Twitter can be a super useful tool, giving us access to news, global perspectives and thought leadership from the world’s most notable individuals.
But it’s also a great way to make friends and build community. You can meet like-minded people, learn about what companies are up to and even discover events, right from the comfort of your own screen.
Every year, we share a list of 50 people from Austin’s tech and startup community we think are worth following. This curated list is meant to give you a starting point for discovering great people to follow in our community — by no means is it exhaustive. (If we were to include everyone we love to follow… we’d be exhausted!)
So, without further ado, our 2016 list of 50 people in Austin tech to follow on Twitter:
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Christopher Calnan
Business reporter at Austin Business Journal
Tweets about: Local tech news, usually articles he’s researched and written himself.
Twitter bio: Boston-born Austin Biz Journal reporter covering tech, startups, VC & financing; Northeastern Univ.; truth, justice, Steinbeck & da Sox.
.@MIT professor @Nnegroponte tells #Austin audience internet access like highways and education: https://t.co/1HHU9t7QXJ @NXP
— Christopher Calnan (@abjcalnan) May 18, 2016
Andrew Busey
CEO and Co-Founder at Team Chaos, Legit.com
Tweets about: Investing, interactive tech, the local tech economy and its politics
Twitter bio: I turn ideas into reality. See also @legitapp, @teamchaos, @capitalfactory. Check out my new novel: Accidental Gods on Kindle.
First trip to airport since #prop1 - what a disaster. I guess our quant city council didn't consider impact on airport parking. @MayorAdler
— Andrew Busey (@andrewbusey) May 17, 2016
Arlo Gilbert
CEO at Televero
Tweets about: Investing, interactive tech, the local tech economy and its politics
Twitter bio: Voted most likely to find a loophole. Inventor, Investor, Operator. CEO @televero
Google announces voice activated home device. We can only hope they support this longer than Revolv. https://t.co/Hdnnu6RMS6
— Arlo Gilbert (@arlogilbert) May 18, 2016
Ashley Doyal
Co-founder at recruitHER
Tweets about: Diversity and equality in tech
Twitter bio: Co-founder of @recruitHER I Diversity Recruiting & HR Leader I Recruited for: @pandora_music, @ea, @arkanestudios. Louisiana born + proud! #diversityintech
Part 2 of our series on salary negotiation is live! Never negotiated (or don't feel confident when you do)? Read on! https://t.co/30lPRa6Yvr
— Ashley Doyal (@ashley_doyal) May 11, 2016
Ashley Jennings
Co-Founder/Senior Producer at Capital Factory studios
Tweets about: Local tech and politics
TX, DC, NYC and now in #ATX makin’ media for startups & entrepreneurs at @CapitalFactory. Hustlin,’ espresso lovin,’ dream MAKER. Got a story? Let’s tell it.
"We're at that point where @netflix is close to distributing journalism... The landscape is changing." @tgraham33 @CrosswindPR #ATX #Media
— Ashley Jennings (@ashleyjjennings) May 13, 2016
Jason Cohen
Founder at WP Engine
Tweets about: Web development, weird science
Twitter bio: Keyword, buzzword, half-truth, adjective, hey look at me!
First periscope should be fun! https://t.co/ppfVwGekWO
— Jason Cohen (@asmartbear) May 17, 2016
Bryan Menell
COO at AngelSpan
Tweets about: Tech industry labor issues and politics, investing and occasional comedy
Twitter bio: COO at AngelSpan. Nationally ranked trivia champion. Once won a dance contest.
Venture Beat says @AngelSpanInc is Step 8 (communicate) of 10 if you're doing #crowdfunding https://t.co/tUlAG2Cew0 (cc @jason)
— Bryan Menell (@bmenell) May 16, 2016
Brent Wistrom
Staff writer at Austin Inno
Tweets about: Tech news and local news and politics — and especially the overlap of all three.
Twitter bio: Staff Writer @austininno. Adventurist. Guitarist.
