Tributes

Many people in the startup world knew Josh as the founder and CEO of Capital Factory, the center of gravity for entrepreneurship in Austin and, really, all of Texas... Josh, you had it backwards. [responding to Josh's email saying 'I want to be Brad when I grow up']

Late Tuesday night, I lost a best friend, my greatest mentor, and my business partner in an unimaginable accident... Joshua Baer helped people quit their jobs and become entrepreneurs. He was a true super connector. The ripple effect of Josh's impact will be immeasurable.

Joshua was a relentless supporter of founders and Austin. He was positive, fun, and filled with joy. A true friend who relentlessly supported me over the past 20 years we knew each other.

Since 2009, Josh built Capital Factory into something Texas had never seen—a true engine for entrepreneurship that gave founders across the state their first investors, customers, and believers.

Josh has been one of the most significant figures driving innovation and entrepreneurship across America. In Texas, he made our state a global leader. His impact was incalculable. Our prayers are with his family and the others aboard the aircraft.

Josh was an innovative & creative leader in Austin's entrepreneurial culture and a stalwart supporter of growing Central Texas' military ecosystem. I and countless others will greatly miss him.

Joshua was a major force in Texas' technology and startup community. Through Capital Factory, he helped connect entrepreneurs, investors, innovators, and public sector partners working to solve some of our country's most important challenges. Joshua had visited our office multiple times, and I had looked forward to continuing those conversations with him.

Saddened by the untimely passing of my friend, Josh Baer. A great entrepreneur—he was a driving force through Capital Factory in Austin's tech story, helping make us the dynamic, international city we are today.

It is with profound sadness that Capital Factory announces the tragic passing of our Co-Founder and CEO, Joshua Baer... For more than two decades, Josh was a visionary force, mentor, and champion for the Texas technology and startup ecosystem.

"Very saddened to hear of the tragic passing of Joshua Baer. Joshua helped shape Austin into one of the nation's leading technology and startup hubs, mentoring countless founders and helping bring Army Futures Command to Austin as the city emerged as a major center for innovation and national defense technology. Our prayers are with his family, friends, and the entire @CapitalFactory community during this difficult time."

"Joshua Baer z"l died in a plane crash that robbed the world of one of the most passionate, thoughtful and visionary people I've ever known. Josh was an entrepreneur who didn't just build businesses — he was a pioneer who built worlds. With his bare hands, incredible brains and inexhaustible energy, he willed Capital Factory into existence and, in doing so, entirely reinvented the concept of a startup incubator... Michael Dell put Austin on the map. Josh Baer bolted it in place... He loved his city. He loved his people. He loved all people. He loved his friends. And, more than anything, he loved his family — his amazing wife Amy and their three children. It's a heartbreaking loss on so many levels. He was a friend who I will miss for the rest of my life."

"There are lots of ways to succeed. Many do it by riding the right Rocketship at the right time... But a rare few don't ride the wave. They make the wave happen from nothing with their spirit and force of will and fundamental goodness. They make things happen that would have never happened otherwise. Josh Baer was this latter type... Sometimes you do something that transcends being successful. Sometimes you change the outcome in a way that makes you singular. I will miss you, Josh. Thanks for being a legendary businessperson and human. My thoughts are with Amy and your family."

"Joshua was a relentless supporter of founders and Austin. He was positive, fun, and filled with joy. A true friend who relentlessly supported me over the past 20 years we knew each other." [Note: Calacanis also dedicated an extended tribute segment on *This Week in Startups* Episode aired 2026-06-18, timestamped 1:39:29.]

"The show closes with a tribute to Josh Baer, the founder of Capital Factory. [Timestamped 1:39:29 in the episode: 'Tribute to Joshua Baer, Capital Factory's founder']"

"Didn't know Josh well but know he was a pillar of the Austin tech community and always opened Capital Factory to me for great events."

"Josh was a fellow Eisenhower Fellow, a mentor to countless Austin startups, and a champion for the Texas technology and startup ecosystem in Austin and beyond. Capital Factory changed the trajectory of Austin's technology scene forever, and Joshua Baer was the man who drove that change. This is a tremendous loss, and my heart goes out to Josh's family."

"When I came back to Austin after almost 30 years, one of the first people to reach out and welcome me back was Josh. No one tilted harder as an enthusiastic supporter of Austin entrepreneurism. Will be greatly missed."

The most authoritative personal tribute from Baer's closest business partner; Chambers captures the full weight of the loss while committing to carry forward their shared mission.

"It is with profound sadness that Capital Factory announces the tragic passing of our Co-Founder and CEO, Joshua Baer. For more than two decades, Josh was a visionary force, mentor, and champion for the Texas technology and startup ecosystem. He dedicated his life to helping entrepreneurs turn their ideas into reality... Josh was a fearless leader, a brilliant partner, and a dear friend to so many of us. While we are devastated by this unimaginable loss, Josh built an incredibly resilient organization and a deeply capable team. Capital Factory remains fully operational, and we are completely committed to continuing his mission of backing unstoppable founders."

"Through the years, he has always supported my journey, and eventually Apptronik's journey, and I couldn't be more grateful for his guidance and mentorship. He poured his heart and soul into creating a place for entrepreneurs to build the future, and his work and legacy is going to live on forever."

"Many people knew Josh Baer as a titan in Austin's tech world, from spotting hot start-ups to investing in companies and in people. [Shares Capital Factory's official statement.] I am heartbroken and crushed. I lost a friend and a mentor."

"Josh was an incredible force for entrepreneurship in Austin and across Texas. I always admired his dedication to his mission of helping more people become entrepreneurs. He was a true catalyst who impacted so many founders, companies, and communities. It is difficult to overstate his impact and the size of the legacy he leaves behind. My thoughts are with his family and the Austin community. So damn sad."

"Last time I saw him in person was with you on stage during SX 😔🫂" [Comment on the TPR article, addressed to a friend]

Singer, as CEO of the Austin Technology Council, became the go-to voice in AP and national wire stories for quantifying Baer's impact; his multiple quotes collectively form one of the most comprehensive assessments of Baer's legacy.

"I first met Josh a decade ago when I arrived at the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU). From those early days, he stepped up as not just a landlord, but as a true friend and a mentor—not only to me, but to countless founders, innovators, and leaders across Texas and the government. The Austin defense community simply would not be the juggernaut it is today without Josh. Through his relentless dedication to bridging the gap between commercial tech and national security, he built a center of gravity that transformed how we all work together. He championed so many of us and always pushed us to think bigger... The photo of Josh is from 2018, when he showed the Secretary of the Army what would become the 8th floor of Capital Factory and the center of the local defense tech community. The other photo is from 2016, of the DIUx desk on the 16th floor that started it all."

"Big shout-out to the incredible partnership between Capital Factory and DARPA, right here in Austin, Texas... Thank you Bryan Chambers and Joshua Baer for including me for this inside look. You and the team have grown Capital Factory to become the undeniable hub of TEXAS INNOVATION and fueling statewide economic development." [Pre-tribute context establishing relationship]

"I am saddened to learn of the passing of Joshua Baer, founder and CEO of @CapitalFactory, following the tragic plane crash in Laredo. Joshua was a major force in Texas' technology and startup community. Through Capital Factory, he helped connect entrepreneurs, investors, innovators, and public sector partners working to solve some of our country's most important challenges... I valued his leadership and the perspective he brought to Texas' growing role in innovation and national security technology. My prayers are with his family, the Capital Factory community, and all those affected by this tragedy. We are grateful to the Laredo first responders and bystanders who acted quickly to help those at the scene. Joshua's legacy of service, entrepreneurship, and support for Texas innovators will continue to be felt across the state."

"Heidi and I are deeply saddened by the passing of Josh Baer and the tragic plane crash in Laredo. Josh has been one of the most significant figures driving innovation and entrepreneurship across America. In Texas, he made our state a global leader. His impact was incalculable. Our prayers are with his family and the others aboard the aircraft."

"An innovative & creative leader in Austin's entrepreneurial culture and a stalwart supporter of growing Central Texas' military ecosystem. I and countless others will greatly miss him."

"The passing of Josh Baer is a huge loss for Texas. He was a disruptor, a brilliant innovator, and had immense enthusiasm for helping others succeed. My sincerest condolences to Josh's family, friends, and the @CapitalFactory team. He will be greatly missed by me and my staff."

"Joshua Baer, founder and CEO of Austin-based startup accelerator Capital Factory, died Tuesday night in a plane crash on a Laredo highway. He was 50... Baer, who was also a Texas Tribune board member from 2015 to 2017, was the only person who died. The other five passengers were taken to local hospitals with no serious injuries... 'Josh was a fearless leader, a brilliant partner, and a dear friend to so many of us,' Capital Factory president Bryan Chambers said."

