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Startup Culture and San Antonio Go Hand in Hand Around the Rand
The historic Rand Building was built in 1913 for the department store Wolff & Marx. It is situated at the intersection of Houston, Soledad, and Main Ave. and has become a centralized location where startup culture and the essence of San Antonio become one together.
Co-working space Geekdom has been a long-time staple in the Rand since San Antonio-based Real Estate Investment and Development company Weston Urban purchased the building in 2013. Geekdom has been well-known for housing small tech and startup companies heavily involved in business services. Modern Managed IT, a San Antonio-based branch of Jungle Disk, recently recruited a long-time SA executive from Rackspace in their Rand Building office. The company serves smaller businesses that need managed IT services but are not quite at enterprise-level needs.
Companies have long been attracted to the area and have begun making their imprint on it. Recently, long-time brewer of the famous Pearl Beer, Pabst, has decided to come back into the area and establish their new headquarters in the Rand Building, sandwiching the current floors that house Geekdom. Pabst has also committed to establishing a pub within their floors to enhance their footprint and bring even more cultural events to the Rand. Pabst said that the area is more affordable for the business and its employees compared to Los Angeles and they want to be a part of San Antonio’s creativity.
Pinkerton’s Barbeque, which debuted in the 2017 Top 50 barbeque joints in Texas, is opening its new San Antonio location one block away from the front of the Rand. Pinkerton’s has received glowing reviews from its primary Houston location and San Antonians are excited for a taste. A combination of these attractive eateries and a young tech-oriented demographic draw entrepreneurial spirit and funds into the area. Geekdom’s Equity Fund, which is currently sitting on nearly $50 million, is a huge player in bringing new business along Houston St. and San Antonio in general. Their recent raising of $15 Million for startup Sea Machines series B has led to the company “leading the transition in the oceanic and maritime space.” (Michael Johnson, Sea Machines CEO). Other successful ventures like Chowbotics, FlashParking, and One Model, have all been involved with the fund and proved lucrative in the end.
A centenary like the Rand has seen the rich history of San Antonio in and around its walls and this startup work area will be another chapter in its long story.
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