{"podcast":{"title":"Austin Next","slug":"austin-next","podcast_index_feed_id":4121279,"rss_url":"https://feeds.transistor.fm/austin-next","website_url":"https://www.austinnextpodcast.com/","image_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/6a6CJqr4c87rzQlg0YYc1WBwLhYqnZdviZ4MJbmQmzc/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:1400/h:1400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS8wODE0/YzJjMTNjM2YzZTM3/MzZmNmVhOTRkNjNl/MTQ5OC5wbmc.jpg","author":"Jason Scharf","episode_count":178,"summary":"Austin is building the new tech, cultural, and intellectual stack. The region is a living laboratory to answer a single question: How do you build a global innovation superpower? Host Jason Scharf dissects innovation from the individual to the ecosystem. From the soundstage to the data center to the fab, we decode the mechanics of Austin's innovation ecosystem. As Atoms, Bits, and Intelligence converge, we explore how Hard Tech scale, digital velocity, and creative density collide. This is an audit of the future. We map the physics of the flywheel so builders and investors can navigate the chaos.","last_synced_at":null,"page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/austin-next"},"episode":{"title":"What Building in Austin Actually Feels Like Right Now | Will Johnson & Alex Cohen","slug":"what-building-in-austin-actually-feels-like-right-now-will-johnson-alex-cohen","published_at":"2026-04-29T12:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/austin-next/what-building-in-austin-actually-feels-like-right-now-will-johnson-alex-cohen","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/austin-next","url":"https://share.transistor.fm/s/b27ba4a8","audio_url":"https://media.transistor.fm/b27ba4a8/8a6efb04.mp3","summary":"This was not the episode we planned. Will Johnson, founder and CEO of Gyde, and Alex Cohen, founder and CEO of Hello Patient, came on to talk about innovation in the business of health. Instead it became our off the record conversations, but behind the microphone. An unfiltered field report on what it actually feels like to build a startup in Austin right now. The talent math, hunting for mid-size office space, the venture culture, Austin vs Miami, the press gap, and the political friction. All of it from two founders who chose this city, are hiring here, and are naming what needs to change because they want it to work. Agenda 0:00 Why Alex and Will chose Austin 5:17 The engineering talent gap 14:10 Who gets hired and the conference hustle 20:58 Miami, Palantir, and competing for wins 26:02 What SF's venture culture has that Austin is still building 32:58 Operator density problem and the office gap 41:05 Why selling to Main Street works better from Austin 50:16 More storytellers needed 59:16 SXSW's decline 1:05:18 King of Austin for a day Guest Links and Bios Alex Cohen: X/Twitter, LinkedIn , Hello Patient Will Johnson: X/Twitter , LinkedIn , Gyde ------------------- Austin Next Links: Website , X/Twitter , YouTube , LinkedIn Ecosystem Metacognition Substack","meta_description":"This was not the episode we planned. Will Johnson, founder and CEO of Gyde, and Alex Cohen, founder and CEO of Hello Patient, came on to talk about innova…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":4306,"processing_state":"processed","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/austin-next/episodes/what-building-in-austin-actually-feels-like-right-now-will-johnson-alex-cohen/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/austin-next/what-building-in-austin-actually-feels-like-right-now-will-johnson-alex-cohen.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}