"Since 2009, Josh built Capital Factory into something Texas had never seen—a true engine for entrepreneurship that gave founders across the state their first investors, customers, and believers... I'll always be grateful for the partnership we built when Capital Factory came to Dallas and launched the DEC Network location at The Centrum. That moment connected our two cities in a way that changed what was possible for Texas founders... [His Texas Startup Manifesto] captured exactly who he was—the idea that Texas should operate like one big city for entrepreneurs, where a founder in Dallas could tap Austin's network and an Austin founder could find their next customer in Dallas. That's the kind of leadership that doesn't just build a company—it builds an ecosystem."

"Capital Factory founder Joshua Baer, a visionary force in the Texas technology and start-up ecosystem, died Tuesday night in a private plane crash in Laredo, the organization confirmed to the American-Statesman. 'Joshua was a fearless leader, a brilliant partner, and a dear friend to so many of us,' Capital Factory President Bryan Chambers said... [Comment from former state official]: 'While working in the Governor's Economic Development and Tourism office I remember meeting with multiple companies like FireFly Aerospace and Aceable who took off after that and created jobs across Austin, thanks to Capital Factory.'"

"'Nobody has built a company in the last 20 years without crossing paths with Joshua Baer,' Austin Tech Council CEO Thom Singer said... His passion, his drive was that other people could have the advantages of a career and a life in technology that he was able to have, and he wanted everyone to know it... He and his wife also donated and volunteered with the Austin Anti-Defamation League... The couple established their own foundation, the Baer Family Foundation, to support disadvantaged children and inclusive entrepreneurship."

"Joshua Baer has a set of those millionaire-on-a-skateboard dotcom Gold Rush stories that give the Austin startup scene its own sexy tech history... Baer is a fierce advocate for Austin as a tech growth center and weighs in often on the Silicon Valley vs. Silicon Hills controversy... Baer graduated Carnegie Mellon with a less-than-stellar academic record, and a couple hundred grand in revenues from being an early dabbler in web hosting and email services."

"Joshua Baer, 50, described himself as an 'Austinpreneur,' a reference to the state capital and his enthusiasm for getting people into business... 'My hobby is startups,' Baer told the Austin American-Statesman in 2012. 'I don't watch sports or anything like that. So this is what I do. ... I want to be an investor in every great tech company that comes out of Austin. That's probably unrealistic, but I'm going to try anyway.' Baer often spoke to high school students and had the title of 'entrepreneur in residence' at the University of Texas."

"Capital Factory CEO Joshua Baer died Tuesday night in a plane crash. Described as the 'godfather' of Austin's startup scene, Baer founded Capital Factory, a venture firm that backs Texas-based businesses... The father of three, whose billionaire status was confirmed in a September 2025 Instagram post, also co-founded the Baer Family Foundation with his wife to support disadvantaged children."

"As part of his Middle Class Jobs and Opportunity tour, Obama is making a previously unannounced visit to the Capital Factory, a startup incubator run by high tech mogul Joshua Baer, an instructor in the Department of Computer Science who teaches and mentors UT student entrepreneurs through the Longhorn Startup Program... 'UT Startup @LynxLabsATX will be giving @BarackObama a demo of their 3D camera!,' Baer wrote on Twitter."

"The post quickly gained more than 13,000 views and stirred up many entrepreneurial spirits in Austin's tech scene, including that of Joshua Baer. Baer is the founder of Capital Factory, a startup accelerator in Austin, and he put Shira in touch with Bob Metcalfe, an inventor and entrepreneur whose title at UT is now professor of innovation. Four and a half years later, the germ of an idea that started with that blog post has grown into the seventh-biannual Longhorn Startup Demo Day."

"Last week, I had the privilege of luring back to campus a seasoned entrepreneur alum (computer science, 1999) who had been my student 13 years ago: Joshua Baer, four-time entrepreneur, three successful exits, more than 50 private equity investments in startups, and Austinpreneur. Josh came back to CMU to give back, literally. Over the course of several days, he saw 30 pitches of projects from current students, alumni-based startups in the region, and faculty projects that we hope to turn into startups."

[Referenced as Instagram tribute; full text not captured — noted as significant figure who publicly mourned]

[Referenced as Instagram tribute; full text not captured — documented from community aggregation]

"Saddened by the untimely passing of my friend, Josh Baer. A great entrepreneur — he was a driving force through Capital Factory in Austin's tech story, helping make us the dynamic, international city we are today. Concern for wife Amy, their children, and condolences to the extended Capital Factory family."

Hurt — who Baer backed in both Bazaarvoice and data.world — called Baer "one of my best friends in Austin" and credited his intentional culture of helping others as a defining quality.

"Joshua Baer, Capital Factory and Eric Salwan, Firefly Aerospace shared how key inflection points — national security partnerships, record venture capital, and Austin's growing startup ecosystem — are fueling the region's rise as a defense innovation hub."

"All day I've been reading notes like this. Some people really do improve the world, and some people build community both before and after they die. I watched Joshua build Capital Factory at the beginning of Capital Factory's life due to my stature back then at South by Southwest. He was always a real kind dude, always was helpful, and really set up Austin's startup industry in a way that no other human could. My friends who are involved in the Texas and particularly Austin areas are heartbroken, and my heart goes out to them. The loss for the technology and startup industries that happened last night cannot be overstated."

"The last thing we did together was the smallest, and maybe my favorite. Josh built a nonpartisan, open-source tool called Texas Votes — you spend five minutes answering questions about what you care about, and it builds you a personalized ballot for Texas elections. He invited me in as a contributor on the GitHub repo, we sat down and did some Claude Code together, and we talked about extending it to other states. My contributions were minor beyond cheerleading... [And separately:] When Josh and I had a meal together in Aspen, it was always at Little Ollies. Amy and I are going there for dinner tonight to celebrate and remember Josh."

"'We're living in the best age in Austin's history,' Hurt emphasizes... 'Austin is one of the few places where these things are forced to converge and live together,' Baer notes, suggesting that it could be unstoppable if Austin can maintain dialogue and collaboration across different perspectives... 'You are going to see more change in the next 10 years than you've ever seen in the entire history of technology,' Hurt predicts."

This week, Austin lost one of the people who built this tech community. The tragic passing of Josh Baer in a plane crash leaves a hole in the heart of our tech ecosystem.

Josh spent 27 years pouring himself into Austin’s startup scene. He came to town to join Trilogy, then stayed to build companies of his own: Skylist and OtherInbox. But his real legacy started in the late 2000s, when he founded Capital Factory and helped usher in a new era of optimism for what Austin’s tech scene could become.

From there, his influence only widened. In recent years, Capital Factory leaned into bigger, more speculative bets on hardware and deep tech, helping reshape Austin’s identity from a city known for enterprise software into one building med tech, advanced manufacturing, and the kind of frontier technology that used to feel like science fiction.

But the numbers and the company names only tell part of the story. What Josh actually did was simpler and harder: he showed up for people. He mentored founders before they had a product, introduced them to their first investors, and stayed in their corner long after the introductions were made. If you built a company in Austin over the last two decades, there is a good chance you crossed paths with Josh.

I felt that firsthand in my role with ATC. When I took this job four years ago, the first call I received was from Josh. He wanted to talk about the future of our community and what ATC could be. He had opinions, he pushed me, and he made it clear early on that he was paying attention and was open to more conversations.

His impact actually reached my family too. In 2013, when my oldest daughter was 16, Josh spoke to the teen leaders on the organizing committee of TEDx Youth Austin. She was impressed enough to go home and look him up. That search led her to his alma mater, Carnegie Mellon University, a school that wasn’t on her radar at all. It became one of her top choices. She went on to have a great experience at CMU, including meeting her husband. A leader like Josh doesn’t just influence the people he meets directly. His reach extends to people he never knew he touched, like my own daughter, whose path changed because of one talk he gave.

Last year, we inducted Josh into the Austin Tech Hall of Fame. It felt right at the time. It feels even more important now.

Josh Baer was a devoted husband to his wife Amy and loving father to their three children. Our hearts are with the Baer family, and with everyone at Capital Factory grieving this loss alongside our whole community.

Thank you, Josh, for everything you built here, and for everyone you built it with.

Thom Singer
CEO, Austin Technology Council

The best way for me to honor Joshua Baer ’s memory is to tell the story of the founding of his passion; Capital Factory . It is my perspective, and while the passage of time may have softened some edges of my memory, the spirit of what we built remains clear.

When I first met Josh I was publishing the Austin Startup blog, which was meant to highlight the successes of local tech startups and entrepreneurs. Tech Crunch would only write about an Austin company if they had a big funding event, and I believed that Austin was more than funding news. We did have a weekly Tech Monday section in The Statesman, spearheaded by Lori Hawkins who also left us too early. Josh’s name had come up with other people many times, so I set out to meet him over lunch.

