they're getting started because I also serve on the bond, the new bond
advisory task force, which we're going to decide what projects will be in the next bond, which
(09:10):
we won't see come to fruition. Apparently until the 10 years 2036. What's happening on slaughter
lane and which side of the highway or both can go to the Austin monitor.com. Do you know? I am
curious. I drove down there and it appears to all be like right along that stretch near the HB
(09:30):
and all those little shopping centers on the west side of 35. Oh, like further down slaughter.
Yeah. Wow. Okay. Yeah, but it's like all right in front of that, like intersection by the HB
and like between South Park meadows. Yeah. Okay. Great. Let's do it. Hurry up. Yes. I want to see
(09:53):
orange vests moving. I do too. I want to see those little minions out there drilling and yeah,
and not congregating in little pumpkin patches. That's what we used to when I worked for Home Depot
when there was like a group of people and a friends would be like, Hey, look at this pumpkin
patch. Everybody get to work. Because I am a true lesbian. I worked at Home Depot a million and a
(10:15):
half years ago. I know it's a right of passage. It is. And I remember it was back when Arthur
blank and Bernie's something owned the company and now they're both cuckoo cuckoo billionaires who
support Arthur blank never owned. He was pumpkins. Yeah. And so he was part owner. Yes. Yes. Yeah.
So they used to come through because that's how long ago it was. They used to come through the
(10:37):
stores. And so, uh, but I remember I asked him, uh, one day he was walking through. I said,
How come, how come these signs are always called BFS? And because my manager would say, Well,
go make a BFS about this, whatever. I was big. Really? Yeah. And Arthur goes to me. He goes,
Yeah, it means big sign. Oh, yeah. We used to have a sign making station like back in the day.
(11:05):
Yeah. There was this whole like easel cart with these giant, high as a kite sharpies in this thing
that like the tips of these things were two inches wide. And there would be a legit payrolled
sign maker. Yeah. And they would make big signs all day. I couldn't believe it was like crafting.
(11:26):
It was a nice touch. Fun fact about Home Depot when they first opened up box store concept,
right? Everything in the overhead was empty. Fun fact when I should do loss prevention for them,
store managers used to tag them as if they're a product in it and count it. So their shrinkage
number wouldn't be high. Oh, that's not okay. But like they would all the suppliers, they asked for
(11:48):
empty packaging. So like paint buckets, boxes, there was no, and it was just to give the appearance
that there was all this overstock. Big warehouse. We've got it all. Yeah. Yes. It's cool stuff.
I mean, it's kind of genius. Every small business has figured out a way to make it. And then they
grow up and what do you call it a growing empire? Oh, yeah. Small business. Yeah, I don't want to
(12:09):
call myself a small business. I'm a growing empire. Okay, we've got to get her some
growing. Just plotting world domination over here. Absolutely. Okay. That's what else would I stay in
this country? One giant sharpie at a time. All right. We went from from road construction to
big, big signs. World domination. I love this. I checked out when I heard Home Depot.
(12:34):
What? You're more of a Lowe's girlie anyway. They keep blinds at Lowe's. You love a tiled floor.
Yeah. Better window treatments. Are we stereotyping you as you sit here with a flower shirt on?
No, I don't go to either one of them. That's a lie. I've been there with you more than once.
Because you were there. Yeah. To Lowe's. You made him. And when we had Pride and Local Music,
(12:58):
when it was on the street, we had to go to Home Depot and we had to do a big shop, remember?
Yeah. To hang our BFSs. To hang our BFSs. Yeah. We bought PVC pipe. Look at you use an acronyms.
That's impressive.
(13:18):
Austin Startup Funding is back to normal levels. A report over at Austin INNO says that the VC
ecosystem seems to appear to have normalized after some of the boom years in 21 and 22.
A couple of years of additional data. It looks like the Metro startup scene has
settled back into relatively stable funding numbers where we can expect to see about 700
(13:39):
million to a billion in deals each quarter. And that is according to Pitch Book and the
National Adventure Capital Association. I feel like I can see what those guys are wearing.