Another Uber Competitor Sets Its Sights on Austin https://t.co/2qwwS1Ssqy via @AustinInno
— Brent Wistrom (@BrentWistrom) May 14, 2016
D. Keith Casey, Jr.
Director of Product at @ClarifyIO
Tweets about: API design and broader issues in web development and the Austin tech scene
Twitter bio:Director of Product at @ClarifyIO; PHP and API guy, runs @AustinAPI; husband; co-author of https://TheAPIDesignBook.com; Former Twilio evangelist
Do you need to stay up to date on #API News & Trends? Check out our newsletter published every Thurs: https://t.co/agsCNeZwRE
— D Keith Casey Jr (@CaseySoftware) March 28, 2016
Claire England
Executive Director at CTAN
Tweets about: Austin’s startup investment landscape
Twitter bio: Executive Director @CTANAngels. Startup Ecosystem Leader. Public Speaker. Community Volunteer. Love Travel, Triathlon, Cello, Reading, Dogs. Native Austinite.
Ugh. Let's get solutions, folks. @MayorAdler @Uber_ATX @lyft @GetMe_USA @AustinChamber @austintexasgov #atxcouncil https://t.co/BT3yWl7HHA
— Claire England (@ClaireEngland) May 13, 2016
Colin Anawaty
Co-founder, CPO at Patient IO
Tweets about: Tech, design and healthcare
Twitter bio: Co-founder, CPO of @PatientIO. #designer #technologist #adventurer
Local TNCs are for opportunists – not technologists. No scale, data, capital, talent. It’s only a matter of time. https://t.co/9w4s5RzRnt
— Colin Anawaty (@colin) May 17, 2016
Chris Aniszczyk
Follow @cra //
Executive Director at CNCF.io
Tweets about: Open source tech
Twitter bio: Interim Executive Director CNCF.io / Open Source Pragmatist / Avid Runner / Bourbon / Always Paying it Forward
"In Oracle v. Google, a Nerd Subculture Is on Trial" via @sarahjeong https://t.co/DA1b7G7Iit
— Chris Aniszczyk (@cra) May 12, 2016
David Altounian
Entrepreneur and professor
Tweets about: Tech entrepreneurship and digital media
Twitter bio: Tech entrepreneur. Assist Prof in the Digital Media Mgmt Pgm at St. Edwards Univ., Capital Factory Partner, Kellogg MBA, Ph.D. OKState
Excited to moderate the "Economic Small Business Trends panel" at Small Business Festival. https://t.co/Wbqv6XUyHr @SmallBizFest #SBF2016
— David Altounian (@daltounian) April 28, 2016
Dan Graham
CEO, Owner at BuildASign.com
Tweets about: Local tech entrepreneurship and politics
Twitter bio: All progress depends on the unreasonable man. -George Bernard Shaw
Special thanks to @maharg for stopping by this afternoon's @SmallBizFest How to Meet Investors in #Austin #AMA. pic.twitter.com/vxcJWBMiex
— ATXStartupScene (@ATXStartupScene) May 3, 2016
Dej Mejia
UI designer
Tweets about: UI design
Twitter bio: ui/ux designer, user advocate, @SXSW Interactive Innovation Awards judge, boxer, human to an australian shepherd, disappearer of sugar in Austin, TX
"...gesture controls feel so natural... because they resemble interacting with a real object." https://t.co/HpwOtLQLdq #UX #uxdesign
— Dej Mejia (@dejmejia) April 15, 2016
Tyler Durman
Content Marketer at OneSpot
Tweets about: Content marketing
Twitter bio: Helping marketers personalize content marketing at @OneSpot | @UTAustin Alum | Guitar Player coming off hiatus | Practicing #Millennial | Native Austinite
.@OneSpot's gone cross-channel! Check out the story, early results in @adexchanger https://t.co/Q0CYp1KfSL #contentmarketing
— Tyler Durman (@durmantyler) October 28, 2015
Eric Simone
CEO at ClearBlade
