129. Inside Launch SA — San Antonio’s One-Stop Resource for Small Business

Cory Ames [00:00:03]:
Welcome to Big City Small Town, the podcast about the people who make San Antonio go and grow. I'm Corey Ames, normally producing the show behind the scenes, but I'm stepping in as guest host while Bob is out of town for the month of July. If you've ever tried to start a small business in San Antonio or even just dreamed about it, you may have come across Launch sa, or at least my guest today hopes you have. It's a city supported resource center for small business owners and entrepreneurs. And to help us dig in, I'm joined by Matthew Espinosa, who became the director of Launch SA in late 2023, nearly a decade after first working there as an intern. Since then, Launch Essay has relaunched under a new partnership with Geekdom and it's been growing quickly. Today we're going to talk about how the small business landscape is shifting, what local founders and business owners need most, and where support systems like Launchs A are trying to make a difference. Let's get into it.

Cory Ames [00:00:58]:
Matt, welcome to Big City Small Town.

Matthew Espinoza [00:01:00]:
Thanks for having me, Corey. Looking forward to it.

Cory Ames [00:01:02]:
To kick us off, as we mentioned at the top there, you started at launch SA first as an intern nearly 10 years ago. I'd love for you to share with us a little bit about your story as to how you got into this position and how maybe that has shaped your approach to leading Launch Essay.

Matthew Espinoza [00:01:16]:
Sure, absolutely. Well, when it comes to Launch Essay Geekdom, where we're at right now, I always think I'm a customer client first. I've graduated from UTSA in 2016. They had an entrepreneurship major at the time. So my whole goal was to not get a job. So what that looked like for me was understanding what's out there. How could I at the time, what I was working on, start something? And that brought me to places like Launches, say Geekdom, and never did I think I would be on staff working for organizations like this. But I just got really excited to support other small business owners, other entrepreneurs, especially for someone at that time, you know, an intern right out of college, you know, graduating, it was such a cool opportunity to meet people I probably shouldn't have in my career.

Matthew Espinoza [00:02:00]:
Right. You know, other entrepreneurs giving their time back, talking about all different types of things, learning all different things. So that's kind of where it all started. And to, to this day, I think it translates into a lot of how I approach the work that we do, which is, you know, again, meeting business owners where they're at, learning what their needs are and really relating to them. And I Think that's probably one of my favorite parts working at Geekdom and this organization Launch SA is the whole team has that spirit which is really cool to watch in the community.

Cory Ames [00:02:27]:
Geekdom here I think was the reason that you and I first met. Coming up on that 10 years ago, just about one of the first folks that I met here in San Antonio. Very kind and warm welcome. But Matt, I'm curious for our listeners who may not be familiar with Launch Essay at all can give us a little bit of a primer as to what is Launch sa. We mentioned it's a resource center for small business. But what does that specifically look like? What do you all offer? What do you do?

Matthew Espinoza [00:02:52]:
So Launches say is a partnership between the city San Antonio and Geekdom. Our tagline is the resource center for small business owners and entrepreneurs in San Antonio. This was initiative started over now 10 years ago. Originally the first partner with the city on this organization was lifton and in 2023 geekdom became the new partner. And ultimately a resource center for small business owners means a lot of things. There's not a specific target we have on the phase of business. So we go from what's it like to start an LLC to what's it like to shut a business or grow a business on the other side, depending on the situation. So for us it means something new every single day.

Matthew Espinoza [00:03:31]:
That means really adapting to what the needs are on the small businesses, but specifically with the services we provide. It involves one on one assistance through our assistance team and our business advisor hosting events and workshops. Ultimately for two reasons on topics people are looking for, say sales, marketing, access to capital, but also bringing the community together. You know, I think small business owners uplevel each other organically. You hear it all the time. It's also ultimately how people find out about us is a small business owner tells another small business owner. So it's really events, the assistance and then ultimately the partner network that we've, we've worked with since, since Launch Essay's inception. It's really the goal was to be this one stop shop and ultimately that means, you know, providing people the right routes or whatever they're looking for.

Matthew Espinoza [00:04:18]:
So we work with 60 different organizations out there alongside the city of San Antonio and Geekdom that are providing services or support to small business owners here in San Antonio. So that's a big piece of our work.

