Catalyzing Innovation in Austin: A Live Conversation at the Texas Venture Crawl with Kaitlyn DeBernardo and Aaron Perman

Austin Next

In this live episode from the Texas Venture Crawl, I'm joined by Kaitlyn DeBernardo of Next Coast Ventures and Aaron Perman of S3 Ventures to delve into Austin's entrepreneurial landscape. We unpack the shifts in venture capital operating models, the essential role of community in innovation, as well as the forces that both fuel and challenge Austin's ongoing growth.

Episode Highlights

• Next Coast Ventures is an early-stage generalist venture firm in Austin with $500 million under management focused mainly on Series A, but will invest in Seed and Series B.
• S3 Ventures is an Austin-based venture capital firm with $900 million under management, investing in B2B software, consumer digital experiences, and healthcare tech at Seed, Series A, and Series B.
• The ubiquity of AI tools like Co-Pilots and ChatGPT allow companies to build faster than before making true technical innovation and product moats even more vital.
• The VC platform role has grown to provide hands-on support to portfolio companies beyond just capital, especially for early-stage firms. Support spans talent, marketing, operations, and expertise like finance.
• Venture capitalists are catalyzing long-term ecosystem growth by offering mentorship, making key introductions, and providing strategic advice to startups and founders, irrespective of their investment relationship. This broader engagement enriches the ecosystem creating a pipeline of future opportunities.
• What’s next Austin?
  • Aaron - “I think growth and scale…we're one of the few markets that hasn't seen a drop off. I really do feel like the gains Austin has made have been pretty well cemented, and it's almost given us a whole other foundation to go build on for the next decade.
  • Kaitlyn - “I'm super excited about all things digital health right now—the addition of Dell Medical School, recent edition of new labs in town…the backdrop, the talent. I think there's going to be a real kind of step change in some digital health companies coming out of Austin.”

Aaron Perman: LinkedIn,

S3 Ventures: Website, LinkedIn, X/Twitter

Kaitlyn DeBernardo: LinkedIn,

Next Coast Ventures: Website, LinkedIn, X/Twitter

The Power of Platform: How VC Platform Teams Contribute to Outsized Fund Returns

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