Breakthrough Series: Community Events
The Breakthrough Series is designed to provide resources to technology professionals within the Central Texas region to help address key operation and strategic issues. Information from industry experts will focus on the following areas: growth, disruptive innovation, company culture, technology and operations. Speakers and hosts of the Breakthrough series have included Circuit of the Americas (F1), Facebook, Mutual Mobile, Uship, Homeaway, and Spredfast.
Past Breakthrough Series Events:
Capital Factory
Thank you for joining ATC’s February 27 Breakthrough Series at Capital Factory. It’s no wonder everyone is buzzing about Capital Factory. Josh shared with us how he got involved in his first startup and why he is so passionate about creating a dynamic environment to help Austin entrepreneurs succeed. He also shared his perspective on what sets Austin apart from other tech cities such as Silicon Valley, New York and Boston, quoting Bijoy Goswami, “the tech scene in Austin is about ‘being yourself.’” Finally, he concluded the discussion with some predictions about what’s in store for Austin in the next decade.
About Joshua Baer:
Joshua Baer helps people quit their jobs and become entrepreneurs. He founded Capital Factory to help mentor and invest in tech startups in Austin, Texas. Joshua founded his first startup in 1996 in his college dormitory at CMU and now teaches a class at the University of Texas for student entrepreneurs.
MapMyFitness
Thank you for joining us on January 24 at MapMyFitness where CEO & Co-Founder, Robin Thurston, led the discussion on the Growth in Health Technology.
About Robin Thurston:
Prior to MapMyFitness Robin worked in the investment management industry where he spent more than 14 years as a senior manager at a number of industry leading firms including Lipper, American Century Investments, and most recently, Wellington Management in Boston. During his time there he actively contributed to the development of many of the investment technology platforms and models that are widely employed by investment management professionals today. Robin has participated in endurance sports all his life and he still competes in USCF sanctioned masters bicycle races. Notably, Robin rode as professional cyclist for the Swiss Helvetica-Lugano team for four years. Robin attained his B.S. in Finance from the Metropolitan State College of Denver, and then went on to earn an M.S. in Finance from the University of Colorado Denver.
Tabbedout
ATC’s industry leaders met at Tabbedout for a night of networking, ping pong, DJ’s and beer.
Mobile and Commerce innovators at TabbedOut hosted ATC’s Breakthrough attendees and Tabbedout Co-Founder, Rick Orr, lead the discussion on trending controversies in mobile payment.
About Rick Orr:
Rick Orr is the Executive Vice President, GM and co-founder of Tabbedout, an idea he conceived after waiting almost an hour to close his check at a restaurant circa 2002. Prior to Tabbedout, Rick was part of the founding group of WholeSecurity, a security software firm acquired by Symantec in 2005. Post-acquisition, Rick joined Symantec as a Senior Product Manager within their Norton consumer division. He then moved on to Austin-based global card processing provider, MPOWER Labs / Rev Worldwide, where he held the title of Vice President of Product Management.
Rick and Co-founder, David Lemley, worked together contiguously for nearly 9 years prior to founding Tabbedout in June 2009. It was this deep background in security and card payments software, shared by Rick and Dave, which led the duo to focus on creating a more secure and convenient way for consumers to pay at bars and restaurants.
Mutual Mobile
A record number of attendees joined ATC at Mutual Mobile in July. 70 registered tech industry leaders experienced Mutual Mobile CEO, John Arrow, present evolutionary topics and controversial trends in tech. Arrow gave insight to Mutual Mobile Google partnership developments with Google catalogs, education and healthcare. Click the links below to see videos from Arrow’s presentation on the Top 3 Controversial Tech Trends of the Future.
2. Haptics
About John Arrow:
John Arrow is a veteran of entrepreneurship with a passion for harnessing disruptive and emerging technologies. His ability to combine market vision with methodical execution has propelled Mutual Mobile, Inc. to become the world’s largest and most called-upon mobile consulting company. Over the last ten years, John founded successful businesses in the online payment processing industry and the consumer and enterprise software spaces. He also created one of the first site targeted PPC advertising networks. An adventurer and an innovator, John founded Mutual Mobile with the vision to unite the best minds in mobile technologies to pursue world changing endeavors. John is an avid pilot and sits on the board of the Austin Technology Council.
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