Cory Ames [00:04:31]:
It seems like there is a real paramount shift from maybe Launch Essay pre your start as director in the new partnership with Geekdom. Again, I'm sure that's Something that many of our listeners aren't too keen to. So can you explain a little bit more as to what that change was? I know there was also renovation and remodel launch essay space in the public library. So share with us a little bit what's so discernibly different about launch essay since that pre2023 term when you started as direct.

Matthew Espinoza [00:05:03]:
Yeah, absolutely. So if, if anyone listening this is familiar with Launch, you know, the first nine years of the partnership with Liffon and city of San Antonio, you know, it's. It was super impactful. It helped a lot of business owners, entrepreneurs out there. You know, the times and the needs and the type of support, you know, were vastly different pre Covid to post Covid. And a lot of the fundamental ways, we're still doing a lot of the same work. And I think that's, that's the, A big piece of that relaunch is to, you know, basically 10 years into this, what the next 10 years will look like and what does that partnership look like with. With the new partner being geekdom in the city of San Antonio? So for us, you know, being someone that took advantage of those services from before, alongside a community of people that really enjoyed and loved that community that was created, a lot of our work was, how do we improve that, bring that back? Because there were a lot of stuff going on in person that paused there for a little bit during COVID and the city of San Antonio, also with that almost 10 years of data information, wanted to take it to the next level of, okay, we're going to focus on being an ecosystem hub for the community, working closer with partner organizations, provide more staff support.

Matthew Espinoza [00:06:17]:
So there's five of us on the team that are really kind of able to stretch out what those services look like. But a big, big theme that continues to this day as we relaunch is Launch USA is a, a place where, if, you know, you know, for small business community and for us, that relaunch really came with, you know, we want to expand that partner network, build those relationships, tell more people about it, you know, kind of spread the word that Launch USA is back, because for those that know about it, it's such a pivotal organization. So that was a big theme of relaunching. Launch Essay is, you know, in the second evolution of the organization, you know, really kind of take the lessons learned and continue to build on them because it's such an impactful organization, I think, to this community, especially for the small business community.

Cory Ames [00:07:01]:
So what's it like for you Kind of being on, on this side of things as you know, a resource provider or someone who's ideally, you know, offering some triage in some sorts of way for small business owners problems. I think it's one thing that's always been interesting about my experience of you is that you're not someone who I've always caught like maybe sitting in an office or any sort of regard. The way I run into you is usually at some sort of event and that's why this position seems so suited to you and so you're not just kind of hidden in there in the library. I know there's tons of events going on for launch essay and so what has it been like for you? And also can you share the scale of maybe the events and panels and in person meetings that you're holding throughout the city? You know, what, what sort of conversations are you fielding, hosting that kind of thing? And like I said before, like what has that experience been like for you to hear those things at such a scale that maybe you didn't before?

Matthew Espinoza [00:07:57]:
Yeah, absolutely. Really that, that phase really starts from this partnership between Geekdom and the city. You know, Geekdom over, around the same, around the same era when Geekdom started launch essay started the early 2000 and tens and you know, geekdom has evolved as an organization as well and there started to be more than just the innovation, startups, tech of what we were seeing. We were seeing a lot of small businesses that were seeking resources, looking for support and help. So this partnership in 2023 was really a perfect opportunity for Geekdom to kind of expand their services in partnership with the city of San Antonio. You know, so for the launch, SA team as I moved, moved over and helped relaunch and, and build the, the team members, colleagues that I have now on the team, a lot of it was really just starting with what are business owners looking for, what are they seeking? You know, and, and that core again that, hey, I have an answer. Today I'm wearing a marketing hat. How do I do this on social media now I'm dealing with the legal issue that I have.

Matthew Espinoza [00:08:59]:
Who do I talk to and making sure launches say is meeting that, that demand in as efficient ways as we can. You know, part of that means having a ton of events at the library. Sometimes that means getting out in the community, doing other events. That's, that's been a big focus of ours as well is San Antonio is a very large, large, large reach of, of, of physical location of where we have to go go and potentially support. But again it's more than just Launch a doing this work. The city of San Antonio has other team members or part of the economic development department that do that outreach that get them connected to us, other partner organizations we work with. So really that, that core focus of ours is really, you know, gather those that are doing the work and you know, see what the issues are, see how we can work stronger together to, to support these small businesses. Because there's, there's never really when it comes to building a small business or on becoming an entrepreneur that it ever stops.

