Hey there, My name is Pat Killoren. I'm the Creator & Host of LoneStartup. I figured you might want to hear the backstory on this podcast.
Over the past year (since I quit my tech job), I always get asked the same thing: What inspired you to do this?
Here’s my honest answer.
The idea for a city-specific podcast came to me when I, ironically, wasn’t living in Austin at the time. The year was 2017, and I was chasing a startup dream in NYC. Every morning, on my subway rides from the East Village to Hearst Tower I would religiously listen to the podcast How I Built This with Guy Raz.
The episodes would always end right as my train approached Columbus Circle and I'd crowd surf off the A-C platform. For a brief hour or so, I'd be riding that motivational high… but it was always fleeting. And I remember thinking...
What if you could build a sense of community around these stories? One that bridged the gap between the episodes I listened to and other people in the same community who were hungry for inspiration.
It was at that moment that I thought of an Austin version of 'How I Built This'.
A hyper-specific, hyper-local podcast.
You could curate events where guests and listeners meet each other IRL and engage in dialogues around major themes specific to a local community.
Did I create a pitch deck immediately? Yep.
Did I forget about it shortly after? Sure did.
Fate played a hand in the timing, as it often does. When I moved back to Austin, started a family, and came to a crossroads of what I wanted to do in my career… I came across that deck. I was tired of coming across old business plan ideas and doing nothing with them. If you know me, you'll know my biggest regret is not creating squeezable sour cream for nachos back in 2007. Still stings every time I think about it.
Convinced to not let another great idea slip by, I did my research on Austin business podcasts. I realized, for the most part, people were getting it wrong. Sure, there are some good ones out there. But 90% of podcasts were attached to other businesses (media companies, incubators, even law firms) without much investment as a stand alone business unit. And, because of that, the production quality was usually low and the storytelling non-existent. I get it, podcasts alone aren't exactly raking in a ton of money outside the top 1%. But, money aside, it seemed like an opportunity to create something unique. Something that I wished existed when I moved back to Austin.
So, I did what Guy Raz had inspired me to do: I jumped in. From the pre-interviews to the conversations to painstakingly teaching myself how to edit… I fell in love with the process from beginning to end, and began to take you (reader, listener) along with me on the journey as I interview founders, and also become one myself.
Photos from left to right: the day we moved to NYC with a few boxes, me pondering life on our fire-escape attached to our 290 sqft apartment, the first hat I created because I love merch!, me with Walter from HelloBread who is a dear friend and was the second guest of the show!)
The Backstory...
Pat is a dreamer. A guy who's rolled the dice in the startup world and has 15+ years of experience building companies from the ground up. Whether he was crafting strategies in the beer biz, leading powerhouse sales teams, or plunging headfirst into the web3 frontier, Pat has never been one to shy away from the unknown.
His boldest leap yet? Walking away from the 9-to-5 grind to make LoneStartup his full-time gig. What started as a “that'd be cool” idea over 5 years ago has blossomed into a passion-fueled journey, giving him the perfect excuse to escape suburbia and meet Austin's most inspiring creators face-to-face. (And honestly, it's just way more fun than Zoom calls.)
At home in SW Austin, Pat lives with his wife and two daughters, where their days are filled with dance-offs to Disney hits and refereeing an ever-growing collection of Bluey toys. (iykyk).
Through LoneStartup, Pat is here to celebrate Austin's creators, dreamers, and risk-takers—because every great idea deserves its moment in the spotlight.
Fun Facts:
Favorite Austin Beer: Pinthouse Jellyfish (obviously)
Favorite date-night spot: Suerte
Go-to Take out spot: Tuk Tuk
Hobbies: golf, basketball, reading 25% of a book
Local coffee shop: Radio
Best Taco in town: Mami’s Food Truck
Favorite Quote: “Every single day, ordinary people do extraordinary things” - Jim Valvano
That's cool...so who's Pat?