In the fourth quarter of 2024, startups in the Austin Metro area raised a total of 804 million
across only 71 different deals. It's the lowest deal count in the area since pre-COVID days,
(14:01):
but it's not far off from what we've seen since Venture Capital has cooled off.
So, Humdrum, as far as like the number of startups, but I will tell you having Chase
Startup funding over the years, it's nice to get a big check because it really moves your
company forward. So glad to see the startup wins happening in the area. I think you know
(14:21):
what they're wearing, Tina, because they're sitting behind you. I know, right? They're
khaki pants and a little poofy vest. They're all over.
Kackies. Kackies. Jake from Steve Farm. Expired. Expired. What are you wearing?
Kackies? I mean, the guy sitting in the booth. Don't turn around. You're so not discreet.
(14:45):
Turn back around, please. This is humiliating. Get me out of here. There's a lot of tech
startup businesses all over these shared workspaces. I will say the crappy part about VC. Well,
back in 2006, when I was in that space and searching for funding for PetsMD back in the day,
it was just under 4% of Venture Capital funding went to women. And I was in an event the other
(15:07):
night and there was a woman on stage and she was talking about venture capital market and what it's
looking like for women and then it's still at 4%. It's about the same for women in sports and
scholarship. Yeah, great. But no, according to the administration though, we've made it. We're
good. We don't need any extra leg up or access. Yeah, we're good. This is what it looks like.
(15:27):
We just didn't know equality meant 4%. I am not ready for this conversation.
I'm all hopped up on like cold and sinus medication and there's no telling what'll come out of this
mouth. Well, like the big, big startups that are getting all the money both here in Austin and
Silicon Valley are anything with it ends in dot AI and anything in that kind of open AI and
(15:54):
tropic space, NVIDIA, the chip maker that's doing all the AI work. I will say though, it's funny
that all these big companies came out this last week with pronouncements about they were going
to spend, you know, men was going to reserve $65 billion that they're going to spend on AI
infrastructure and all these companies. It was like, no, my number's bigger. No, I'm going to spend
(16:15):
more like they're promising all these things for the market. And then two days ago, shocker, a chip
manufacturer in China is like, yeah, I can do it cheaper. I like a 10th. Big surprise. Yeah, like
we haven't seen that before. Who knew they could do it in cheaper in China? Shocker. So now, of
course, everybody's having to adjust. The markets took a little bit of a dip this last week because
(16:38):
right investors were low over front loading thinking, okay, us, we're going to own the AI
market. We're going to build all this infrastructure. It's going to be great for the economy. All these
giant estimates that all of a sudden the investors like, wait a minute, we can do this for like a
10th of the cost. Do you guys even know what you're doing running your companies? Yeah. It's
shocker. Yeah, but there are some AI data centers coming into Texas. The only one that's been announced
(17:05):
so far is the one in Abilene. And I know there's some people sniffing around the outer skirts of
Austin because you can't put a data center in Austin proper. It just doesn't work. And then
we'll talk in the next story a little bit about kind of what that means for just the impact on
our infrastructure because it takes a great deal of energy to run those centers. Correct.
And I'm holding comment for the next story on that one. Yeah. Some of the top deals and Austin
(17:31):
inno has a full list, but some of the top deals, Firefly Aerospace got 175 million in venture
capital Halcyon, another tech giant got 115, Ladder 105, Parachute 93, and Digital Robotics 43
million. I will say like those are big numbers coming out of us because we don't put big money
in VCs in Austin. But most of the time you'll get a little bit of kind of a super angel or
(17:55):
early startup first round and then you got to go to West Coast to chase the rest. There's just not
a good, there's not a lot of hungry big, big Series A investors here. But we had a boom,
didn't we, a few years ago and now it's, I mean, so what's happened now is just maturity,
like maturing out businesses because it couldn't sustain at that level that they were investing.