Matthew Espinoza [00:09:56]:
You're either kind of growing or facing a challenge or facing an issue. So there's always that need for it. So trying to figure out how to do it in a way that, that meets that demand is, is kind of what I think. Internally we're, we're trying to make sure we do. And that usually for us means a lot of events, which is a great way for us to directly connect with these business owners, learn what they're looking for, provide them with that direct support in person. Right. That's been a big focus of ours. If you haven't been in the launches, say we've, we've got a ton of space in the central library.

Matthew Espinoza [00:10:26]:
So for us we're like, okay, if we've got three different breakout sessions, we want to host tons of events and workshops and you know, just create that, that space for business owners and entrepreneurs to know, okay, if I go to launch, there's probably something going on. I see this topic, I'm interested, maybe I can meet some other like minded people. So trying to do that in a balanced way is, was, has been our focus alongside the other work that we do.

Cory Ames [00:10:49]:
Can you give some specific examples as to maybe what events you have in Launch SA and likewise maybe ones that you've had around town?

Matthew Espinoza [00:10:57]:
Yeah. So for us the big priority, even when we were navigating, being out for the relaunch phase, which was some construction to our space, was one Million Cups. One Million Cups has been a flagship program of Launch SA since the beginning. And every Wednesday morning two small business owners, entrepreneurs are presenting what they're working on. Usually we get an audience of about 20 to 30 people, wide variety of college students, people starting businesses, people thinking about starting businesses, you know, VCs, mentors, advisors, a wide variety of people that show to it. But for us it allows us, you know, once a week as a team to hear some small business owners, see what they're looking for, but also allow them to connect with one another. But for us, it acts as A little bit of a town hall of, you know, what other things do we need to be doing? What should we be trying, you know, who's showing up, you know, what, what are people looking for? So that has always been kind of one of the main easy ways for someone that's not familiar with our organization to bop into. And then another one has been this series that we started called the Insured of Small Business Ecosystem, where twice a month we'll invite one of those partners.

Matthew Espinoza [00:12:03]:
You know, everything from business development organizations. We work with some of the banks that we work with, all these different organizations that have small business programming that we invite them usually with someone that they've impacted. So small business success story that they have. And for us, it's just really a conversation of like, you know, hey, here's Launches safe. This is your first time coming to us. Here's what this partner organization does and you know, tell us a little bit about how you impacted this business owner, restaurant, whatever the case may be, is so it allows people to understand, like, more than just here are our services. Like, how do people, how do business owners interact with you? What does the process look like? Is it, you know, has it been impactful? So that those, those are two kind of the, you know, a lot of people assume where. Which we are, you know, or from our, from what we see in the data, seeing a lot of people that are just getting started.

Matthew Espinoza [00:12:54]:
You know, I think that's when business owners often have a lot of time to plan and like, hey, let me go to these resources. But a lot of the way I explain our services are, you know, ultimately for people that may be beginning on looking for what resources are out there. Right. So whether you've been in business for 10 years, six months, whatever the case may be, you know, if you've never, you know, connected with a bank about a loan or you've never, you know, worked with a marketing agency, whatever it may be, you know, coming to us first or some of the other organizations out there is a good first step to really understand what that whole process looks and feels like, you know.

Cory Ames [00:13:29]:
Well, and this is a very broad question and we'll get into specifics after that. But judging from how many businesses you speak to, I might be making an assumption, but maybe you, you hear more problems than you do if people are doing really, really well. I don't know if they're looking to launch essay, but what's your gut feel for how small businesses are doing in the San Antonio area?

Matthew Espinoza [00:13:50]:
Yeah, generally, you know, I think one of the important things that we try to do is alongside the events that we have is provide those opportunities for people to come and check in when things are going well or when they don't have an issue or challenge. I think that's important to the work that we do, which is they, we build that relationship with them before, you know, there's a tough situation that they're navigating. Generally, I think themes that we see here in San Antonio is, is really often common reason why people reaching out to us is potentially learn about access to capital and high level. That's you know, hey, I'm starting a business. What capital opportunities are there out for me, I'm trying to grow my business. What opportunities are out there for me, what programs exist so that alongside starting a business or some of the kind of common reasons why people reach out to us and from the, you know, past success stories of people that we worked with or some of the more mature businesses that have gone through our services or other organizations out there. You know, I think it's a, it's a theme over the last few years since really Covid, which is, you know, navigating uncertainty. And during COVID that was, you know, day by day, what's, what's going to happen next? How do, how do we, you know, whether it's scale back services or adapt appropriately to the environment.