At first he didn’t know what my intentions were, but after trading some entrepreneurial war stories he could tell we were cut from the same cloth. He went from guarded to totally animated talking about how Austin didn’t have its own version of Y Combinator, and he wanted to create that. At the time in 2008 there were no incubator / accelerator programs in Austin. I literally laughed at the notion, probably a bit too hard, because he was taken aback and wondered what was so funny. I told him that I had this conversation numerous times with numerous people, and not a single one of them did anything about it. If this wasn’t my first meeting with Josh, I would have known that he’s not a talker – he’s a doer.

We started collaborating on a Google Doc with the business plan. Then came a Google Spreadsheet with the business model. It wasn’t a copy of Y Combinator at all, it was a unique idea whose cornerstone was getting mentors involved who also have skin in the game. We had a major roadblock though. We had mentored many startups telling them that 2 is a terrible number of founders, because there is no tie-breaking vote. We knew we needed a third Managing Director and started discussing ideas. If there was any other person considered besides Sam Decker , I cannot recall it because Sam was perfect in every regard.

Josh named other companies beginning with the word “Capital” so “Capital Factory” probably came easy to him. It was great to have a name, even though we had no offices, no staff, and no budget for operations. We were a startup trying to birth startups!

We called it the 20/20/20 model. 20 mentors, 20 thousand dollars in cash, and 20 thousand dollars of in-kind services. Each mentor had to have founded, grown, and sold a company to qualify, and had to contribute $5K to the fund. That would give us $100K to invest in companies. Nevermind there was no extra money for offices, internet, pizza, or anything else! The vision for Capital Factory was a gathering place where everyone had a seat at the table, and startups could mix and mingle with investors, mentors, and investors. Pulling people into a quiet corner to share ideas, pitch a new concept, or get feedback.

But we needed 17 more mentors beside ourselves! We made a spreadsheet, listing every potential mentor in a column, and we stack ranked them by desirability. Number one on the list was of course Michael Dell . Our plan was that we would start asking from the top down, and when we got 17 yes's we were done. As a startup ourselves, those top names all rejected us. Over the years, as Josh relentlessly grew Capital Factory, he brought in almost every single one of those that rejected us. Either as a mentor, investor in the fund, or guest speaker. Josh was relentless on the idea of mentorship, and never gave up.

Those service providers contributed way more than $20K in terms of value. Top of mind is Evan Kastner on the legal side. Laura Beck and Josh Jones-Dilworth from Porter Novelli. Kate Donaho and Jason Sugawa on marketing and branding. Silicon Valley Bank for financial services. The package wasn’t much even by 2009 standards, but it was enough to convince a UT startup to form instead of taking a job in industry. At least that was our hope.

We needed exposure! Without exposure we would never attract enough quality startups to the program. We were reminded of PR guru Laura Beck’s advice to never launch anything at SXSW, so we did the exact opposite and launched at SXSW in 2009. Sam, Josh, and I spent a Sunday recording goofy footage at the Yaupon house. Hoping to piece together some kind of motivational introductory video.

We heard that Brad Feld , legendary co-founder of Techstars , was coming to Austin for SXSW. Josh navigated his way to Brad, and a working session was set. You would think Brad would be protective of all the knowledge that made him successful with Techstars, yet he was the exact opposite. He gave us every secret he had. He still pitched us to turn it into “TechStars Austin” but their operating model was not our operating model. We gently passed.

Our minimal PR worked. We had over 300 applications, and every application required a video with a 5 minute maximum. Do the math on that. 1,500 minutes of video, 25 hours. After watching about 15 or 16 videos they all begin to sound the same. The 20 mentors divided up the applications and started scoring. The scores bubbled up the best, though surely some great companies were overlooked because of our janky process. All the mentors reviewed the top scoring startups, and the top 10 got an interview.

We didn’t start out with a mandate to pick 5 companies and give them $20K each. We were perfectly fine giving one startup with great potential the entire $100K if it made sense, or sprinkle $10K to 10 companies. That’s just the way it worked out for year one. And also for years 2 and 3 it turned out without that being the plan.

As the program began, Josh cconsistently had a "big tent" philosophy, and believed that pitching was a key skill. And not just from the CEO or Founder, but every single early stage employee. For 10 weeks at the weekly evening meeting, we would eat pizza and every company would pitch. We had amazing guests drop in like Aziz Gilani . Feedback was given. Next week a different employee would pitch. If any visitors came into our modest space during the week, they would all give pitches to the visitors. The value propositions evolved, the elevator pitches evolved. We needed 5 really solid pitches for Demo Day, from investable but early stage companies.

Demo Day would be a bust if we couldn’t fill the room with potential investors. We all reached out to every investor we knew, but the most relentless recruiter that wouldn’t take no for an answer was Josh. Cindy Y. Lo made Demo Day look like a finely polished event, running like a machine. Christopher Justice bid the live video streaming at a fraction of his normal rate. Mike Maples, Jr delivered a stirring and emotional keynote. It took a circus full of performers to put on the show, and Josh was the ringleader.

The entire startup community has a hole in their heart right now without that ringleader. My heart aches for Amy and the kids, who were at the core of Josh’s world. But I have no doubt that the ecosystem he built, the young and energetic talent that he hired, and the entire Capital Factory community will continue to thrive.

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G. Nagesh R. 12h

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This is great!!! Thank you for sharing!

I still remember looking at CF model (during StartUp America days) and realizing the Austin scene was truly reinventing itself post Sematech. It was a catalytic moment of time with the confluence of SV expats settling in Austin, SXSW hitting mainstream,Industry settling roots/outposts and just an abundance of energy coming out of UT Austin Student EShip scene.

Folks realized they didn’t need to chase YComb to make an impact…orgs like CF could
make the magic happen! Josh and his team of friends and collaborators have been a boon to the American Innovation Ecosystem… 🙏🏾

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Aziz Gilani 13h

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That video brought back so many memories. Thank you

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David J. Neff 13h

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Mellie Price are you in this?!

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Scott Francis 18h

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I remember that day well (demo day!) - and this video is a reminder of how gracious you three were in calling out those who helped - I was so proud of Cindy Y. Lo and her RED VELVET team, and by then I got to meet Laura Beck, I'd worked with Kate and Jason for my own branding (so I was feeling the love for people I cared about!). Also, Mike Maples Jr gave such a great talk - I was inspired greatly by it. Went home and wrote a blog post about his talk. First time meeting him, as well as Chuck from Sparefoot. perhaps my all time favorite pitch at a demo day was the one for helpjuice - maybe the 2010 batch? Also, shout out to Josh wearing a button down shirt. Thank you so much for sharing this!

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Mellie Price 20h

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Thank you, Bryan Menell. Thank you so much for sharing this. This is the Capital Factory that I hold deep in my heart. The beginning (those first three cohorts) were rooted so deeply in the spirit of giving back by all of us. Borrowed space, $20K checks, weekly sessions around the conference table. All of it based on those of us that had exits trying to help give back our time, experience, and hard earned lessons. While Josh led CF through many chapters to the current day legacy, I will always treasure the core spirit of those early days! One of the best parts of Josh that I will miss is that he rooted for underdogs as much as shot for the moon. And when both of those things aligned - some real magic happened!

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Cover image: Josh and I together with Amy and Debra at last year’s US Open with the legacy of Josh living on forever, creating the future he wanted with his most iconic deep-tech investments represented

This week, The Superfecta Signal is written with a broken heart. I lost a brother this week.

Thanks for reading Brett’s Substack! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

My dear friend, Henry Crown Fellow peer (and nominator) at The Aspen Institute, and very long-time collaborator, Josh Baer, founder and CEO of Capital Factory, died in a plane crash in Laredo. It is hard to put into words what Josh meant to Austin as well as to so many beyond. He was not merely an investor, founder, connector, mentor, or “Austinpreneur”, though he was all of those things. He was a builder of builders. He helped make Austin the deep-tech city it is today by creating the center of gravity where founders, investors, students, engineers, government leaders, dreamers, and “weirdos” (the Crazy Ones, as Steve Jobs would say) could find one another — and then build the future together. (**link**)

The tragedy is raw. But this issue is not only a eulogy. It is a field report on Josh’s living legacy.

Josh had just leveraged AI all weekend to create Capital Factory’s brand new website. He was so proud of it as we discussed when we met for a Board meeting the day before he crossed over. Capital Factory’s own words say it well: “Startups advancing civilization.” Its portfolio includes humanoid robots, autonomous ships, neural interfaces, rockets to the Moon, 3D-printed housing, AI infrastructure, and more. That is not a normal venture portfolio. That is the Superfecta made local. It is Austin’s contribution to the Age of Abundance for All. (**link**)

The fear story says a light went out. The love story says Josh lit thousands of torches while here with us and is now working from Heaven for All of us to achieve Abundance.