(18:16):
Well, mostly investors here just they're not as mavericky as like the big Sequoia investors
types out in the West, on the West Coast. They're just, they're a little bit more, I remember when
I was pitching them, I walked into Austin Ventures office and it looked like the sky does out here
today. It was like, it looked like Severance. It was all white. It was like God's waiting room.
Great. And it was exactly the guys that are sitting behind me, the same looking guys.
(18:41):
And I started my pitch around PetsMD and after I got done, they asked me if I had any funders from
the West Coast because they were too chicken to do their own due diligence or to have independent
thought. So they were happy to be attack on investment if somebody else had already done
(19:02):
all the homework for them. Yeah. These are the guys in like your, in college, like in your group
class on your group project that never did shit and waited for somebody else to do it.
I love a sheep. I love sheeple. Yeah. What was it? What was your response?
I can't remember. I've had a few drinks since then. I don't know.
But good to see investment money flowing again.
(19:28):
So data centers are big time business in Texas. What does that mean for the grid? Energy demand
surges largely due to the crypto mining facilities and data centers and industrial electrification.
Texas officials are looking at how to increase supply and shore up the grid.
The rise of artificial intelligence and digitalization of the economy and everyday
(19:48):
life's growing computing needs have turbocharged the expansion of data centers,
driving the surge in electrical demand across Texas. They're looking at predictions of like
doubling in the next, it's 2030 sounds like so far away, but it's right around the corner.
Due to all of the big data center and crypto mining facilities, hydro production plants and gas
(20:11):
companies. I mean, just the joint venture between Open AI, Softbank and Oracle are looking at investing
$500 billion in AI infrastructure. Again, we mentioned earlier that Texas is already looking
at Abilene as a project for Oracle that's partnering actually with the US government on a data center
out in Abilene. I'd be curious to see like what kind of talent they're going to get
(20:33):
to work in these data centers in Abilene. Yeah. I wonder if they're going to be
inclusive and have good recruitment and retention practices for all of their employees in Texas.
Have you been to Abilene? I know this is probably like a job fair, like the cattle call, right?
Like they're going to be kids straight out of college. Right out of high school. Like, have
(20:54):
you ever heard of Abilene? Yeah. Let me tell you, they're going to be like, uh, yeah, you can work
at the Buffalo Wild Wings or you can work in AI. Does it have cell service? I think that would be
the first question. I mean, they barely have hotel infrastructure in Abilene. Yeah. As long as there's
a Chili's, there's Buffalo. There's Buffalo Wild. I don't even know if there is a Chili's out there.
(21:17):
In Abilene? I don't think there is. 100% there is. Been out there a half million times. Come on.
I haven't been in like five years. If there's a BDubs, then there's a Chili's. There's a BDub.
There might be. Maybe there's one on the long the highway, but either way, like what kind of talent
are you going to have working in your $500 million AI plant? And then on top of that, you got to be
able to move electricity into that area to be able to support a lot of electricity. Yeah.
(21:43):
Colton and I were talking about this the other day, weren't we? Yeah. Like when you ask chat,
GBT, a question, like what happens when you ask chat? Well,
excuse me. I'm not ready for that either. As you all know, yeah, chat GBT is becoming
a really good friend of mine. I've named them Japeto. They use they them pronouns.
(22:11):
But no, Colton and I were like nerding out on the fact that chat GBT and AI is using so much
energy that we're not aware of. It takes like 10 times the energy to do a basic search. It's
dreadful for the environment. Yes. Plus, central Texas in general, and central Texas especially,
is has a crisis of water, right? And it does take water to manufacture all these chips. Yeah. It does
(22:35):
take energy to then put all toward that. So like, I appreciate they're picking Texas because it's
good for jobs, good for the economy. Do we have infrastructure? I don't know. I think that's
going to be the bleeding question. Are these, I mean, we've just in a session the other day with
listening to who was I listening to? I think it was dogged the other day was talking about
(22:56):
our water pipes and our infrastructure being completely dilapidated. Was it with me on that
one? No, but you came back to the office to talk about it because you meant to be talking about
something else. And the meeting went down a rabbit hole talking about water. Yeah. Because our
infrastructure is just absolutely part of the pun right underwater. Well, next act.
