June 5, 2024

A Texas Investment Thesis with Krishna Srinivasan, Founding Partner of LivOak Ventures

The only constant in Austin seems to be change.  Whether that be the people moving here, the buildings defining our skyline, or the startups being founded and funded.  Today, my guest is Krishna Srinivasan, founding Partner of LiveOak Ventures. We will explore what it means to invest in Texas startups yesterday, today, and tomorrow.

Episode Highlights

  • The need for early-stage venture capital in Texas led to the founding of LiveOak Ventures, which has a multi-segment approach focused on Texas-based entrepreneurs.
  • Krishna identifies three types of founders now in Austin: experienced local entrepreneurs, successful founders from other markets relocating to Austin, and new residents inspired by the city's quality of life to start businesses here.
  • Despite significant progress in startup formation and mid-level scaling, Austin faces gaps in experienced talent for managing large-scale, nine-figure+ companies and in securing substantial late stage venture capital.
  • What's Next Austin?
    • "Tremendous areas of promise and excitement where Austin takes all these newfound riches, when I say riches, newfound talent and with its traditional strengths and vertical markets to go to the next wave of and continuing this amazing wave of new company formation, growth, and scaling."


Krishna Srinivasan: LinkedIn
LiveOak Ventures: Website, X/Twitter, LinkedIn


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Austin Next Links: Website, X/Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn
Ecosystem Metacognition Substack

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