Matthew Espinoza [00:15:09]:
You know, now I think that's still a current theme, you know, more with maybe the AI technology kind of the way small businesses are interacting with technology. You know, there always seems to kind of be that, that next thing that kind of shakes or kind of has to make small business owners really flexible or you know, able to adapt appropriately. So you know, I think that makes our work more important to kind of who can we bring in to educate more on this? You know, how can we work closer with these, to provide more opportunities or what even what programs already out there, what services are already out there. So that's, I think some of the main themes that we see right now from small business owners on kind of what's going on.

Cory Ames [00:15:54]:
And so what's maybe the most common challenge that you feel like you hear.

Matthew Espinoza [00:15:57]:
From small business owners Generally, most small businesses are really ran by maybe one, a couple people, right? Is those individuals navigating an issue or challenge that is more than just we get more people on social media, we'll get more sale. You know, it's, it's, it's multi layered program or multi layered problem that becomes basically, you know, overwhelming of sorts. And it's, you Know, breaking it down for them piece by piece, kind of doing a bit of planning on, you know, yes, capital is an issue right now over the last couple months, but what are those underlying problems that are causing capital being issued? It, you know, did the, the, the area of, of town change? Did the foot traffic change? Did the, you know, were maybe some past marketing things working that they're not, they're now not working? You know, some, some of those types of things that we're often, I think, dissecting with the small business owner what the challenges or issues or helping them kind of identify, you know, because I think oftentimes it's, it's. There's not one specific piece of the business that, you know, it's, it's, it's a couple different things that you have to kind of address and you know, sometimes that can get overwhelming.

Cory Ames [00:17:04]:
Well, I'm curious because it seems like there's a lot of like, broader signals that would say that San Antonio's economy is growing. And I think there was just a recent jobs report released that maybe the San Antonio area had created the most new jobs and perhaps that was of, of the last year. I'm interested to know when, you know, we, as maybe outsiders to the intimate small business ecosystem, see those various headlines, I think it's important to parse through like, where is that growth happening? You know, do you feel like the whole tide is rising to some extent? You know, where it's, you know, very large companies and businesses? Do you feel like that our small businesses are, you know, experiencing a boon in, in the growth of the economic output of the San Antonio area as consistently as, you know, maybe larger players in the area?

Matthew Espinoza [00:17:57]:
Yeah, you know, I think San Antonio is, is just a very small business, family, small business city that this underlying there, you know, over, it's, it's, it's time frame, you know, I think you talk to a lot of small business owners, they maybe took over a family business or started this with, with a family member. So this is that culture San Antonio plays that, that part that is here compared to other cities. It's, it's, it's one of my favorite parts I think about, you know, being in this line of work is just getting to connect with these individuals that are navigating small business ownership. I, I would say that growth often leads to potential higher, expensive, different, you know, challenges that maybe small business owners aren't, aren't able to kind of notice immediately or kind of create a ripple effect down the road. So what's, what's Most important is I think too, you know, make sure support like this is provided to make small businesses more sustainable or more kind of prep for, for, for kind of what's going on, you know, when, when new development or new new changes. You know, you see a lot right now with, with construction as an issue like that changes your day to day. So you have to kind of force to get creative on how am I going to get more people through the door. Like how am I going to use, you know, other channels to tell people about what's going on.

Matthew Espinoza [00:19:14]:
And you know, you've seen businesses shutter over the last few years going back to Covid because it's, you know, it's, it's hard to really calculate what one month of low foot traffic will impact, you know, a year from now other than kind of really identifying and dissecting the, the business. So I think that that's a. As the growth happens, you know, making sure small business owners are are supported and have those, those opportunities programs, you know, and services like ours out there, you know, as kind.

