The Chaos Campaign
When I first started working downtown, an old wise man pulled me aside and said something I’ll never forget. “Lorenzo, the mayor of San Antonio only has one job,” he said. I leaned in. “Count to six.” I nodded like I understood him completely. I did not. It took me years to realize he wasn’t […]
The Quiet Giant: In His Own Words
Part Four of a four-part Urban Nerd series on The Quiet Giant, the final installment, a candid Q and A with Pat Matthews on venture capital, ambition, geography, and San Antonio’s place in the startup world. In Part 1, “The Quiet Giant: The Unlikely Path to Venture Capital,” we saw how a kid from Virginia […]
The Active River
Article 4 of a four-part Urban Nerd series exploring the three distinct personalities of the San Antonio River Walk. One of the reasons I have such strong opinions about the River Walk is simple. I have lived on or next to all three of its personalities: the Visitor’s River, the Local’s River, and now the […]
The Era of Big Has Arrived in San Antonio
Growing up, I didn’t think big. I think a lot of us in San Antonio carry that, whether we realize it or not. I grew up in an inner-city neighborhood where most of my world existed within about a five-block radius. I didn’t get on a plane until I was 18. My life felt small, […]
The Local’s River
Article 3 of a four-part Urban Nerd series exploring the three distinct personalities of the San Antonio River Walk. In 2017 I bought a house in Tobin Hill that I probably had no business buying. It was rough, the kind of house where even the listing photos seemed to be warning you about the foundation. […]
I Could Live Anywhere: Chef Danny Parada, Director of Restaurants at Pullman Market
There’s a certain warmth to San Antonio that reveals itself slowly. It lives in long dinners that stretch late into the evening. In the way food becomes the ultimate unifier. In the feeling that the best gatherings are multi-generational, where extra chairs get pulled up so everyone can sit at the table together. After years […]
The Quiet Giant: The ProsperOps Bet
Part Three of a four-part Urban Nerd series on The Quiet Giant – how Active Capital is pulling off the most unlikely venture story in Texas. One of the things I love about the Rackspace network is that it never really goes away. Rackers are scattered across the tech industry. Some have started companies. Some […]
Where San Antonio Is Watching the Spurs Right Now
As the Urban Nerd, I normally spend most of my time talking about downtown, walkability, urban districts, and the city core. But I wanted to break from that a little for this article because one of the things I love most about the Spurs is that they are one of the rare things in San […]
The Visitor’s River
Part 2 of a four-part Urban Nerd series exploring the three distinct personalities of the San Antonio River Walk. I’m embarrassed to admit this now, but for a long time, I had a terrible attitude about the River Walk. Not the whole thing. Just the part I thought didn’t belong to me. I saw the […]
The Quiet Giant: From Rackspace to Active Capital
Part Two of a four-part Urban Nerd series on The Quiet Giant – how Active Capital is pulling off the most unlikely venture story in Texas. When I was CEO of Geekdom, one of the most common frustrations I heard from founders was simple: there wasn’t enough capital in San Antonio. That complaint came from […]