Bart Bohn of the ATI Talks about the Texas Wireless Summit

Bart Bohn of the ATI Talks about the Texas Wireless Summit

Where are you from originally?

Grew up in Houston.


What university did you go to?

Went to college at Trinity University in San Antonio and to UT-McCombs for my MBA.

What brought you to Austin?

After college I spent six years in Houston in strategy consulting. Through that time I grew a passion for working with clients and found the startup and incubator space to be the most rewarding. Austin’s entrepreneurial community and the ATI in particular was a great place to launch a new phase in working with the high-tech startup ecosystem. My entry point was UT, where I got an MBA in finance and entrepreneurship.


What is the idea behind your group?

Texas Wireless Summit is an industry-focused conference to provide a platform for industry leaders to discuss emerging technologies and business models that give insight on the next three or more years of the wireless industry’s trajectory. ATI-Wireless and UT’s Wireless Networking and Communications Group will focus on technology and startups that will enable the continued innovation surge in the wireless industry.


What need does it fulfill?

On the Austin level it provides an event to bring together the wireless and mobile community. Additionally it provides a conduit for WNCG, ATI-Wireless and the startup community to interact and exchange ideas with the traditional leading wireless companies.


What exactly does your group do?

TWS is and industry conference that showcases the most compelling wireless technologies and research.


Who is it for?

Attendees are industry executives, investors, media, startups, technologists and the service companies critical to the industry.


What was the most challenging aspect of starting up the group?

I didn’t start it. The greatest challenge in keeping it going, as with any front-line technology sector, is continuing to provide cutting-edge content and discussion points.


What is the next step for you and your group?

TWS is only half-way to taking over the world, so that’s a good question. Our next step is to continue to reinforce our position as the go-to event for compelling wireless technology, innovation and discussion.


What advice do you have for entrepreneurs?

Something that will be on full display at this year’s TWS is the collision of the internet- and web-based startup culture with the traditional “heavy-iron” wireless industry culture. You’ll see keynotes and panels from the legacy players and a host of startups showcasing their web-based technologies that will highlight how the industry is enabling this collision and benefiting from it.
Depending on the specific nature of your technology and the way it needs to be commercialized, be aware of the dynamics of that collision. On the surface you have the apps space, which Google and Apple have created by collaborating with the traditional telecomm-infrastructure folks that provide the core communications platform and services. Either strata is navigable, but the path through each of them is different. As a wireless entrepreneur, you need to be aware of which level you’re on.


Tell me more about your upcoming event.

Early bird pricing ends Nov. 5, so sign up now.


What Austin-based resource have you found to be the most helpful and why?

The ATI-Wireless Incubator and UT’s WNCG are the premiere catalysts for wireless entrepreneurs in Central Texas.