Cory Ames [00:19:48]:
Would you consider launch essay something of like a liaison between the small business community in the city? Is that an accurate way to describe it? Because I, you know, you mentioned the construction challenges and that's something that I think has made news in times past. Many small business owners kind of coming to protest and you know, in sense to say that we need to get these various jobs done at a quicker rate. St. Mary's strip was a very notable one of that. There's a lot of construction going on in South Town that I know anecdotally has affected business owners acutely. What is the connection made between you know, those problems happening for one, you know, launch essay and you know, where, where the city has reins to maybe or levers to affect those outcomes?

Matthew Espinoza [00:20:27]:
Yeah, for us it's really, you know, the, the awareness of, of what programs or services the city provides in, in response to that. You know, the city of San Antonio Economic Development Department, you know for the last couple years has provided construction grant opportunities. They have the zero percent interest loan program through LIFON that are some of these, these programs that are out there that for us it's more of awareness and like, you know, hey, you're facing these challenges. Well, here's some of the options of things that the city is directly providing. Here's some, you know, other third party services or partners that are out there that might be good to talk to you. But for, for us, you know, I think the what, what we're doing is kind of understanding the trends and themes of why people are reaching out to us right now. And from there, you know, is there an opportunity to create a program or service or you know, share that information with the city or, you know, another partner to hey, is there, is there a way we can create something to, to help help solve this problem or, or you know, make it a little bit easier from, from, from a challenge? But I, I would say it's more on the awareness side of kind of what's out there and, and you know, what programs exist.

Cory Ames [00:21:35]:
Well, and so maybe this has been layered throughout our conversation already, but what are the like agreed. Kind of measurements of success both internally launch essay, as you're talking with your staff, your team, with geekdom, with the city, all of y' all together, like, what are we looking at for launch essay as to discern whether, you know, this, this program is meeting its objectives and goals? What are those goals?

Matthew Espinoza [00:21:59]:
There was a report done a few years ago done by the city that talks about kind of the themes of challenges small business owners are facing. Kind of the state of the ecosystem here in San Antonio for small business and for longevity. I think that the theme is being an ecosystem hub. So, you know, more than just us directly providing the services, working with those other organizations, bringing everyone to the table to kind of again, understand these trends, these challenges, kind of what small business owners are looking for. That, that's a big one. I would say a second one is a space which is, you know, ultimately the space that we have in the central library of healthy activated opportunities, a collaboration space, place to meet other business owners through these events. You know, those renovations came with new classrooms and new space for small business owners to utilize. So I think from, from space activation, whether it's through events, programs, bringing business owners together is another metric of success.

Matthew Espinoza [00:22:58]:
And you know, I think that the way I kind of interpret that is, is really ultimately this community of, of, of people that small business owners can tap into. You know, you have a problem on marketing, who do you go to? You have a challenge with capital. Who can I talk to? And you know, the, the, the more we're doing our job and the more we're building those relationships, I think it becomes easier because it's not usually one, one size fits all business challenge. You know, if, if you're, you're trying to potentially get outside sources of funding for your business, it's usually here's a multiple different options for you. And you know, it's ultimately the business owner's decision to decide whether they pursue that or not, but getting their paperwork together, getting all that stuff together, you know, it's, it's oftentimes another business owner that's providing them how it works or you know, the resources from the city to provide that. Here's how to engage with this program. So you know, I think underlying, you know, my and the team's interpretation is, is providing that I know you only.

Cory Ames [00:23:56]:
Kind of semi recently got into the newly polished space at the library. And so there's a lot of, you know, foundational things that needed to get into alignment before you start really assessing how things are going. But you know, what is your feel as to how you're tracking towards those objectives? Do you feel like you're on track, making good progress and what maybe do you point to as like kind of some clearest signs of success?

Matthew Espinoza [00:24:18]:
Yeah, you know, I think for us the theme of relaunching launch essay, you know, I think through, through what we see in the community through kind of look, looking at our metrics we would, you know, consider we're, we're relaunched. You know, we have this again the space of slash events and programs and opportunity for small business owners to engage with. You know, we have a, a team that's our full team that can take, you know, you know, these inquiries and get people pointed to the right direction. You know, I think the next step for us is really that deeper level support and programming again, whether it's collaborating with partners to hey, let's identify now that we know the trends, what we can do to solve it for us. We have this program called Waypoint launching here fairly soon that is for business owners that are just getting started like the zero to six month, you know, so for more than just these events or one on one opportunities, you know, creating this cohorted experience for people just getting started to continue on that deeper level support and community. So, so things like that, which are really now that we have a good bit of data trends that we've seen, you know, what are some new things that we can create or opportunities to kind of fill that gap is kind of the, the next phase here that we're in.