One of the most moving pieces of Josh’s final week was that, just days before his death, he was still doing what he always did: convening builders. Capital Factory hosted a Claude Code Community Meetup in Austin on June 8, bringing together more than 200 builders around AI skills, prompt engineering, workflow optimization, and the practical adoption of AI agents. Josh’s talk, “Agents First,” is now an even more poignant artifact: a builder talking to builders about how AI can become real-world leverage. (**link**)

That matters because AI is not only a frontier-model story. It is a diffusion story. The Age of Abundance for All does not happen because a few labs become powerful. It happens when millions of people and organizations gain agency. Capital Factory understood this long before it was fashionable: founders need customers, capital, mentors, community, and a place to collide with possibility.

A fresh global AI story this week echoed that same agency theme. OpenAI published research showing how a near-autonomous AI chemist, working with molecule.one, improved a challenging medicinal-chemistry reaction. This is AI as a scientific collaborator — not replacing the chemist, but helping explore and improve the experimental path faster. (**link**)

OpenAI also published work on predicting model behavior before release by simulating deployment. That is a hopeful safety signal: as models grow more capable, labs need better ways to forecast real-world behavior before release, not merely respond after harm occurs. (**link**)

Austin’s own AI infrastructure story is also visible in Capital Factory-backed companies like Coder, which raised a $90 million Series C earlier this year to advance secure enterprise AI development infrastructure. Coder is not a flashy consumer app. It is the plumbing that helps teams safely use AI coding agents in governed, auditable development environments. This is the kind of infrastructure the agency economy needs. (**link**)

**The Love Conquers Fear** **perspective:** AI becomes abundance only when it becomes agency. Josh understood that founders are agency engines. AI can now multiply that agency — but only if we pair it with community, responsibility, safety, and access. A lone genius is rare, and Josh was as rare as they come. But he understood that a connected ecosystem can change the world.

Robotics was one of Josh’s great deep-tech love languages, and Austin is now one of the places where “physical AI” is becoming real. He and I discussed this on **episode 5** of the **Love Conquers Fear** podcast.

Capital Factory lists Apptronik** ** as one of its proudest investments. Apptronik is building general-purpose humanoid robots designed to work alongside humans and expand the labor market. Its Apollo robot represents exactly the kind of physical abundance we keep discussing in The Superfecta Signal: machines that can help with logistics, manufacturing, elder care, disaster response, and eventually the work that is too dangerous, repetitive, or scarce for humans alone. (**link**)

This week’s broader robotics news shows how quickly the field is moving. The Robot Report covered Genesis AI’s launch of Eno, a general-purpose robot that the company plans to begin producing and deploying to targeted customers by the end of 2026. The humanoid race is becoming less about viral videos and more about who can build useful, reliable systems that work in the real world. (**link**)

People also reported that a 24-hour convenience store in Hong Kong is launching with a humanoid robot named Xiao Gai handling tasks like stocking shelves, picking items, and checkout. The point is not that every store should be staffed by robots. The point is that general-purpose manipulation, perception, and service work are moving from laboratory demos into everyday environments. (**link**)

Austin’s abundance story is not only humanoids. ICON, another Capital Factory-backed company, is using robotics and AI to tackle one of humanity’s most urgent physical bottlenecks: housing. Capital Factory describes ICON as developing robotic and AI systems to lower cost, increase speed and quality, tackle the global housing crisis, and prepare to build on other worlds. That is Josh’s ecosystem in one sentence: housing for Earth, and tools for the Moon and Mars. (**link**)

Saronic, also in the Capital Factory orbit, is building autonomous surface vessels that can go farther and do more with less risk to human life. A recent report described a Saronic Corsair vessel helping rescue the crew of a downed U.S. helicopter near Hormuz. That is physical AI as protection and rescue, not just automation. (**link**)

**The Love Conquers Fear** **perspective:** Robotics is not about replacing human meaning. It is about multiplying human care and reducing unnecessary suffering. Josh backed builders who understood that intelligence eventually needs hands, wheels, hulls, walls, tools, and bodies. The future is not just software. It is software *becoming* service.

This week’s most important quantum signal was reliability. Microsoft and Quantinuum reported major progress in quantum error correction, with techniques that reduced computational errors by factors ranging from 11-fold to 800-fold compared with equivalent calculations on physical qubits. That is exactly the kind of progress quantum needs: less hype, more error correction, more practical engineering. (**link**)

This matters because quantum computing is not useful until it is reliable. Error correction is the bridge from fragile physics experiments to machines that can help solve chemistry, materials, energy, logistics, medicine, and climate problems too complex for classical systems alone.

Austin has its own quantum thread too. Strangeworks, headquartered in Austin, has been working for years to make quantum and quantum-inspired computing accessible through software, hybrid compute, and optimization tools. The company’s site emphasizes turning complex problems into real value across optimization, logistics, scheduling, and resource allocation. That is the right frame: quantum is not magic; it is a future tool for impossible-seeming coordination problems. (**link**) Their founder and CEO, whurley, was on **episode six** of the Love Conquers Fear podcast for an incredible discussion about quantum, AI, and all of its future promises.

Texas overall has begun taking the field seriously with the Texas Quantum Initiative, a state effort to build research, workforce, and infrastructure capacity around quantum technologies. That matters because the next era of abundance will not be built only in Silicon Valley, Boston, or DC. Austin and Texas can help build it too. (**link**)

**The Love Conquers Fear** **perspective: ** Quantum computing is humility technology. It tells us reality is stranger than our current worldview. If we bring wisdom to it, quantum can help us design better medicines, better batteries, better materials, better climate models, and better systems. The deeper lesson is spiritual: the universe is not a machine we dominate. It is a mystery we participate in.

This week’s most profound Superfecta story is also one of Austin’s own.

Paradromics, a Capital Factory-backed brain-computer interface company founded in Austin, implanted its Connexus brain chip in a human for the first time. Business Insider reported that the patient is a Michigan woman with a motor neuron disease that impairs her speech, and that the FDA-approved procedure took place at University of Michigan Health. The Connexus device is designed to record neural signals associated with speech and translate them into text or synthesized voice. (**link**)

Capital Factory’s portfolio page describes Paradromics’ first clinical application as enabling severely motor-impaired people to communicate and independently use a computer — translating neural signals into synthesized speech, text, and cursor control. That is the sacred promise of BCI in one sentence. (**link**)

There was another powerful BCI story this week. People reported on Casey Harrell, a 47-year-old ALS patient who has used an experimental BCI to communicate nearly 2 million words and 183,000 sentences over two years, sustain full-time work, and reconnect with family through synthesized speech. Researchers reported average communication speeds of 56 words per minute and 92% sentence accuracy. (**link**)

MedicalXpress framed the same research around one of the hardest barriers for BCIs: real-world, at-home, independent use over time. The hopeful signal is that BCI is moving beyond lab accuracy toward everyday life. (**link**)

**The Love Conquers Fear** **perspective: ** The sacred promise of BCIs is restoration. Voice. Agency. Work. Family. The ability to say “I am still here.” This week, Austin’s Paradromics took a step into that sacred space. Josh helped build the ecosystem where companies like that could take root. That is love becoming infrastructure.

Austin’s deep-tech story extends beyond the four pillars of the Superfecta into space, autonomy, defense, and planetary intelligence.

Capital Factory proudly counts Firefly Aerospace among its early investments. Firefly’s mission is to launch, land, and operate in space, and its recent collaboration with NVIDIA to enable on-orbit processing for lunar imaging points toward one of the most important abundance themes of the next decade: putting intelligence closer to where data is created. Space-based AI can reduce latency, compress downlink needs, and help humanity observe the Moon, Earth, and climate systems with more precision. (**link**)

SkyFi, another Austin company in the Capital Factory ecosystem, is trying to make satellite imagery far more accessible. Earlier this year it raised $12.7 million to expand access to satellite imagery and AI-powered geospatial analytics for sectors like agriculture, energy, infrastructure, defense, and climate. That matters because overhead imagery used to be gatekept. Abundance requires turning planetary data into a public and commercial tool for better decisions. (**link**)

This week’s Austin lens also made me think about Saronic’s autonomous vessels and Firefly’s space systems as two sides of the same pattern: autonomous systems that protect people, extend human reach, and let us act with more precision in dangerous environments. At their best, these are not tools of domination. They are tools of stewardship, resilience, and protection.

You’ve already read plenty on the SpaceX IPO, also here in Texas, and we covered it in the past two issues of The Superfecta Signal. It continues to trade well above its offering range and now has an over $2.2 trillion market cap. I won’t recap here what I’ve already said, but Josh Baer was an investor in it and really excited about their future, as am I. Check out The Superfecta Signal #6 and #7 for more.

**The Love Conquers Fear** **perspective:** Space and autonomy give humanity new eyes, new reach, and new responsibility. The fear story is militarization and control. The love story is protecting life, understanding Earth, connecting the disconnected, responding faster to disaster, and remembering that this planet is our shared home.

This week’s consciousness signal is personal: grief.

When a giant like Josh dies suddenly, the mind tries to make sense of what the heart cannot yet hold. Neuroscience can describe grief as reward circuitry, attachment, memory, and prediction collapsing around absence. But anyone who has lost someone knows grief is more than neural circuitry. It is love with nowhere obvious to go.

