The moms of Austin entrepreneurs say it was clear their offspring were destined to be business leaders. In advance of Austin Startup Week (Oct. 1 – 5), the mothers of some local business leaders shared their insights.
Sharon Cohen, mom to Mark Cohen, founder and CEO of Ntelicor, says, “When Mark was in high school, I was meeting some friends for lunch. When I arrived, I was surprised to see Mark and a friend hard at work on the restaurant’s lawn. I knew he was mowing lawns; however, I thought he was mowing a few neighborhood lawns. He had so many customers he worked six, sometimes seven, days a week from sunrise until dark.”
Judy Kring, mom to Kaleb Brewer, founder and CEO of Phoenix Construction, says, “When he was 5, his nanny offered to pay him $50 for homeruns in T-ball, because what 5-year-old can hit a homerun off a T, right? Well, he became a hometown legend, and she nearly went broke. Even from a very young age, if you gave Kaleb a challenge, he would rise to it.”
Angela Chappell, mom to Chris Chappell, owner of HydroPros, says, “Chris has always had a very strong mind and wouldn’t take ‘no’ for an answer. If something didn’t work the way Chris expected, he would go back to the drawing board to brainstorm new ideas.”
