Until fairly recently, entrepreneur David Altounian's life centered around Austin, Texas. Aside from the area's incredible barbecue, live music venues and art scene, Altounian said the city's rapidly growing startup and tech culture was a big reason he stayed for so long.
Now, Altounian is shifting his focus to what he sees as a new hotbed of startup and tech opportunity; Rhode Island.
Last week, RIHub, the state's network connector and incubator for entrepreneurs and startups in Rhode Island, appointed Altounian to its board of directors. Altounian joins seven RIHub board members that include Board Chair Katharine Flynn (Executive Director, URI Business Engagement Center), Ji Mi Choi (NSF I-Corps Hub: Desert and Pacific Region Director), Hope Hopkins (Head of Accelerator Programs US, MassChallenge), Stephen Piper (Partner Data and Technology Transformation, IBM), Pete Rumsey (Chief Business Development Officer, URI Research Foundation), and Neil Veloso (Executive Director, Brown University Technology Innovations).
“We are so fortunate to have someone with David’s depth of experience in entrepreneurship, investing, building entrepreneurial ecosystems and education here in Rhode Island,” Annette Tonti, managing director of RIHub, said in a statement. “His guidance will be pivotal to RIHub and to our entire high growth startup community here in Rhode Island.”
Altounian founded Motion Computing in Austin in 2001 — almost a decade before Apple released the iPad — and has served on the boards of the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce, the Austin Technology Council and as co-chair of the Opportunity Austin Capital Committee.
As a partner and mentor at The Capital Factory, Altounian was involved in several organizations during the growth of Austin’s entrepreneurial scene. Prior to coming to Salve Regina as vice provost in December 2021, Altounian spent 14 years at St. Edward's University in Austin, where he served as an associate dean in the Bill Munday School of Business.
This week, RI Inno spoke to Altounian about his move to the Ocean State, his view of the entrepreneurial community in Rhode Island and what he hopes to contribute to the burgeoning scene.
How did you decide to move to Rhode Island?
I was preparing to step back from academic administration and return to teaching and working with the entrepreneurship community in Austin through my role as a mentor and partner at the Capital Factory, an entrepreneurial hub in Texas but headquartered in Austin. I was encouraged by the Provost of Salve Regina University to explore the opportunity to be the Vice Provost for Graduate and Professional Studies and I was really impressed with the faculty, staff, and students that I met at Salve, the beautiful campus and the things that I learned about the possibilities, and interest, in growing the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Rhode Island. The opportunity at Salve presented an opportunity to link my academic, management, and entrepreneurial passions and, hopefully, allow me to be a part of the Rhode Island entrepreneurial ecosystem growth story.
Tell us about some of the opportunities you see in Rhode Island, in terms of your past experience in the startup world.
Rhode Island has a lot to offer startups: good quality of living, strong universities and higher education institutions, military and trade training and research facilities, and close access to major financial and entrepreneurial hubs (Boston and New York City. In addition, we have a unique opportunity to play a significant role in the future of the global blue ocean and blue tech economies. There also is a strong defense economic base here. Access to capital, markets, research, and a strong workforce put Rhode Island in a great position.
What do you hope to offer as a RI Hub board member and where are you most interested in diving in?
I've been very involved in the entrepreneurial ecosystem development efforts in Central Texas and I see many of the same elements (and challenges) that we had there. Entrepreneurial ecosystems that are successful are highly collaborative, engage the business community, universities and community colleges, accelerators and incubators, the financial community (angels, venture firms, private equity, commercial banks), government and entrepreneurs with great ideas. I'm excited about learning about the Rhode Island entrepreneurial community and leveraging my relationships and experiences where I can be helpful.
Can you tell us a bit about what your hopes are for RI in terms of small business development over the next few years?
If you look at economically strong communities they have two things in common from a business perspective; a diverse mix of business sectors and small, mid-sized, and enterprise employers. Between the ocean economy sectors, the defense sector, and the hospitality and consumer packaged goods sectors, there is a lot of opportunity in Rhode Island. There are also challenges that need to be addressed to encourage more small business development such as reducing regulatory burdens on startups and small businesses and seeing more support for the organizations in Rhode Island that already exist to encourage startup and small business economic development.