Cory Ames [00:25:33]:
So something of like problem assessment from enough information that you can gather and then see how you can create programming for it and launch it and see how it goes.

Matthew Espinoza [00:25:41]:
Yeah, exactly.

Cory Ames [00:25:43]:
Well Matt, I'm interested to know, you know, maybe there's some things that we could all assume that might be problem for small business owners. You know, construction maybe being one of the first very kind of like physical tactical things that we could see around town. But your perspective is unique. You talk to so many small business owners throughout town from a wide variety of industries in sectors. And so what might we not be aware of, you know, or what maybe most surprised you in learning about the intricacies of running a small business in San Antonio? Like what might be things that we as just patrons, you know, our customers potentially we might not be aware of as to what either challenges they're experiencing or likewise like what opportunities might be available, you know, to better support our small business ecosystem in San Antonio.

Matthew Espinoza [00:26:30]:
Yeah, I think that's, you know, that's a great question. I think one of the things that more on an individual level than I would say the organization that evolves in these conversations is the metric of success to small business ownership. One, it means different things to different people. You know, you've got scalable tech companies like, you know, that start small here at Geekdom that might be trying to grow, you know, as big as possible. You've got restaurants that are, you know, they're just trying to stay at a steady, consistent pace, you know. But I think a lot of small businesses are generally navigating a lack of resources. Whether, you know, it's, it's one person doing multiple, you know, the, the founders or the, the owners themselves, balancing a lot of different things, trying to make, make it grow or you know, kind of solve a challenge that I think that a perception from, I'd imagine the, the larger community is, you know, how, how delicate it is. And you know, being a small business owner is tough.

Matthew Espinoza [00:27:26]:
You know, I think we have that conversation a lot is we're, we're more than happy to get, you know, someone that's excited and want to go down that route to encourage them and support them to, but also sharing the realities of what it's like. You know, you talk to a lot of small business owners over the last five years, it's, it's been tough. But you know, for us the exciting part is why they do it, which is often, you know, for small business owners generally community driven. You know, the, especially the physical restaurants and bars, you know, and ice houses, things like that. We just finished a road show of going to a couple ice houses for May for small Business Month. And that was just the general theme of everybody, all the business owners we invited is, is it's the, the, the customers, the community, the bringing people together is what keeps them motivated. So I think, you know, as a action next step for anybody listening, you know, obviously it's hurt, it's hurt A ton. But support locals, support small businesses.

Matthew Espinoza [00:28:19]:
You know, go out, that's, that's a good first way. And you know, get, get connected with, whether it's the business owners or just the general small business community is something that people can do as well.

Cory Ames [00:28:30]:
I think it's critically important and we, we sometimes take for granted, I think the real cultural connection to our small businesses, you know, and so while that can look perhaps as like an economic headline, it is something as the places we gather, enjoy to eat, whatever it might be, things that we really like about San Antonio that make it unique. It seems that our small businesses, our small businesses are a critical component of that and it's worth supporting, especially if it may not seem like the most convenient option at times. But Matt, I'm wondering as well, there were some headlines made recently, at least in the funding space. A San Antonio base venture firm, Active Capital just closed a new $28 million fund which is focused on pre seed investments in enterprise, AI and infrastructure startups. And so maybe this isn't your exact realm, but we are sitting here in the geekdom studio, a place which has been historically focused very heavily on tech startups in San Antonio. So I'm curious for your take on this, what's the significance of a headline like this? I know Active Capital is, I believe they're location agnostic, you know, so they're based here, but they're not necessarily investing in San Antonio businesses strictly or at all for that matter. But does this kind of money, you know, make any significance for small businesses in launch SA ecosystem or just from your understanding of this, what, you know, what, what should we garner from an announcement like this?