That is why the consciousness frontier matters. Science is beginning to study inner life more seriously — meditation, psychedelics, altered states, grief, trauma, and the conditions under which people heal. This week, MedicalXpress reported that Monash University researchers have launched Australia’s first clinical trial testing psilocybin therapy for persistent post-concussion symptoms. This is not grief research directly, and it must remain careful, clinical, and evidence-based. But it is another sign that science is exploring how altered states may help the brain and mind recover from deep disruption. (**link**)

Dell Medical School at the University of Texas at Austin’s Charmaine & Gordon McGill Center for Psychedelic Research and Therapy is also part of this Austin story, advancing clinical research into psychedelics for mental health disorders. **Love Conquers Fear** recent podcast episode (**#61**) with their Co-Director, Greg Fonzo, felt even more synchronous in hindsight: Austin is not only building robots, rockets, AI, and BCIs. It is also helping study healing, spirituality, trauma, and consciousness. (**link**)

**The Love Conquers Fear** **perspective: ** Grief is proof that love is real. It hurts because connection matters. Consciousness research, meditation, and psychedelic science are all asking how humans heal, awaken, and remember unity. In a week like this, the message is not abstract: love is the only force big enough to metabolize loss into service.

***Love Conquers Fear: Humanity, AI, and the Age of Abundance for All** * is just days away from publication now. It comes out on Tuesday, June 23rd in honor of the solstice (when the Light overcomes the dark). With Josh’s crossing over back into the Light, this week feels unbearably meaningful. He was the first at the Henry Crown Fellowship to send me a photo with an early copy of my book proudly in hand. *Love Conquers Fear* deeply explores how the Superfecta can help humanity enter the Age of Abundance for All if we wield these technologies wisely, with love, humility, courage, and unity. Josh Baer spent his life building exactly that kind of ecosystem in Austin.

I’ve been discussing the book on several podcast and keynotes. Here are three that I think you would enjoy:

1. My first keynote on the book at the Do More Good® Movement’s ROI of Why conference in Omaha. This year’s theme was “Love Conquers Fear: Together We Rise”. (**link**)
2. Kim Sorrelle interviewing me on her LOVE IS podcast. She did a beautiful job of bringing out the best in me. (**link**)
3. Jason Scharf interviewing me on his Austin Next podcast. This was my 4th appearance on his podcast and we went deep on the book. (**link**)

This week’s Love Conquers Fear podcast episode, **#63**, was with Doug Merritt, CEO of Aviatrix and former CEO of Splunk (scaling it from $200m to over $3.2 billion of ARR). We went deep on cybersecurity in this AI moment, leadership, and much more. Last week’s episode, **#62**, was with Peng T. Ong, where we went deep on entrepreneurship, the future of venture capital, what Abundance for All could look like, and more.

This eighth issue continues the mission of The Superfecta Signal: to gather evidence each week that humanity is not doomed by exponential technology. We are being invited, and challenged, to become worthy of our own power.

And this week, we dedicate that mission to Josh. He was a giant, and I will always honor him.

“I love to think of nature as an unlimited broadcasting station, through which God speaks to us every hour, if we will only tune in”

- Scientist and inventor, George Washington Carver

From Chapter 4, “Climate Change”, in the ***Love Conquers Fear** * book.

Share one story from this issue with someone who feels afraid of the future. Tell them about Josh Baer’s living legacy in Austin, Paradromics restoring the possibility of speech, Apptronik building robots for humans, ICON tackling housing with robotics, Saronic protecting lives at sea, Firefly carrying intelligence to lunar orbit, SpaceX’s historic IPO, or scientists exploring how consciousness heals.

Fear spreads through headlines. Love spreads through witnesses.

Rest in peace and power, Josh. Thank you for helping Austin and the world build the future. And thank you from my heart and soul for always believing in me from the moment we first became brothers 22 years ago.

Thanks for reading Brett’s Substack! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

Yesterday I shared a tribute post to Joshua Baer that unexpectedly disappeared. Comments, memories & support that meant a lot to me and others grieving his loss - gone. I'm reposting it so those reflections are not lost. --- Josh Baer changed many lives, including mine. As my boss, colleague, and friend, he opened doors I could not have opened myself. From day one, he placed enormous trust in me to lead a significant part of the org he had painstakingly built over years, esp during the hard COVID ones. In a short time, we developed a trusted friendship. Beyond his strategic & intense exterior, there was a warm, compassionate, gentle, & hilarious Josh. And Stormy, who would come storming into my office just down from his for treats I probably shouldn't have given her. More than anyone I've known, Josh lived the abundance mindset. He believed in opportunity, success, & possibility for everyone. He brought prosperity to countless founders, their families, & this region, making most of Capital Factory's work naturally non-profit. He loved my references to Laxmi & Divine Grace surrounding him and the ecosystem due to his genuine desire to grow wealth for others. At our first walk-and-talk about revenue streams, he paused & smiled when I shared the story of a Yogi who was granted a pocket that would instantly contain the exact amount of money needed at any moment. With Josh, it was easy to be myself. He saw me and all my facets, all my masala - eastern wisdom mixed into strategy & brainstorming, Gujarati expletives mid operational tinkering, connections bridged between far-away lands, systems thinking mixed with maternal vulnerabilities. He sent thoughtful Mother's Day texts, shared goofy pics of Stormy, connected genuinely with my son, and even comforted me backstage after delivering the opening FSN speech at Paramount when I lost a family member. That was Josh - beyond the brand, larger-than-life persona, ATX magazine cover, & Medium articles. He was a loving father and husband, devoted son, great brother-in-law, caring boss, committed friend, & a special human. It brings me to tears to write this. I can't just pop in and give him a hug. I am heartbroken by his sudden passing but grateful to have known him and to have had his close trust & respect. Today, at Capital Factory's Voltron, we gathered mostly silent, still in shock, filled with love and respect. My prayers are with his wife Amy, his children & family, Capital Factory family, and the entire community he helped create. We will keep watering your seeds and plant more. PROMISE. Rest well, my friend. Bryan Chambers Gordon Daugherty Craig Cummings Lawton Cummings David Willox Eric Stober Kyle Henderick Haley Guerin Mary Gwinn Jake Teskey Fred Schmidt MBE Eugene Sepulveda Bob Metcalfe Mellie Price Paul Norwood Abdul Subhani Kim Newton Joseph Kopser Evan Burfield Aasim Hasan Zaib Husain Norman Garza, Jr. Drew Scheberle Luis Martinez, PhD Nick Spiller

I’ve spent the last few days reading the beautiful tributes to Joshua and wondering what I could possibly add. But Josh always wanted everyone at the party. So here’s my story.

In 2012, I sat across from Josh for the first time at Lola Savannah on a Sunday night. I had a bad idea on a napkin. He had every reason to leave. He stayed. And for the next 13 years, he never stopped showing up. That idea, shaped and strengthened inside the community Josh built at Capital Factory, became Aceable. But Josh’s real gift was not simply his belief in it. He challenged me, hard, to make it worthy of that belief. I wanted badly to make him proud. At first, my need to earn his respect came from insecurity. Over time, knowing I had earned it gave me security, a friendship I could count on, and a path to follow. Josh gave me a blueprint for a life spent serving others, and then he lived it out loud every day. He taught me that everything is negotiable. Always. He fought for me to have a second board seat before I understood why it mattered. “You’ll thank me later,” he said. A decade later, I did. He spent Saturdays hurling pitch feedback at me with the intensity of the wrench scene in Dodgeball. He drilled into me that closed mouths don’t get fed. Always ask. He told the Aceable story to his students, his team, and strangers on airplanes as if he were the lucky one. Josh’s generosity was rarely subtle. He came to my wedding in bright, colorful tennis shoes that my mom still talks about. He sent over-the-top “bear” gifts when our kids were born. He handed my family the keys to his favorite place on earth. Josh didn’t just help people. He made us all feel seen and celebrated. And it was never just me. Right now, thousands of people are realizing the same thing: how lucky we were to be pulled into Josh Baer’s orbit. Josh passed away this week. Austin lost the person who, more than anyone, made it a place where a kid with a bad idea on a napkin could build something real. Like so many others, I lost a mentor who became a friend, the kind who, just a few months ago, texted me out of nowhere: “Dude, I love you.” Back at ya, Josh. Thank you for changing my life. Not bad for a napkin.

Joshua Baer founded Capital Factory to connect Austin's early-stage founders with investors, mentors, and defense programs. He died in June 2026 after a private aircraft crash near Laredo, Texas, according to the Houston Chronicle. This collection focuses on the practical advice he left behind on bootstrapping, angel investing, and networking.

