Founder House: Startups Co-Living in Downtown Austin Hotels

May 2020

I recently moved into a modern kind of mini-mansion downtown to launch a "Founder House" concept at Adina Luxury Lodging. It's a place where startup folks and business-minded entrepreneurs can live in a renovated boutique b&b while tourism is still impacted.

Paintings by local artists are everywhere, unique murals in every bedroom, a front porch swing, spacious back patio, mobile app door access, close and private parking lot in the back, and they hired a designer so everything is high-end, brand new/never used, and pre-furnished.

This is a collaboration with my mentor, Ying McGuire (and really the whole family), who's an investor-turned-owner of this stunning property, she's a founding board member of the Austin Asian Chamber of Commerce, and to say she's an amazing businessperson, advisor, and top tech executive is an understatement.

She's got a huge heart and personally took me under her wing years ago, inviting me into things that ultimately changed my life. She and I are so excited to be able to turn around a terrible situation into a really cool opportunity to curate and support a community in this inspiring space.

She liked the idea of month-to-month living accommodations so the residents don't have to make long-term financial commitments in this new world full of uncertainty. But by opening her doors, residents enjoy that flexibility while still continuing to build our companies in a badass environment.

I've lived in various downtown high rises in Austin for almost a decade and I can say Founder House is on par with that living style, but has been way safer health-wise which is very important to me.

One of my favorite rooms in the house. That’s actually my tree and couch that I moved with me

I've lived alone for most of the decade too and now I really love being around others who really welcome and "get" me and we all lean on each other. We're being entrepreneurs here and trying something new, so I'm kinda like the "beta"/guinea pig right now!

But definitely please share, like, and even let your out-of-town friends know because it's a unique opportunity and environment, and plus... living with me might be really good for business. 😎

View the local news covering Founder House here.