San Antonio already has the pieces international companies say they want: cybersecurity talent, a growing bioscience corridor, defense and advanced manufacturing, and a city built on relationships instead of transactions. Dr. Lina Rugova’s job is to make sure those companies actually see it.

Dr. Rugova is Operations Chair and a founding member of the San Antonio Applied Innovation Council, founder and president of Emerge and Rise, and co-lead of Founder Institute San Antonio. She looked at Dallas, Austin, and Houston, then moved from New York in 2019 because San Antonio was the better fit. In this episode she and Justin McKenzie talk about how the city gets on the list.
In this episode:

How San Antonio gets added next to Dallas, Houston, and Austin
The Applied Innovation Council’s four lanes: advanced manufacturing, defense and cybersecurity, biomedical and health innovation, and talent
VentureFest San Antonio’s reverse pitch, built around arts, culture, media, tourism, and hospitality.

A soft-landing path with greater:SATX for international firms and the small businesses ready to supply them.

UTSA, Trinity, UIW, and Alamo Colleges as a South Texas talent pipeline, and the quality of life that brings people back
A big city with a small-town pace: family-friendly, walkable, and rooted in Texas history.

Chapters
0:00 Put San Antonio on the list
0:46 What the Applied Innovation Council is building
2:11 The corridor shows up: Austin, Kyle, Buda, New Braunfels
2:47 Why she chose San Antonio
4:35 VentureFest, and this year’s reverse pitch
6:18 South Texas talent, and the life that brings people back
8:01 Soft landing, greater:SATX, and a city international firms can land in
10:17 BiomedSA, UT Health, UTSA, and cyber
12:10 Come as a Texan: the Alamo, the rivers, the frontier town
13:53 Creators, open doors, and businesses of every size
15:51 San Antonio’s own story, not a copy of Dallas
17:56 How Dr. Rugova is building Texas

Dr. Lina Rugova, DBA, advises organizations on innovation, intrapreneurship, and systems thinking. She is an immigrant from Kazakhstan who landed in the Bronx at 16, founded Emerge and Rise for underserved entrepreneurs, and teaches at Palo Alto College.
San Antonio Applied Innovation Council: https://sanantonioinnovates.com
Dr. Lina Rugova: https://linarugova.com

The Building Texas Show: https://www.buildingtexasshow.com
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thebuildingtexasshow
Host: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinmckenzie/
#SanAntonio #BuildingTexas #EconomicDevelopment #TexasStartups #VentureFest

A new Texas outdoor site is about to open between Boerne and Bandera, and it is not a state park. Stephanie Kwiatkowski, superintendent of the Albert & Bessie Kronkosky State Natural Area, explains why that distinction matters, what 28 miles of trail will actually feel like, and why late fall 2026 is the target to let the public in.

ABK sits on 3,814 acres along Highway 46 at Pipe Creek, on the Bandera County and Kendall County line. Albert and Bessie Kronkosky willed the ranch to Texas. The state accepted it in 2011. The monument is already up. Cabins, screened shelters, tent sites, backcountry camping, and hike-and-bike trails are part of the build. Texas Parks and Wildlife has not posted an exact opening day.

This is a return visit. James Rice, the first site superintendent, joined the show while the land was still in survey and planning: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W62mo3ffdK0

In this conversation:
→ State natural area vs. state park, and why ABK lands on the conservation side
→ What changed from James Rice's solo-ranger years to a six-person team
→ The volunteers who surveyed nearly 4,000 acres before staff arrived
→ Canyon viewsheds the site owns on both sides, Bigtooth maples, Red Bluff Creek, and Pipe Creek
→ The July Hill Country flood, and why seeing it before opening was useful
→ What to expect when you reserve: lighter on the land than a recreation park
→ Late fall 2026, cooler weather, and maple color on the trails

Steph came up through Lost Pines (Bastrop and Buescher) and Pedernales Falls before taking the ABK superintendent role in June 2026.

