Honestly thought the whole 'Austin tech happy hour' thing was just for show

Tbh, I went to one at Central Machine Works last month thinking it would just be awkward small talk. Ngl, I ended up having a real conversation with a founder from a local AI startup that turned into a contract for my small dev shop. What are some other spots around town where you've actually made good business connections?

3 comments

3 Comments

elliot_gibson271mo ago

Got the same feeling about those events for years. Almost skipped the last one at Zilker Brewing because it seemed like a waste of time. Ended up chatting with a guy about his website problems for like twenty minutes, and he hired my team to rebuild it the next week. Those low key brewery meetups are where the real talk happens, not the fancy hotel lobby ones.

henryp401mo ago

You know, I had the same thing happen at a meetup at Radio Coffee. Thought it would just be people handing out cards, but I ended up talking to a guy about a simple database issue. That turned into a long-term support gig. The casual spots seem to work better for me too. I've made a couple solid contacts just hanging around the patio at Meanwhile Brewing on a Thursday.

kelly.charlie1mo ago

I used to think that too, but the patio at Cosmic Coffee has actually led to some real work.