In case you haven’t noticed, we’re a hyperlocal blog that loves to share about the gems we find in Austin. When we originally found out about the Go Local Austin card from some friends, we looked into it.

Though the card is now available in 11 different cities, including Boston, Chicago, Houston and Albuquerque, the genesis of the company started right here in the city of Austin. Bob Tuschak founded Go Local on Earth Day 2008 and thousands of local businesses and consumers have been benefiting from his idea ever since then.

The concept behind Go Local Austin is simple and it has two parts:

Part 1: Give local Austinites the ability to save money and support local businesses at the same time.

Part 2: Give local businesses an incentive program for new customers who want to support Austin business. [Read more…]

Dan Graham, BuildASign CEO

If you go to the home page of BuildASign’s website, you may think to yourself, “This isn’t the type of small, local business that The Austinot normally talks about. And is it even based in Austin?”

I validate your secret thoughts because I thought them too. At first.

Though BuildASign now serves four different countries, employs more than 200 people and pulled in $30 million in revenue last year, the company didn’t start there. In fact, BuildASign’s story began not too differently from many of the Austin entrepreneurs and small business owners who you know and love. [Read more…]

70% of all perc used by traditional dry cleaners ends up in the environment. That’s bad. The EPA and the International Agency for Research on Cancer have concluded that this toxic cleaning agent, formally named perchloroethylene, likely causes cancer. By 2023, perc will be illegal in the state of California.

When his daughter became sick from a dry cleaning facility near her home, EcoClean founder John Henderson did his homework. In 1996, he broke the mold for garment cleaning in Austin when he opened EcoClean and decided to use wet cleaning only. [Read more…]

A local app focused solely on Austin  is saving Austinites money and providing exposure for Austin businesses.

Weird Coupons Helps Austin

If you want or need something, chances are there’s an Austinite who makes it, provides it, carries it or creates it. -WeirdCoupons.com

Vital Skin Care is a small, local business that uses Weird Coupons

On June 26th, we published an article about Weird Coupons, a company that believes in Austin and is dedicated to exclusively helping local businesses. [Read more…]

Kong Screen Printing HQ is at Artpost Collective on the eastside

Most of us go about our lives without giving much thought to how the common objects around us came into existence. For me, one of those objects is the screen printed t-shirt.

Don’t worry, this isn’t going to turn into a rant against sweatshops. That’s Thursday’s post.

Today on The Austinot, we’re highlighting a local business that prizes creativity, diligence and customer service. We had the privilege of going on an Austinot field trip to Kong Screen Printing, and now we get to share our experience with you. [Read more…]

Living in a city full of innovators and risk-takers is exciting. The vibrant startup scene in Austin is part of what makes our culture unique. I can’t go to a networking event without meeting an individual with bright eyes who wants to share his or her dream with the world.

But the business formation process can be messy. An exciting idea doesn’t automatically lead to a solid company.

Maybe it’s the pragmatist in me, but some startup ideas make me scratch my head a bit. Sometimes I just can’t envision how a certain idea is going to work.

Then sometimes, I can. [Read more…]

This guest blog post is by Kristin Shaw.

You can hear the car before you step into it…a quarter million dollars’ worth of Italian engineering is warming up to the task ahead, seeming to protest loudly before settling into a content purr. The sleek lines of the vehicle attract me like a magnet, and I am in awe as I lower myself into the smooth leather seat, close to the ground.

Pulling onto the access road and then the highway, I feel a slight jerk as the car settles into second gear, third gear, fourth gear. The faster I drive, the smoother it rides.

“The Ferrari is happiest at 3-4 RPM,” Jacob tells me from the passenger seat. “You’ll feel it adjust.”

I had worn high wedges for the pre-drive photo shoot, but I switched into flat sandals with the idea that I want to feel the power of the automobile as close to me as possible. It proves to be a wise decision as I press my foot to the floor on the on-ramp to the new toll road, near the Lone Star Exotic Rentals office south of Austin. [Read more…]