Tweets about: IoT, Austin tech issues, Chicago sports
Twitter bio: CEO @ClearBlade #IoT #ATX #cubs #blackhawks #PurdueAlumn https://www.clearblade.com/
IoT has to move to the cloud's edge https://t.co/VMnSY96fZS @ClearBlade #Novi
— Eric Simone (@esimone928) May 17, 2016
Sean Nathaniel
CTO at Upland Software
Tweets about: Entrepreneurship, automation and B2B tech
Twitter bio: CTO @UplandSoftware and GM @FileBound
Exciting news for @UplandSoftware and @FileBound! https://t.co/IojJIGbWZJ
— Sean Nathaniel (@fbcio) April 28, 2016
Rob Taylor
CEO and President at Convey and BlackLocus
Tweets about: Entrepreneurship, e-commerce and Austin’s tech investment landscape
Twitter bio: @Get_Convey CEO, @BlackLocus Pres, @TrueCar GM, @CapitalFactory Partner, @Techstars Mentor
Tomorrow! Intro to Mentoring & Angel Investing in #Austin with @JoshuaBaer & @GoRobTaylor at 10:30am. Join us! https://t.co/7TFfWXCBiB
— ATXStartupScene (@ATXStartupScene) May 9, 2016
Doug Bain
CRO at eyeQ, Inc.
Tweets about: Entrepreneurship
Twitter bio: Chief Revenue Officer at eyeQ, Inc. - accelerating revenue growth for the best brands in the world through revolutionary in-store personalization technology
I published “A Few Things Less Said About Austin's Prop 1” https://t.co/bAvRucaiZz
— Doug Bain (@Growtheorem) May 7, 2016
Heather Brunner
CEO at WP Engine
Tweets about: Leadership, productivity and diversity in tech
Twitter bio: CEO @wpengine BOD @uwatx @AmplifyAustin @BazaarvoiceFdn @localeur Passionate about working towards equality and opportunity for all people
Relationships take time & they evolve. Advocacy is achieved only after earning credibility, respect & trust. pic.twitter.com/f70y7HSds6
— Heather J. Brunner (@heatherjbrunner) May 16, 2016
Karthik Gaekwad
Senior Software Engineer at Oracle
Tweets about: Software development
Twitter bio: I live in Austin, write @golang, and know stuff about burgers, containers and @docker. Organize @devopsdays, @container_days and @cloud_austin
We really need to be a more tolerant, inviting tech community. Let's keep our egos at the door and focus on problems that really matter.
— Karthik Gaekwad (@iteration1) May 5, 2016
Jacqueline Hughes
Events producer at Techstars
Tweets about: Austin’s tech community and the events that keep it connected
Twitter bio: Events at @Techstars, Producer of @AtxStartupWeek, Trustee at @AtxAwesome. Hip hip hooray! Runs on coffee, tacos, cupcakes.
Had a chance to check out @UrbanCoLabATX today and wow -- amazing coworking space in east Austin. Congrats and great meeting you @ncofield!
— Jacqueline Hughes (@JacquelinesLife) May 14, 2016
Jan Ryan
President and Co-Founder at Social Dynamx (acquired by Lithium in 2012)
Tweets about: Entrepreneurship, sales and women in tech
Twitter bio: President, Co-Founder of Social Dynamx. Passionate about redefining customer support in the age of social media. Acquired by Lithium Technologies, Fall of ’12
A lot of fun being on the Panel, and such a great group! https://t.co/OhP6vVa8gR
— janryan (@janryan) May 17, 2016
Jennifer Dennis
Director at Oracle Marketing Cloud Events
Tweets about: Networking and leadership in tech
Twitter bio: Director of @OracleMktgCloud Events. Also: hiking kayaks running music food wine art
Come see @awatpa lead @OracleMktgCloud panel feat. Calloway + eharmony #mktgmoment071 #GartnerDMC 3:15 today!