(23:24):
Mr. Fiona, what do you got for us with fun facts? Well, I feel like it's been a really fun week.
So this fun fact is do you love pizza? Because you can thank an LGBTQ plus icon for pizza.
The first recorded use of the word pizza in English came from a lesbian poet. And her name is
(23:49):
Fanny Campbell. And this was in 1845. And she was British. That's a terrible name. British
check A become named Fanny and the B anything associated to do with an Italian food. I don't
know. That's as far as I got. But it's true. She's coined the term pizza. And then I didn't. So
(24:10):
yes, if you find Fanny Campbell, she was a British actress and playwright. And she was born 1809.
And she died in 1893. She was a British actress from a theater family. Fanny, help. We don't use
the word Fanny. The listener understand the origin and use of the word Fanny. Okay, so
(24:33):
I'll say this and keep it PG. So in England, the word Fanny is used for the female genitalia.
The front bum. And so you like you don't say Fanny pack ever like bum bag, but it's a bum bag. Exactly.
And you know, my nephew, Oscar is adorable. He's about 14 years old. And if you said Fanny pack
(25:00):
to him, he would like spit out his Coca Cola. I don't know. It just sounds like a gaggle lesbians.
He's like seven of them were coming at you in the island home Depot. Hey, next time we do the
the podcast for Austin pride. Instead of bikes, we'll be like, here's the Fanny pack.
(25:27):
I like it. I want to get a leather jacket made.
The Fanny packs are back. Oh, hell. Well, thank you for that. Lovely. You're very welcome.
You're very welcome. So did you know that our chamber has roughly 470 ish members give or
take the day of the week that includes everybody from the big corporate giants here in town
all the way down to as we call them mom and mom and pop and pops. Let's welcome some new members.
(25:51):
What do you got for us? We have double Scorpio LLC. Hey, Colton, new care to expand.
Yeah. VHS cleaner. You can find them at Wail Can Harry's in several places around town, but
it is a local Austin brand. Did you say a VHS cleaner? Yeah, we're leaving that.
(26:16):
Also, we have welcome. Welcome to the chamber. One line wellness chiropractic
and resilient strategies with your new friend, Rabbi Egger. Welcome. Welcome. I mean, she was
Johnny on the spot. Okay. So resilient strategies legit was like a 30 second join right before
(26:41):
a podcast. Highly resilient. Very resilient. Resilient with a Z Zed. She recognized an opportunity
and she jumped right on it. Yeah, it's good. That is a she's an executive coach. She's a doer.
She's a doer. I love that. And for a full list of our members, of course, you can check our
member directory for all of your needs at the Austin LGBT chamber.com Colton, what do you got
(27:05):
for new events, excitement, things, adorableness? Register now for our February 5th luncheon at
County Line on the Lake. I always get them confused. County Line on the Lake.
Dear, and Jackie with IGC will be speaking on Texas Legislature and nonpartisan civic engagement.
(27:27):
But like I said, registration is open. That event is filling up really quickly.
Barbecue barbecue. Oh, and important note, it is slightly more expensive to register for this
one because we all know that barbecue is expensive, right? But it's really good.
And there are options for people that don't eat meat. Oh, that is true. Good options. And it's
(27:51):
still barbecue. But we still yield. We need you to register and let us know in advance so that
the kitchen can be ready for you as well. Yes, please. Yes, yes, yes. You can also join us on
February 19th. We are partnering with NGLCC on a virtual event celebrating and honoring Black
History Month. Nice. You can also join us on February 20th for our monthly chamber happy hour
(28:18):
at El Raval. I'm excited for that one and excited to celebrate their community impact grants.
I love a good traditional seltzer water. Like the little seltzer canisters they've got behind
the bar when they make their cocktails. Oh, yeah. That's you. You drink seltzer?
