Has Elon Musk moved to Austin?
Maybe. But it’s not official yet.
What is official is that Musk’s private charity, the Musk Foundation, moved its headquarters to Austin, as reported by Bloomberg last week.
Also official: Oracle announced on Friday that it’s relocating its headquarters here from Redwood City, CA.
The two build on a long-standing trend of companies and industry leaders making moves to the heart of Texas to seek lower taxes and cost of living and proximity to technical talent. Just this year, nearly 40 companies spanning tech and other industries have relocated their headquarters to Austin, according to the Austin Chamber of Commerce.
What does Built In Austin have to say?
We welcome it and encourage our new guests to get to know their neighbors in this growing tech community. To help, we’ve selected four this month that had marquee years and show promise heading into 2021.
What they do: For sports that don’t receive the same primetime treatment as football, there’s FloSports. The online streaming station provides 25 channels dedicated to sports that include wrestling, swimming and dance to more than 500,000 subscribers. Most recently, the company bought the online rights for cycling events held by the Union Cycliste Internationale.
On shifting goals this year: FloSports CEO Mark Floreani offered this tip for other leaders grappling with the changing conditions of 2020 due to COVID-19.
“For most of us, the goals we hoped to hit this year are not going to happen” Floreani said. “The faster you accept this and set new goals for yourself, your company and each department, the better. This was no one’s fault. Adjust your goals to the new realities and be excited about them.”
Growth in 2020: Floreani’s approach seems to have paid off. While ESPN reportedly laid off employees and watched subscriptions decline, FloSports saw 122 percent subscriber growth this year since December 2019.
What they do: Iodine Software’s AI system helps hospitals examine full clinical records of every patient to ensure reimbursements are met. Last year, the company said it helped 500 hospitals realize an average of more than $30 million in reimbursements.
On self-care in the workplace: As personal and professional lines blurred while so many people worked remotely, the importance of self-care remained front and center. Iodine’s VP of Client Experience Tim O’Hara advised others to identify the things in life that matter most and share those priorities with their leadership.
“I remember feeling some trepidation when, many years ago, I told my boss that I wanted to leave work each day at 4 p.m. in order to have quality time with my young kids each evening. He was very supportive, and it restored balance to my life that I had been struggling to achieve” O’Hara said.
Growth in 2020: Iodine’s database has grown to more than 20 million patient admissions and captured over 400,000 physicians' behaviors. Additionally, Iodine’s Austin team expanded to more than 60 members this year and has roles open in sales, marketing, operations, finance and engineering.
What they do: Founded in 2016, ePayPolicy offers insurance agents, brokers and premium finance companies a platform to accept electronic payments. In January 2020, the company received a significant investment from private equity firm Serent Capital. While ePayPolicy did not disclose the amount, representatives confirmed that the funding would be used to support its growth plans.
Leadership mantra: Co-founder Todd Sorrel shared his approach to coping with unforeseen challenges and how to plan ahead.
“The only thing we know to be constant is change,” Sorrel said. “We have always had a culture of giving our team members big tasks and trusting them to execute. Now we get to watch each other grow and succeed through these unusual times. Moving forward, we’ll continue to adjust our strategy as needed.”
Growth in 2020: The company started the year with about 2,300 clients and has since added another thousand, according to its website. Additionally, ePayPolicy’s team, headquartered in Austin, has grown to more than 40 employees and is hiring for engineering, HR and sales.
What they do: AdAction Interactive’s marketing platform helps drive user growth and downloads for mobile applications. The company, headquartered in Lakewood, Colorado, hired its third employee out of Austin and has had a local office since 2013.
Fostering curiosity: VP of Business Development Matt Ranta said that he helps instill curiosity in his team by coaching them to seek their own answers and embrace failure. He offered these tips for other leaders on how to do so.
“Refrain from telling them specifically what to do for every task if you’re in a leadership position,” Ranta said. “Additionally, managers have to be curious and ask questions, teach themselves and share the interesting things they learn with coworkers. Finally, I think it’s necessary to allow for failure and encourage risk-taking.”
Growth in 2020: In May, the company announced plans to open a London office to accommodate its increased demand for international advertisers, especially in Europe, which accounts for one-third of the top game and app publishers in the world.