— Jennifer Dennis (@JenniferDennis) May 18, 2016
John Eitel
Head of IT Sales at Spiceworks
Tweets about: Marketing and selling enterprise IT
Twitter bio: Father. Tech Guy. Entrepreneur. Investor. Mentor…Head of IT Sales at Spiceworks.
Great article on the challenges of "chasing consumers" or going after the all mighty enterprise....love that it is t…https://t.co/Z8A28S1Fxh
— John Eitel (@Johneitel) May 6, 2016
Joshua Baer
Founder at Capital Factory
Tweets about: Entrepreneurship, funding tech and related politics
Twitter bio: I help people quit their jobs and become entrepreneurs @CapitalFactory @UTAustin @WPEngine @PostUpDigital @Pingboard @TexasTribune @EF_Fellows @AspenInstitute
Just got a fresh reality check from @fcc_cio - all the things are hacked! Fun talking about @AugmentedMemory too. pic.twitter.com/IQoo0OxyKu
— Joshua Baer (@JoshuaBaer) May 18, 2016
Kip McClanahan
Investor at Silverton Partners
Tweets about: Entrepreneurship and investing
Twitter bio: Early-stage investor @SilvertonVC: @Sparefoot @WPengine former exec & board member for public & private companies. 34-year Austinite #atx owner of #Pershing
Startups: Return to the ‘Old Normal’ https://t.co/wihccSxO8q
— Kip McClanahan (@kipmcc) March 7, 2016
Manoj Saxena
Investor
Tweets about: Entrepreneurship and Austin tech’s venture capital landscape
Twitter bio: Venture Capitalist. Serial Entrepreneur. Investor in all things Cognitive. Former General Manager IBM Watson. Auto racing enthusiast.
Good article from MIT Review on why the future is more likely to be "Man+Machine" and not "Man vs Machine" https://t.co/afE6gIpB6H…
— Manoj Saxena (@manojsaxena) April 22, 2016
Mark Phillip
Founder and CEO of Are You Watching This?!
Tweets about: Sports tech, entrepreneurship and Austin meetups.
Twitter bio: Brooklyn-born, Austin-based, MIT dropout.
Sports Tech Meetup returns Thursday with Patrick Christmas, owner of the @atxsol, the newest members of @theAUDL! https://t.co/b7rQPTsMVE
— Mark Phillip (@markphillip) March 21, 2016
Steve Adler
Mayor of Austin
Tweets about: Local politics, especially hot button issues related to transportation networks and short-term rentals.
Twitter bio: Mayor of Austin, Texas. Involved in using tech to solve the city’s issues.
The defeat of Prop 1 will not hurt Austin in its quest for a $50 million smart city federal grant. #DOTSmartCity https://t.co/ZGgDUJlETH
— Mayor Steve Adler (@MayorAdler) May 18, 2016
Mellie Price
Co-founder at Capital Factory, SoftMatch
Tweets about: Wide range of issues related to entrepreneurship, leadership, investing, healthcare and social impact in tech
Twitter bio: Price is Executive Director of Technology Innovation at the Dell Medical School, as well as a founding mentor at Capital Factory and co-founder of SoftMatch, which connects enterprises interested in innovation to the highly fragmented global startup ecosystem.