1. **On Texas as a Megatropolis:** "Texas is the most promising technology market in the United States, especially when you view it as one interconnected city rather than separate hubs." — *Source: Medium: Austin Startups*
2. **On Ecosystem Density:** "An ecosystem is the dense network of connections that helps a company scale." — *Source: Forbes*
3. **On Collaboration over Competition:** "The cities of Texas shouldn't compete with each other; they should collaborate to unlock capital and unleash entrepreneurial growth." — *Source: Texas Tribune*
4. **On Physical Proximity:** "Even in a digital world, physical proximity and serendipitous encounters in a shared space accelerate innovation." — *Source: Capital Factory*
5. **On Building Gravity:** "You have to create a center of gravity where investors and talent know they can show up and find each other." — *Source: Medium: Austin Startups*
6. **On Retaining Talent:** "The goal of a strong local network is making sure your best founders don't feel they have to move to the coasts to succeed." — *Source: Startup Grind*
7. **On Ecosystem Stages:** "Startup ecosystems evolve from isolated nodes to connected networks, and eventually to self-sustaining engines of talent and capital." — *Source: Medium: Austin Startups*
8. **On Civic Engagement:** "Entrepreneurs need to engage with local legislation, like voting on Prop 1, because municipal rules directly impact innovation." — *Source: Texas Tribune*
9. **On The Role of Universities:** "A university like UT Austin is the foundational engine of a tech hub, constantly injecting fresh talent and new research into the market." — *Source: UT Austin*
10. **On Inter-city Connectivity:** "If we connect Austin, Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio, we create a larger, more collaborative nexus that rivals any global tech center." — *Source: Forbes*

1. **On the Core Strategy:** "Plant lots of seeds. Water everyone's. Repeat." — *Source: Forbes*
2. **On Super-Mentoring:** "A super-mentor acts as an investor who actively brings in a broader network of mentors to support founders, rather than merely providing individual advice." — *Source: CBS News*
3. **On the Right Introduction:** "The right introduction at the exact right moment can completely change the trajectory of a company." — *Source: Forbes*
4. **On Generosity:** "The most successful networks are built on a culture where established entrepreneurs dedicate time to mentor the next generation without expecting immediate return." — *Source: Capital Factory*
5. **On Feedback:** "Mentors who sugarcoat their feedback aren't helping you. You need the ones who will tell you why your idea might fail." — *Source: Startup Grind*
6. **On Time Commitment:** "A good mentor gives you an hour; a great mentor opens their address book." — *Source: Capital Factory*
7. **On Reciprocity:** "When someone helps you scale your company, your eventual obligation is to do the same for the founder two steps behind you." — *Source: Mixergy Interview*
8. **On Choosing Mentors:** "Ignore the big names. Look for the mentors who have recently solved the exact problem you are facing right now." — *Source: Forbes*
9. **On Community Value:** "The greatest value I can provide is simply building a space where founders can connect with the right people." — *Source: Medium: Austin Startups*

1. **On Customer Funding:** "The best source of capital is revenue. Find a clear path to cash flow by letting your customers fund your early growth." — *Source: Mixergy Interview*
2. **On Resourcefulness:** "Bootstrapping forces you to solve problems with creativity rather than cash, which builds a much more resilient company." — *Source: Startup Grind*
3. **On Premature Scaling:** "Raising too much money before you have product-market fit is the fastest way to kill a good idea." — *Source: Capital Factory*
4. **On Pricing:** "Founders almost always underprice their initial product. Charge more so you can afford to deliver a better experience." — *Source: Mixergy Interview*
5. **On Early Sales:** "In the beginning, do things that don't scale. Get on a plane, meet the customer, and close the deal yourself." — *Source: Mixergy Interview*
6. **On Keeping Control:** "When you bootstrap, you retain control of your destiny and your equity until you absolutely need outside capital." — *Source: Startup of the Year Podcast*
7. **On B2B Focus:** "Selling to other businesses is often a faster path to profitability because they have actual budgets to solve painful problems." — *Source: Mixergy Interview*
8. **On Validating Ideas:** "Don't build the whole product first. Sell the concept, see if someone will pay for it, and then build it." — *Source: Startup Grind*
9. **On Dorm Room Startups:** "You don't need a fancy office to start. The best companies often begin in a dorm room with a laptop and a clear focus on a single problem." — *Source: Capital Factory*

1. **On Starting to Invest:** "Start writing checks to startups, and not too large in the beginning. It won't take long for other angels and startups to find you." — *Source: CBS News*
2. **On Evaluating Founders:** "I invest in the entrepreneur more than the idea, because the idea is almost certainly going to change." — *Source: Forbes*
3. **On Portfolio Size:** "Angel investing is a volume game. You need a large portfolio because the majority of returns will come from one or two companies." — *Source: Capital Factory*
4. **On Investor Value:** "If an investor is only giving you money, you are getting shortchanged. They should bring new talent and future funding along with their initial check." — *Source: Startup of the Year Podcast*
5. **On Local Capital:** "To build a great tech hub, you need local wealth willing to take risks on local founders at the earliest stages." — *Source: Texas Tribune*
6. **On Pattern Recognition:** "After seeing thousands of pitches, you start to recognize the specific intensity and clarity that marks a founder who will figure it out." — *Source: Forbes*
7. **On Passing on Deals:** "Saying 'no' quickly is a form of respect. The worst thing an investor can do is drag a founder through months of maybe." — *Source: Capital Factory*
8. **On Co-investing:** "Investing alongside people you trust reduces your blind spots and helps the founder get a broader support base." — *Source: Medium: Austin Startups*
9. **On Valuations:** "Don't obsess over the valuation in your seed round; obsess over finding the partners who will increase your chances of reaching the next round." — *Source: Capital Factory*

1. **On Asking for Help:** "Ask mentors and advisors for help until they explicitly say 'no'. Many founders are too timid and underestimate how willing others are to assist." — *Source: Medium: Austin Startups*
2. **On Outrageous Requests:** "Turn your thinking upside down and ask for the most outrageous thing that would make the biggest impact on your business." — *Source: Medium: Austin Startups*
3. **On The Role of Luck:** "Luck is about 75% of success. Way more than most people think. Don't be afraid to try lots of different things so you can get lucky." — *Source: Quora*
4. **On Pitch Practice:** "Elevator pitches improve significantly over time through practice and by actively seeking critical feedback." — *Source: Medium: Austin Startups*
5. **On Rejection:** "Every 'no' gets you closer to the 'yes' that actually matters. You have to build an immunity to rejection." — *Source: Startup Grind*
6. **On Speed of Execution:** "The speed at which you test a bad idea and move on is a competitive advantage." — *Source: Mixergy Interview*
7. **On Perfectionism:** "Shipping an imperfect product today is better than shipping a perfect product next year." — *Source: Capital Factory*
8. **On Difficult Conversations:** "Have the hard conversations early. Whether it's with a co-founder or an investor, delaying bad news only makes it worse." — *Source: Forbes*
9. **On Showing Up:** "Half of success in the startup world is simply showing up to the events, meetings, and spaces where serendipity happens." — *Source: Medium: Austin Startups*
10. **On Momentum:** "Momentum is the most precious resource a startup has. Once you have it, do everything in your power not to lose it." — *Source: Startup of the Year Podcast*

1. **On Hard Problems:** "We need to back founders who are building solutions to the hardest problems, particularly in deep technology and national security." — *Source: Capital Factory*
2. **On Defense Tech:** "Connecting innovative startups with government entities like the U.S. Army accelerates deployment of critical defense technologies." — *Source: Forbes*
3. **On Robotics:** "The next wave of technology involves robotics and AI interacting with the physical world." — *Source: Driving Alpha Podcast*
4. **On AI Integration:** "Artificial intelligence is a horizontal layer that will fundamentally alter how every startup operates." — *Source: Capital Factory*
5. **On Patient Capital:** "Deep tech requires patient capital. You can't expect a robotics company to iterate as quickly as a consumer app." — *Source: Forbes*
6. **On Government as a Customer:** "The government is the largest customer in the world. Startups that learn to navigate public sector procurement unlock massive scale." — *Source: Capital Factory*
7. **On Augmented Audio:** "Technologies like augmented audio represent the transition from screens to ambient interfaces that blend seamlessly with our environment." — *Source: Medium: Austin Startups*
8. **On Dual-Use Technology:** "The most successful defense startups will build dual-use technologies that have direct commercial applications alongside their military utility." — *Source: Driving Alpha Podcast*
9. **On Building an Abundant Future:** "Investing in deep tech builds an abundant future where technology solves foundational human challenges." — *Source: Driving Alpha Podcast*

