Today we get to talk with one of our techies in town! Journalist, writer, provocateur, and much more, Lani Rosales. Lani and her husband, Ben, founded the super popular and edgy news site, The American Genius. They also host a monthly networking festival known as “The Big Ass Social Happy Hour,” and founded the Facebook group Austin Digital Jobs. They have scaled them to huge successes and Lani shares the two secret key ingredients for how they turned so big in a relatively short amount of time. The mix of Lani and Ben staying on the forefront of digital trends, mixed with Austin’s culture of acceptance and opportunity, help provide our city grow and help retain the awesome people and high-paying jobs already here!

Key Takeaways:

[2:15] Lani grew up in Lake Travis, Texas. We are going to count that as Austin, and Lani as a true Austinite. She went to the University of Texas and studied abroad in Spain. She met her husband Ben in her senior year there, and he helped her get a job in marketing for a real estate brokerage where he worked. This is where she got her feet wet in the digital world.

[6:53] Around 2006, Ben started a website/blog on real estate and it blew up across the nation quicker than they expected.

[7:18] Ben used to work at Apple.

[7:20] They expanded his website, The American Genius, from Realtors® and brokers to any entrepreneur. They still do have a section for real estate called The Real Daily.

[9:14] They are at about 10 million visitors a year.

[10:05] They started Austin Digital Jobs to keep more people here and to attract newer companies to keep Austin competitive.

[13:53] Lani gives us the two secret ingredients for scaling your digital vision or product.

[15:37] Thank you to our Sponsor, the Papasan Properties Group.

[19:08] Lani will be diving into interactive media such as podcasting.

[21:42] People can expect thought provoking ideas, edgy humor, and a fresh perspective when they consume media by Lani and Ben.

[22:24] Lani gives her top picks for what to hit in Austin.

[26:03] Her favorite taco is Dos Batos.

The Taco:

Dos Batos

Mentioned in This Episode:

Lani’s Twitter

Lani Rosales — The Real Daily

Big Ass Social Happy Hour

The American Genius

Austin Digital Jobs

University of Texas

Apple

SXSW Interactive

The Real Daily

The1Thing Podcast

Austin 360 Bridge

El Arroyo