Amazing day touring Houston's heath innovation ecosystem.Thx for hosting & and the great work @MDAndersonNews @TMCxAccelerator @RICE_OEDK
— Mellie Price (@mellieprice) May 5, 2016
Michael Dell
Founder and CEO at Dell
Tweets about: Tech leadership, philanthropy, conferences, Austin’s enterprise tech industry
Twitter bio: Self employed https://Dell.com https://msdf.org https://msdcapital.com https://facebook.com/MichaelSDell Public ’88, Private ’13
Looking forward to biggest ever EPIC @VMworld w/@PGelsinger @spoonen @raghuraghuram ++ https://t.co/BymL5LqDe8? pic.twitter.com/ozzMlqP9Fy
— Michael Dell (@MichaelDell) May 12, 2016
Monica Landers
Founder at Authors.me
Tweets about: Entrepreneurship and emerging tech in the publishing industry
Twitter bio:
7 Lessons from Founders & Investors of Snapchat, LinkedIn, & more #business #leadership @Medium https://t.co/d5FtERHrng
— Monica Landers (@mlanders) May 16, 2016
Justin Siegel
Co-owner at NRG
Tweets about: Entrepreneurship, emerging tech and its politics
Twitter bio: Co-owner @NRGgg Founder @mocospace Investor @bostonseed @capitalfactory Mentor @techstars
2045 - The complete timeline to self-driving cars https://t.co/IMerxjD5CV via @Recode
— Justin Siegel (@moconinja) May 17, 2016
Robert Banh
Web developer and founder at Refresh Austin
Tweets about: Web development and Austin tech networking
Twitter bio: Full stack web developer. @RefreshAustin organizer. Woodworker. Husband. Cat lover.
That moment when you see multiple shopify staff members install your app... a takeover is imminent.
— robert banh (@robertbanh) May 17, 2016
Ryan Mathews
Co-founder at Bullsonwallstreet.com, Pick24
Tweets about: Tech investing, design and productivity
Twitter bio: Equities trader, entrepreneur (co-founder https://Bullsonwallstreet.com , Pick24, etc.), graphic designer, traveler, techie, Online Project Manager, CSM®, IoT junkie.
nice to see @amazonecho get some competition from @google 's new product, Google Home. This should only accelerate development #SmartHome
— Ryan (@ryanmathews) May 18, 2016
Shay Sabhikhi
CEO at CognitiveScale
Tweets about: Tech leadership, cognitive computing and AI
Twitter bio: Austin tech CEO and Chamber of Commerce advocate for innovation
Great collaboration between IBM & @CognitiveScale today at #SAPPHIRENOW #ibmlss2016 @NancyThomas2016 @IBMSAPAlliance pic.twitter.com/8snJeQ6NUf
— Gagan Reen (@gaganreen) May 17, 2016
Sam Decker
Chairman, CEO and CMO at Clearhead.me, Mass Relevance and Bazaarvoice
Tweets about: Trends in tech leadership, marketing, data science and politics
Twitter bio: Chairman/cofounder @clearheadme, CEO/founder Mass Relevance, Bazaarvoice founding CMO, Dell exec & bay area startup exec. author, speaker. Based in Austin, TX.
Data Storytelling: The Essential Data Science Skill Everyone Needs https://t.co/TaEZJVzew8
— Sam Decker (@samdecker) April 30, 2016
Jason Seats
Partner at Techstars
Tweets about: Tech entrepreneurship in Austin
Techstars 2015 impact report. We did a lot in a year! https://t.co/WS99T9eRyT
— Jason Seats (@seats) April 15, 2016
Steve Semelsberger
Founder at Alder Partners
Tweets about: Entrepreneurship and startup growth
Twitter bio: Founder, @AlderPartners. President, Products @SYPartners. Partner, @CapitalFactory. Mentor, @Techstars. Helping people and companies grow.