1. **On Human Infrastructure:** "We are building the human infrastructure that connects ambitious founders with the resources they need." — *Source: Forbes*
2. **On Diversity:** "A healthy startup ecosystem must intentionally build bridges to diverse founders, or it will miss out on massive untapped potential." — *Source: Capital Factory*
3. **On Creating Collisions:** "Design physical spaces and events specifically to force collisions between people who wouldn't normally interact." — *Source: Medium: Austin Startups*
4. **On Community First:** "Put the community first, and the business outcomes will follow. If you try to extract value before creating it, you will fail." — *Source: Capital Factory*
5. **On Accessibility:** "The barrier to entry for the startup community should be as low as possible. Anyone with drive should be able to walk in and get started." — *Source: Medium: Austin Startups*
6. **On the Role of Events:** "Events are the heartbeat of a community. They provide the rhythm that keeps people engaged and moving forward." — *Source: Startup Grind*
7. **On Shared Knowledge:** "When one founder figures out a complex problem, the entire community benefits if that knowledge is shared openly." — *Source: Medium: Austin Startups*
8. **On Welcoming Newcomers:** "A growing city must embrace newcomers. Every new arrival brings fresh perspective or capital to the existing network." — *Source: Forbes*
9. **On Alumni Networks:** "The strength of an accelerator is measured by the engagement of its alumni. They are the ultimate proof of concept." — *Source: Capital Factory*
10. **On Long-term Horizon:** "Building human infrastructure is a decades-long project. You have to commit to a city for the long haul." — *Source: Forbes*

1. **On the Ultimate Goal:** "I help people quit their jobs and become entrepreneurs." — *Source: Capital Factory*
2. **On Taking the Leap:** "The hardest part of starting a company is simply deciding to let go of the safety net and jump." — *Source: Medium: Austin Startups*
3. **On Purpose:** "Entrepreneurship is what I was put on the Earth to do. It brings financial independence and the skills to create positive change." — *Source: Forbes*
4. **On Burnout:** "You have to treat entrepreneurship like a marathon. If you sprint the first mile, you will burn out before you find product-market fit." — *Source: Startup Grind*
5. **On Co-founders:** "Choosing a co-founder is like a marriage. You must have complete trust and complementary skill sets." — *Source: Mixergy Interview*
6. **On Continuous Learning:** "The moment you think you know exactly how the market works, a new technology will emerge and disrupt your assumptions." — *Source: Driving Alpha Podcast*
7. **On Self-Awareness:** "Great founders know what they are bad at and actively hire people who are smarter than them to fill those gaps." — *Source: Forbes*
8. **On Managing Psychology:** "The hardest part of being a CEO isn't the competition or the product; it's managing your own psychology through the extreme highs and lows." — *Source: Startup of the Year Podcast*
9. **On Leaving a Legacy:** "Ultimately, your legacy won't be the companies you sold, but the people you helped succeed along the way." — *Source: CBS News*

Tribute to Joshua Baer who established the Capital Factory and helped supercharge Austin, Texas a defense innovation hub.

We also mourn the loss of Josh Baer, co-founder of Capital Factory in Austin… Tribute to Joshua Baer who established the Capital Factory and helped supercharge Austin, Texas a defense innovation hub.

I am heartbroken and crushed. I lost a friend and a mentor.

"He was so awesome and a tireless community builder and company builder. Devastating for the Austin startup community. I have so many memories of him, having attended SXSW as a speaker something like 25 years and working for Rackspace, which was an hour away and frequented his events because of that. Huge loss for Texas and America."

"A true mensch, a huge loss for our industry. [Quoting Josh's own tweet:] 'My life strategy: 1. Plant lots of seeds. 2. Water everyone's. 3. Repeat.'"

"I was an investor in Josh's email startup #OtherInbox in 2010 (acq by ReturnPath 2012), and a co-investor with him in several other startups. We spent many a year hanging in Austin at #SXSW. Josh was a huge part of the Austin angel / tech investor ecosystem, and a wonderful human being. He will be greatly missed."

"@JoshuaBaer was a great human, friend to so many, and champion of startups. My thoughts go out to his family and all who are mourning this loss."

"Joshua was instrumental in getting the current innovation ecosystem ignited in Austin. When we visited to start Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) there, he was one of the first to raise his hand to help out."

"Terrible. @JoshuaBaer was an amazing human & advocate for Austin startup community. May his memory be a blessing."

"A man with an S-tier relationship with his wife and kids, a true pillar of our community, and at the peak of his career doing more than ever. In total shock trying to make any sense of it."

"I remember the first day of class, I was the first one Joshua Baer called on to pitch my startup. (Not that I was special or anything, just that I decided to sit front and center.) ... And thank you to Joshua Baer for giving all of us the opportunity to do this. Onward!"

"Joshua Baer — the entrepreneur whose vision of a Texas 'startup megalopolis' linked Dallas, Austin, Houston, and San Antonio into one ecosystem... 'by connecting Austin, Dallas, Houston, San Antonio and the rest of the state into a Texas Startup Megatropolis, we can unlock billions of dollars in capital and unleash thousands of diverse entrepreneurs.' [From his 2017 Texas Startup Manifesto]... Companies Capital Factory has backed 'all the way to the exit' include Voyager Space, Wonder Dynamics (Aether), WP Engine, Bazaarvoice, Intuitive Machines, Storable, and Firefly Aerospace."

"Capital Factory founder Joshua Baer was killed in a plane crash on his way back to Austin from a vacation destination in Mexico late Tuesday night... Tech leaders and politicians, including Congressman John Carter, expressed condolences in posts on social media. 'He was a disruptor, a brilliant innovator, and had immense enthusiasm for helping others succeed,' Carter said... Baer is the entrepreneur in residence for the Department of Computer Science at the University of Texas at Austin, according to his UT bio page."

[From headline and video] "He really cared deeply" — the lead community quote chosen by KXAN's editorial team to define Baer's legacy for Austin news viewers.

"Capital Factory confirmed that cofounder and CEO Joshua Baer died in the crash on Loop 20 near the Texas-Mexico border."

Community comments from Austin startup community members who worked with Baer personally, collectively representing the grief of hundreds of founders and entrepreneurs.

[Multiple Reddit users discussing Baer's impact] "Our Austin tech ecosystem is booming in large part due to his early and constant advocacy & enthusiasm." [via Digg/Techmeme cross-post references]

"According to the Austin Business Journal, Joshua helped the state land a large contract with the United States Army, which brought in billions of dollars for the state... RIP."

"Joshua Baer, the founder and CEO of Texas accelerator Capital Factory, died on Tuesday night in a business jet crash in Laredo, Texas."

"We'll miss you, Joshua. Austin and Texas won't be the same without you. Joshua Baer, the co-founder and CEO who launched Capital Factory in 2009 and turned it into Austin's central startup gathering point, died Tuesday when the small business jet he was aboard crashed near Laredo. Posts from founders and investors who knew Baer stress his consistent habit of championing early-stage companies and the people behind them. Colleagues describe him as relentlessly positive and loyal, crediting years of behind-the-scenes advice and connections that helped shape the local ecosystem."

"Former President Barack Obama speaks with Capital Factory Founder Joshua Baer, center, and former U.S. Chief Technology Officer Todd Park during a tour of Capital Factory, a tech start-up incubator and co-working space in Austin, Texas, in May 2013. (Joshua Roberts/Reuters)"

"[Title:] 'Joshua Baer, godfather of Austin's startup scene, dies in plane crash' — He was 50 years old — and a father."

"Joshua Baer is the founder of Capital Factory, a coworking community and accelerator designed to help startups find their first investors, customers and employees... At UT Austin, Josh co-teaches the Longhorn Startup Seminar and Lab. He also acts as the Entrepreneur in Residence for the Department of Computer Science."

"The Aspen Institute today announced its 2013 Class of Henry Crown Fellows... Joshua Baer, chief innovation officer, Return Path and Managing Director, Capital Factory, Austin, TX."

"In 1996, while still a student at Carnegie Mellon University, he founded SKYLIST from his dorm room. What started as an email discussion list service grew into one of the early email marketing companies on the internet... In 2009, he founded Capital Factory, which became the center of gravity for Austin's startup ecosystem. Through Capital Factory, he helped connect founders with mentors, investors, customers, talent, and opportunities... Texas lost one of its great builders. Rest in peace, Josh Baer."

Direct community reactions from people who worked with Baer personally, reflecting the grassroots depth of grief across the Austin ecosystem.

"While working in the Governor's Economic Development and Tourism office I remember meeting with multiple companies like FireFly Aerospace and Aceable who took off after that and created jobs across Austin, thanks to Capital Factory."

"I was an investor in Josh's email startup #OtherInbox in 2010 (acq by ReturnPath 2012), and a co-investor with him in several other startups. We spent many a year hanging in Austin at #SXSW. Josh was a huge part of the Austin angel / tech investor ecosystem, and a wonderful human being."

"'Nobody has built a company in the last 20 years without crossing paths with Joshua Baer,' Austin Tech Council CEO Thom Singer said... 'Austin lost one of the people who absolutely built this tech community,' Singer said. 'He didn't just found companies, he shaped how an entire generation of founders here got their start. When I think about all the people he impacted? You can't even count them.'"