Matthew Espinoza [00:30:01]:
Yeah, yeah, that's a great question. You know, I think in our, in the launch of say space space that you know, ultimately being a resource center for the broader entrepreneurship small business community, you know, we tend to do a lot of ed education on here's the different options of funding financing, especially early on. Right. You know, I think over the last 10 to 15 years about how long geekdom and launches say have been around, there's been this influx of perception to people starting new businesses that, you know, there's. I'll go get a venture capitalist to start this business or I'll go find one. You know, what does that process look like? Like there's just been a lot of culture, I think around startups, you know, specifically and, and people starting new businesses. Oh, if when I find that investor funder, you know, that's all I need to, to kind of make this thing happen or whatever the case may be. But alongside that 15 years, you've seen a trend of, of kind of ups and downs of sorts of that industry.

Matthew Espinoza [00:30:56]:
And, and you know, I think it's exciting having active capital here at Geekdom. You know, very heavily involved in, in Geekdom, in the organization that, that especially in that, you know, B2B enterprise space. You know that there's a lot of innovation that we're about to see in that industry of the way, you know, small business owners interact with technology, what they do. You know, the AI boom has been fascinating to watch and how you just interact with creating content. Right? You know, what took took, you know, a team of five to 10 people for a small business owner, maybe from an agency like a business owner can craft out a couple hours to create some content. So you know, that's, that's a high level example of, you know, what we're seeing with these new AI tools and emerging technology. So you know, active capital being whether it's, you know, partnering with, by funding these, these companies, you know, potentially they're relocating to San Antonio, that's obviously super exciting because eventually, you know, some of these tools may be the next thing that small businesses are using. So I, I think it's really exciting and, and active, it's the, the startups that have been invested in here locally for in San Antonio has been exciting to watch as well.

Matthew Espinoza [00:32:11]:
You know, you've, through active capital that, you know, I think there's, there's these emerging potential companies here at Geekdom and across San Antonio that, that, you know, if they're in that space, they're, you know, the more they're able to raise, the more potential opportunity you might have to be able to, you know, pitch them them or some of the other venture capital firms kind of across the south region. So I'd say it's exciting.

Cory Ames [00:32:35]:
Well, Matt, maybe just a couple more questions before we wrap up here from the launch essay perspective. You mentioned the new program coming out, Waypoint I think was the name of it. What other things are on the horizon? What's coming new to Launch SA that we might not be aware to, that you're most excited about and you think that might be best positioned to serve our small business community here.

Matthew Espinoza [00:32:59]:
Yeah, absolutely. So for us, I think one of the things we've been working towards is the relaunch of breakfast and launch. It's been kind of a pivotal program for Launch SA since the beginning. It ultimately started as a culinary accelerator. So really providing people in the food and bev space, an opportunity to connect with like minded individuals through a cohorted experience, but also really hear from business leaders that can kind of share more than just, you know, what it takes to operate a restaurant, but you know, the specifics on what it takes to operate the business. Right. So oftentimes there would be, you know, some people in tech or different industries that will kind of share their approach to how they tackle business and that program. If you talk to any alumni, they're, they've been asking every time I connect with them that it needs to be brought back.

Matthew Espinoza [00:33:47]:
You know, it's so pivotal to them, especially when they're just getting started. So for us, that's kind of on the horizon on relaunching that, you know, we want to do it with the right intent, but the alumni network of sorts is kind of making sure we do it, which is really exciting because I think it just shows the impact launches a has had specifically to that industry. So for us that's to be determined on the specifics of that. But there's just, I think a ton of people with the way, you know, San Antonio is that are thinking about whether it's consumer packaged goods, restaurants, you know, beverage, you name it, hospitality, that a program like that is, is really important. So that's coming soon and I think to kind of tie it to launch essay and in Geekdom, kind of the next thing we have coming up in the fall is this is the 10th year of San Antonio Startup Week. So that is a conference that has been around for the first few years. It was really community, ran by volunteers. And over the last couple years, Geekdom has become the powering it, operating it.

Matthew Espinoza [00:34:51]:
So for 10 years, a lot of things that we say behind the scenes here at Geekdom is It takes about 20 years to really create a community for entrepreneurs and small business owners. If you, if you look at kind of some of the trends from kind of an economic development perspective. So, you know, hitting that halfway point, what does the last 10 years look like? What do the next 10 years look like? And you know, more than just that. The, the programming for this year is really exciting. So that's, that's kind of something on our horizon as well.