The importance of resiliency for leaders https://t.co/XUCc0clZfW
— Steve Semelsberger (@semels) May 17, 2016
Seth Snyder
Marketing at LiveOak Venture Partners
Tweets about: Austin tech’s VC landscape
Twitter bio: What’s the good word? @liveoakvp @TejasClub @Texas4000 @TexasExes
#ICYMI or want a breath of fresh air from Uber & Lyft. Here's what it took to raise a fund https://t.co/4Gyo8rvEnk pic.twitter.com/SJhuHKxKOD
— LiveOak Ventures (@liveoakvp) May 17, 2016
Rachel Mirenda
Account Executive at Spiceworks
Tweets about: Enterprise IT
Twitter bio: Connecting tech vendors to an audience of millions of IT buyers Thoughts are my own
Here's 5 Things IT Pros HATE about your tech marketing https://t.co/1T9xyojdRV #techmarketing #ITBuyers @Spiceworks pic.twitter.com/Lu5MJvdNmL
— Rachel Mirenda (@SpiceRachel) April 25, 2016
Sterling Smith
Founder & CEO at SandBox Apps, Inc
Tweets about: Mobile commerce, investing, entrepreneurship and tech trends
Twitter bio: Founder & CEO helping retailers ‘get’ mobile using @SandBoxCommerce & @Keystoke. 2015 Austinpreneur of the Yr Awardee. @BoozAllen @Walmart @LockheedMartin alum
Mobile commerce driving revenue growth in the hotel industry-Study https://t.co/eSGyteQAwS pic.twitter.com/EWOAB90CFS
— Sterling ⚡ (@SterlingSSmith) May 16, 2016
Joel Trammell
CEO at Khorus
Tweets about: Tech leadership and investment
Twitter bio: By CEO & Navy vet Joel Trammell. Author, The CEO Tightrope: https://t.co/j3JRsWZj. @TheKhorus CEO. @ATCouncil Chair Emeritus. @Forbes & @Entrepreneur Contributor
How to Be President of the United States: Act like a CEO https://t.co/dQUNx04an8 #POTUS2016 @realDonaldTrump @HillaryClinton
— The American CEO (@TheAmericanCEO) May 18, 2016
Tony Aguilar
Co-founder and CEO, Student Loan Genius
Tweets about: Education and social impact
Twitter bio: familia first • co-founder/ceo @MySLGenius • ex-poker pro • runner • sports nut • #hustle #dreambig
“Risk more than others think is safe. Dream more than others think is practical.” – Howard… https://t.co/P3waSEun9v
— Tony Aguilar (@TonyAguilar) May 18, 2016
Karen Bantuveris
Founder & CEO at VolunteerSpot
Tweets about: Entrepreneurship, volunteerism and networking
Twitter bio: Mom of an awesome tween and founder of VolunteerSpot.com - we save busy moms time and help get more people volunteering @ schools, Scouts, leagues & nonprofits.
Gr8 article, @tytusm! Fakers, Takers & Makers. If your #startup is interested in #Asia partnerships - read it! https://t.co/rybwV5kkPx #ent
— Karen Bantuveris (@VSpotMom) May 13, 2016
Will Hurley
Founder at Honest Dollar and Chaotic Moon. Frequent keynote speaker.
Tweets about: Fintech, Austin tech’s funding landscape and related politics
Twitter bio: Love to @pamelamalunat Father to Brooks + Julian CEO @honestdollar Founder @chaoticmoon IBM Master Inventor 2012 International Genius Grant Recipient
Create opportunities for people to innovate ~@whurley on supporting ICT entrepreneurship for #SocialImpact #WTISD pic.twitter.com/lBnqXCuDrc
— ITU (@ITU) May 17, 2016
Matt Cohen
Founder & President at OneSpot
Tweets about: Trends in tech recruiting, content marketing and Austin’s local scene
Twitter bio: Austin, https://OneSpot.com , https://G51.com , online media, fresh food, @8^1
Journalism Meets Brand Storytelling: Insightful Q&A with @GE_Reports @tomkellner https://t.co/1FW8HarwTe #contentmarketing
— Matt Cohen (@zencohen) May 12, 2016
Zoe Schlag
Founder of UnLtd USA
Tweets about: Social impact
Twitter bio: Mountains, breakfast tacos, #socent | Founder @UnLtdUSA | Passionate about #refugees #impinv | Want to learn about #basicincome #AI & forced #migration next
Fun: @openinvestco builds a customized #impinv index fund aligned to issues you care about most cc @markchand @seats https://t.co/8B6IrCdOGB
— Zoe Schlag (@zoeschlag) April 25, 2016
Note that this is a list, not a ranking, arranged alphabetically by username. We excluded organizations, many of which are great to follow on Twitter too. Of course, there are many more techies out there worth following, and we welcome your suggestions here or via Twitter @BuiltInAustin.