(28:39):
Yeah. What? The carbonation station. The carbonation station.
And I don't remember that from I'm just a bill. I'm just a bill. I love that little
cartoon guy. He looks so sad sitting on the steps. Well, he was real sad. Maybe we have a screening
(29:00):
of that. He gets thrown around a lot. Yeah, he's getting thrown around a lot today. Let's have a
screening of that. It's an old American cartoon about how a bill is passed and it's this little
rolled up cartoon. Schoolhouse Rock, right? He's got a little ribbon on him and little legs and
he's going through the process. I'm just a bill here on Capitol Hill. Yep. Got it. Thank you.
(29:21):
Very, very cute. For our international audience, you're welcome.
You can also register to join us February 22nd in Lockhart. We are returning to Lockhart as
part of our small town big pride program. Yay. Yay. We're still ironing out the schedule and a
(29:42):
couple more details, but we'll have a map and a list of members very, very soon. If you know of
any Lockhart businesses that you think would be a good fit for this program, please send them our
way and let's show up and support Lockhart's LGBTQ owned and allied businesses. Yes. And you can pay
$10 and get on a bus downtown Austin on 4th Street. We will bring you back. Yeah. And there will be
(30:08):
beverages on the Lockhart art bus. So it's like Lockhart all around with Chad Ray as our driver
and host on the way down there. If you did not join us last time, holy cow, you have a lot of work
to do. Get your fanny packs. Get your fanny pack together and wear some comfortable shoes because
you got a lot of spots to hit when we hit Lockhart. It was fun. It was like a sprint. So I'm like,
(30:29):
no joke. Definitely wear something super comfy. Don't just get there and like pour yourself into
the first bar you see. No. Get your running shoes on. Go spend some money. Hit all the little
stores. We'll have a great little map for you to go and explore. It's such a cute little square.
There will be plenty of time for us all to congregate and have some fellowship
(30:50):
with a seltzer or something better. And with Mayor Lou. Mayor Lou loves us. Mayor Lou does love us
and he loves the contribution the queer economy makes on Texas. So man, we just knocked his socks
off with those stats. I mentioned Lockhart to somebody the other day. They're fairly new to
Austin. They've only been here a couple of years, but even they knew about the lesbian mafia.
(31:15):
Of Lockhart? Of Lockhart. I know it is powered by lesbians. I love it. You know, we just, we're
there. You may not see us, but we're always watching. This one feels like going to most small
Texas towns. Is it farm or family? Because you can't tell. Is it just a farm chick? Or like,
(31:36):
if you can light a match off her face, farm chick. Too leathered. Hang on just a second.
I think that you need to modernize your view of rural folk because I know many a gay cowboy
in Lockhart as well. And they are fabulously groomed and are farmers. I'm not surprised they're
(31:57):
fabulously groomed. And the bisexuals are somewhere. Yeah, they're everywhere. Everywhere.
Isn't that like all of Gen Z? I'm sorry. Pretty much. Yes. Yes. For sure. Don't forget to check out
our member events too. There are tons of exciting member events coming up, including a co-op's 30th
(32:18):
birthday bash. So congrats to our friends at co-op. Queer Cinema Screenings, the future of I-35,
and more. As always, you can find out more information about all of these events at
AustinLGBTChamber.com. Never a shortage of things to do to get involved. And right now, right,
people are lamenting and boo-hooing. Get involved. Get off the couch, start off the TV, go do things.
(32:42):
Be with the community. Yeah. Because the community needs that fellowship right now. So definitely.
Correct. For sure. Well, as always, thank you for joining us. If you want to learn more about
becoming a Chamber member or more events, visit us at AustinLGBTChamber.com. If you want to be a
guest or a sponsor, email us at info at AustinLGBTChamber.com. Listen to our show every Friday
(33:08):
wherever you get your podcasts. Be sure to follow us. Thanks, and we'll see you next time.
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