Bronson Willard and his painter, Kurt Mitchell, work their magic for Austin’s motorcycle scene

The Republic of Texas Motorcycle Rally is six months away. How embarrassing would it be if you pulled that bike out a week before the rally to find it doesn’t start?  What if your kid, who’s horrible at baseball, threw a fastball and your gas tank caught it? What if your cat had a litter of kittens in the saddle bag? You better get that thing to Southern Metal Choppers, and you better do it now.

From Humble Beginnings

I had a Harley Sportster in the spring of 2003. I was blissfully jamming around town when I got the bright idea to replace the rear shocks with a pair of solid struts. That would lower the rear suspension and give it a cool hot rod look. It would also be a spine-rattling experience.

I inquired about the modification at Central Texas Harley Davidson and the dude who sold me the bike told me about a pair of cousins who just opened a shop in an industrial park near Golfsmith. I cruised over and found Bronson and Jason Willard in a mostly empty shop. They were hurriedly trying to finish the wiring on a stripped down Buell Cyclone. We quickly became friendly and, while I never got those struts made, we had a blast at [Read more…]

Burpy’s five founders, all students at The University of Texas

“September was a real month,” 21 year old Aseem Ali announced with a sparkle in his eye. The young startup founder was basking in the recent success of his brainchild, a grocery-delivery program called Burpy.

Grocery shopping is one of the time-consuming necessities in our lives. Aseem and Burpy’s other four co-founders – all University of Texas students ranging in age from 19-22 – started their service for UT students who didn’t have transportation to get to and from the grocery store. The customer base of the young company has evolved, and Burpy now serves many Austin residential families as well. For busy moms, grocery shopping isn’t as much of a transportation issue as it is a time issue. [Read more…]

Mitscoots socks are American-made and packaged in Austin by locals in need of work

“I’d love to never give away socks again because no one needs them,” Tim Scott declared. As the co-founder of Mitscoots, Tim has built his business around giving away socks…or so it seems. In reality, Tim’s vision for community change is much more expansive.

A successful Indiegogo campaign jolted Mitscoots into being in 2012. Six months ago, Tim came on full-time. Customers, non-profits and retail stores are all excited about this company built around a cause. Last month, The Austin Chronicle recognized Mitscoots with a “Best of Austin” award for their impact in Austin and beyond. [Read more…]