Cory Ames [00:35:18]:
And that's in October.

Matthew Espinoza [00:35:20]:
It's in October.

Cory Ames [00:35:21]:
Yeah. Okay. Well, Matt, I, and maybe this was a question that I should have asked to start off the conversation. But yeah, you have a, you have a, an obsessive commitment to San Antonio's small business ecosystem from the moment that I met you and as well at the various events that I run into you around town. I'm always surprised and not so surprised to see at these various things. But what continues to energize you personally about it, like what has you most excited about working with small businesses? What gives you the energy to do the work and focus up or and attend all these events that you do around town?

Matthew Espinoza [00:35:59]:
Yeah, that's, that's a great, great question. I, I mean the, the biggest piece is the people part of it, right? You know, when we have the opportunity at launch, you know, again, work with the people behind some of these brands or what, whatever these companies. You know, the, that, that's probably one of my favorite parts is, is really just from a place of how, how we can be helpful, how we can support them. I think it really stems from, you know, those early years when I was in, in college, like thinking about, hey, I wanted to start a business and not realizing these organizations were out there. Like it drastically changed my trajectory. I don't know what that era would have been been had I'd not found these small business support organizations, you know, what my career would have looked like. But you know, like I said, I was determined to be an entrepreneur. I didn't realize that I would end up spending more time helping people become entrepreneurs or, or grow their own entrepreneurial venture.

Matthew Espinoza [00:36:53]:
But I think that that, that is probably the sticking point that there, there were a lot of people that gave back their time, volunteered their time for me when I was like starting my career slash entrepreneurial journey, that if we as launches say, and as organizations that are in that realm can, can provide that facilitation, you know, it's super powerful to watch and it's exciting to watch because you know, sometimes that magical connection or that, that, that right place at the right time, you know, become, they become co founders, they solve a business challenge that helps make them grow. So that's kind of, kind of the, the people part of it is why I enjoy the work that we do.

Cory Ames [00:37:30]:
Well. Matt, last thing. Where would you recommend people get engaged with Launch Essay? You mentioned Cornerstone event one Million Cups, which I'll admit it's been a while since I've been. But when I, I did go those, those were really interesting events and learned about some very cool businesses and startups in San Antonio and connected with great people. But maybe that's one lead there. But where, where else would you recommend people go to to check out launch Essay if they're interested or you know, want to be observant to the small business community? How do they get Engaged.

Matthew Espinoza [00:37:58]:
Yeah, absolutely. So the two, two best places to really connect with is digital or launch essay.org that has all of our resources, events, information to reach out to us, contact information. Another tool I haven't talked a ton about in specifics. It's also on the Launches a site. It's called Launches a link. You go to our Resources tab, you'll, you'll see it. But ultimately that's a database of these organizations that we work with. So again, more than just Launch usa, you know, the, the other partners that we're working with, the resources they provide.

Matthew Espinoza [00:38:28]:
So if you're a small business owner or thinking about starting a small business, kind of want to know what's the lay of the land, what does San Antonio have, you know, to offer that that list is currently still growing, but it's a good, good depth of understanding of what's out there from a support organizations. Again, talking about other business development organizations, you know, other organizations like ours, like the UTSA Small Business Development Center. So those are the two digital ways. But I always encourage people come, come, come, come to the central library. If you haven't been there or haven't been to our central library, haven't been there in a while. We're located on the first floor. Our hours are 9 to 5, Monday through Friday. So come, come by for an event, come come in for a walk in.

Matthew Espinoza [00:39:05]:
We're happy to chat with you, but those are the ways to connect with us. Excellent.

Cory Ames [00:39:09]:
All right, we'll have all things launch essay linked up in our show notes@bigcitysmalltown.com Matthew Espinosa thanks for coming on.

Matthew Espinoza [00:39:16]:
Thanks for having me.

Matthew Espinoza [00:39:21]:
Thanks for joining us for this episode of Big City Small Town. Please share this episode with friends and colleagues and if you haven't already, sign up for Monday Musings, my weekly newsletter. Just go to bigcitysmalltown.com and add your email. Big City Small Town is brought to you by Western Urban Building, the city our children want to call home, and by Geekdom, where startups are born and smart ideas become businesses. Thanks to Corey Ames of Ensemble, Texas for the production of this show. We will see you next week.