Plan ahead: https://tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/albert-bessie-kronkosky
Location: 7690 Highway 46, Pipe Creek, Texas

Subscribe for more conversations with the people building Texas: https://www.youtube.com/@thebuildingtexasshow?sub_confirmation=1
More on the show: https://www.buildingtexasshow.com

Chapters

00:00 Both sides of the canyon
00:19 Welcome back to ABK
01:03 First 90 days, and a team of six
02:18 Why this is a state natural area, not a state park
05:25 The volunteers who built the baseline
07:12 How Stephanie got to Texas Parks and Wildlife
10:29 The July flood, before the public arrives
12:49 Camping, and coming prepared
13:42 What Highway 46 does not show you
16:40 Albert and Bessie Kronkosky's gift
17:29 Late fall 2026, and the Bigtooth maples
18:26 Thank you to the full team

#TexasStateParks #HillCountry #Boerne #BuildingTexas

CTEC at VentureFest: $12K wins and a $100K student pitch.

Central Texas Electric Co-op sponsors VentureFest and Incubator EDU in Fredericksburg. Tachi Hinojosa, CEO and President of CTEC, breaks down why a Hill Country electric co-op coaches student teams, shows up at the pitches, and backs kids who can raise real money—including a first-place VentureFest team that won $12,000 and another team that raised over $100,000 at a Fredericksburg Chamber banquet.

On The Building Texas Show, Justin McKenzie talks with Tachi about CTEC’s role across 11 counties: student entrepreneurship, high school and college internships, 1,000 employee volunteer hours, and the line that sticks—“when you call Central Texas Electric Co-op, you’re calling the Hill Country.”

This week’s episode lands during VentureFest season. If you’re in Fredericksburg or the Texas Hill Country, this is the co-op-and-classroom side of the event.

In this episode:
• What VentureFest and Incubator EDU look like from CTEC’s chair
• $12,000 first-place win (Fredericksburg) and a $100,000+ Chamber pitch
• Why CTEC employees coach teams on public speaking and real business pitches
• Student pipeline beyond the stage: tours, shadows, internships (1 student to 6)
• Brodie Smith: facility tour at 16 → groundman → apprentice at 19
• Concern for community: VFDs, youth sports, line crews hauling tables for fundraisers
• 80 years next year serving the Texas Hill Country

Guest: Tachi Hinojosa, CEO & President, Central Texas Electric Co-op (CTEC)
Focus: VentureFest · Incubator EDU · Fredericksburg · Texas Hill Country
Host: Justin McKenzie, The Building Texas Show

00:00 Cold Open: VentureFest $12K Win and a $100K Student Pitch
00:23 Meet Tachi Hinojosa, CEO of Central Texas Electric Co-op
00:53 How Tachi Built 19+ Years in the Electric Co-op World
02:36 Why CTEC Runs High School and College Internships
02:58 Growing CTEC Internships from 1 Student to 6
04:20 Facility Tours and Careers Beyond the Lineman Role
05:00 Brodie Smith: Tour at 16 to Apprentice at 19
06:55 Powering 11 Texas Hill Country Counties
07:57 80 Years Next Year: Rural Service and Local Growth
09:25 Co-ops, Cities, and Who Owns the Power in Texas
10:48 Concern for Community and 1,000 Volunteer Hours
12:30 VentureFest, Incubator EDU, and Student Pitch Skills
13:20 “When You Call CTEC, You’re Calling the Hill Country”
13:39 Keeping Talent and Ownership in the Hill Country
15:28 Watch the Pitches: $12K First Place and a $100K Raise
18:09 Why CTEC Sponsors VentureFest and Shows Up in Person
19:58 Hill Country Character: Why These Students Keep Going
20:43 Closing: CTEC, VentureFest, and Building Texas

Central Texas Electric Co-op · CTEC · VentureFest · Incubator EDU · Fredericksburg Texas · Texas Hill Country · pitch competition · student entrepreneurship · startup pitch · youth entrepreneurship · elevator pitch · high school entrepreneurs · electric cooperative · Building Texas Show

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#VentureFest #CTEC #Fredericksburg #HillCountry #Texas #StudentEntrepreneurs #PitchCompetition #BuildingTexas