"The father of three, whose billionaire status was confirmed in a September 2025 Instagram post, also co-founded the Baer Family Foundation with his wife to support disadvantaged children."

"Since then, Capital Factory has built multiple funds to help invest in ventures like Intuitive Machines, Apptronik, and Firefly Aerospace, as well as launched a nonprofit, STATION Austin... Capital Factory's Center for Defense Innovation program [is] in a 5,000-square-foot office at the Tech Port Center + Arena in San Antonio."

Just three months before his death, Baer launched STATION Austin — his most ambitious and inclusive expansion of the entrepreneurship mission, converting the model to a nonprofit to expand access.

"I help people quit their jobs @CapitalFactory. First investor @Aceable @Apptronik @Bazaarvoice @Colossal @MulticoinCap @StorableInc @WPEngine @ZenBusiness. My life strategy: 1. Plant lots of seeds. 2. Water everyone's. 3. Repeat."

"The Austin mayor in 2023 gave Baer a key to the city, a symbol of civic honor." [Referenced in AP Wire, News4Jax, ClickOrlando, and multiple other outlets as part of the tribute narrative]

"Capital Factory's portfolio includes firms such as Apptronik, Intuitive Machines, Firefly Aerospace and Colossal Biosciences, making it one of the key institutions behind Austin's emergence as a technology powerhouse... Austin's technology community is mourning the loss of one of its most influential figures after entrepreneur and investor Joshua Baer was killed in a private jet crash in Texas."

"My hobby is startups. I don't watch sports or anything like that. So this is what I do. ... I want to be an investor in every great tech company that comes out of Austin. That's probably unrealistic, but I'm going to try anyway."

"Didn't have many photos of Josh on my phone, but here's just one of many awesome opportunities that he put together with tech titans like @alexisohanian. He put Austin on the map for tech and VC."

[Referenced as a contributor to the Digg community thread; full text not captured in available sources. Included as documented presence.]

"Baer also taught a class at the University of Texas for student entrepreneurs and was recognised as a Henry Crown Fellow and Braddock Scholar at the Aspen Institute, a member of the National Committee on US-China Relations Young Leaders Forum, and an Eisenhower Fellow."

"Very sorry for the loss of our friend, Josh Baer, in the jet crash last night. Our Austin tech ecosystem is booming in large part due to his early and constant advocacy & enthusiasm. Josh was building here for years, over a decade before we moved to town. We'd often share notes; I appreciated his perspective and was proud to be a small supporter of his, as he helped so many. Tayler and I send our thoughts and prayers to his many friends and family."

"The class is taught by UT Computer Science instructor and serial entrepreneur, Joshua Baer, who founded Capital Factory, a startup incubator and co-working space in Austin, Texas. Josh founded his first startup in 1996 in his college dormitory at Carnegie Mellon University. He was recently recognized as the Austin Community Leader of the Year, Tribeza Person of the Year, Henry Crown Fellow at the Aspen Institute and an Eisenhower Fellow."

"Baer also taught a class at the University of Texas for student entrepreneurs and was recognised as a Henry Crown Fellow and Braddock Scholar at the Aspen Institute, a member of the National Committee on US-China Relations Young Leaders Forum, and an Eisenhower Fellow... Congressman John Carter said: 'He was a disruptor, a brilliant innovator, and had immense enthusiasm for helping others succeed.' Capital Factory President Bryan Chambers said: 'Josh was a fearless leader, a brilliant partner and a dear friend to so many of us.'"

Losing a friend in combat is a sad reality. Losing a friend in a plane crash is an unexpected tragedy. Losing Joshua Baer this week was a huge blow to me along with so much of the Austin community. Wednesday morning I spent the hours after exchanging texts with dozens of friends, all of us in disbelief. My friend Daniel M. reminded me of something that stuck. "We are not remembered by how we died, but by how we lived." So in that spirit, I went downtown to be with the Capital Factory team. For no reason other than to be there. From the news and social media, we all know the know stories of Josh and CF hosting Presidents, Queens, Cabinet Secretaries, 4 star Generals and Admirals, but in spending time with the team at CF who made those visits happen, I found something else. What I found was a wonderful afternoon across the street at Higbee's, sitting with the former chiefs of staff and executive assistants who called themselves "the alumni." Josh had a tradition of hiring young, hungry talent that helped Josh be Josh and run the CF. They came to tell stories and remember their time with him. I was lucky to have been there at the right time and place thanks to Nick Spiller, Aaron Handwerker and Mary Gwinn. One theme repeated all afternoon through all the toasts. Not how much he invested in companies, though he did, and the success speaks for itself. It was how much he invested in people. Person after person got emotional talking about what Josh saw in them. How he pushed them into jobs they did not feel qualified for, and projects bolder than they would have chosen for themselves. And how he let them see him on the days he had, in his own words, "fallen in a hole." My favorite story, one I never knew until this week. After COVID shut down the events portion of CF and forced layoffs, Josh personally reached out on behalf of more than 60 people to help them find new jobs over that summer. He was known for his motto and (t-shirt) that read "I help people quit their jobs." In truth, Josh helped people FIND their jobs. In their own startups, at Capital Factory, and long after they left. My heart is with the Chief of Staff and EAs who worked closest to him and carried his days: Abigail Porter, Andrea De La Vega, Anna Rinke, Caroline Davis, MBA, Carley Deardorff (she/her), Daniela Etchells, David Rosenthal, Drew Rice , Georgia Thomsen, Kyle Hendrick, Natalie Wiegand, Remi Guarini, Maryann Menzies Alspaugh and so many others. For those I forgot and left off the long list, I appreciate you too. We will remember him for how he lived. For the people he lifted, and the next chapters he helped them find. My heart is now with Amy and her kids has they come to grips with their loss.

My dear friend Joshua Baer died in a plane crash on Tuesday. I want to remember him with you, and send our collective prayers to his wife Amy and their three kids 🖤

When our friend carla piñeyro sublett called me on Wed morning and first spoke those words, I couldn’t hear them. It felt like my brain went on strike and refused that reality. This can’t be true. We just texted yesterday. He was checking if I’m coming to his AI seminar today. He’s hosting his favorite thing, he wouldn’t miss that! Then it hit me. We cried. After sharing the happy memories of Josh we cherish, I went back to work. In the middle of my next meeting, on a video call, I realized I wasn’t present at all. My mind kept digging out a memory: the two of us eating delivery food, his little dog Stormy sniffing at my plate while we passionately debated AI in his ground floor office at Capital Factory. And the tears would come. I turned off the camera and took a deep breath. Get it together Yemi. You need to get through this day. But part of me wondered what would happen to those memories if I refused to acknowledge them. Will I lose them? Will they fade? They can’t disappear now, when there’s no more chance to make new ones. I need to cancel these meetings. Let’s take a break. The next morning, when I opened my eyes, for a moment I thought maybe it had just been a bad dream. Let me call him, just to make sure. But then I opened my phone the dark truth spilled out of the screen into the whole room: from regional newspapers to Fox News, from the Henry Crown Fellowship group chats on WhatsApp to my friends’ messages of condolence. He’s actually gone. That spring, at Josh’s office and then at their house with Amy and the kids, I saw him the happiest and most energized I had ever seen him. That was the last time I saw him. Josh had so many dreams and audacious goals. He was one of the few people with a track record of hitting one after another. He never stopped building, teaching his students at the University of Texas, judging every year at our Moonshot Platform Awards, and most recently falling in love with vibe coding. And it was contagious. A few minutes in a room with him and you could feel it. You just had to start building too! Nothing was impossible for Josh. He always found time to help when I asked. He supported our young changemakers, helped me design the accelerator, and introduced me to Jeff Cardenas, with whom I began working on the robot Apollo at Apptronik. Above all, Josh’s legacy is his family. It is also his beloved Henry Crown Fellowship, and the hundreds of investments he made in companies already reshaping all our futures. It is the young people he touched, as well as the partners and colleagues at Capital Factory. But for all that complexity, that unyielding work ethic and that wide web of friendships, Josh loved his family above all. Which is why I am on a plane to Austin right now, to be with them and remember him. Because no one is ever really gone 🖤

I don’t usually post here on LinkedIn, but a big reason my career started was because of this man.
I’m incredibly grateful to Josh for building the startup community and network in Austin. I’m truly saddened by this loss.
Thank you for everything you gave to the Austin startup scene.
RIP, Josh.
https://lnkd.in/dupby4Z4

A personal note. This was a hard week away from the keyboard. Joshua Baer — Capital Factory founder, and a friend — died in a plane crash in Laredo. I’m still in shock over his loss. RuntimeWire covered his passing (it became the third most-read story of the week), but this one isn’t a metric to me. I’ll have more to share on Josh soon. — A short In Memoriam is at the end of this report.

We lost Josh Baer — Capital Factory's founder, the godfather of the Austin startup community, and honestly one of the few people who showed the rest of us this work could actually be done, and done right. He and I both started back in 2009… so this one hits close.