Serving Community and Social Capital with Joseph Kopser

In this episode we talk to Austin's Joseph Kopser.  He is a serial entrepreneur and consultant who played his military career into a successful life in business.  He is one of the best networked and best connected people in the Austin tech community, and is always willing to help others. 

About Joseph Kopser

Joseph Kopser is a lifelong problem solver committed to building the teams needed to take on our toughest challenges.  In addition, he is a technology entrepreneur and expert in transportation, smart cities, urban mobility, energy, national security issues as well as an Army combat veteran.  His roles include special advisor for military and veteran affairs at the University of Texas as well as leadership development for several companies. Previously, he served as an Executive-in-Residence at the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas.  In addition, he is President of Grayline where he works with people and companies to grow their business by sharing his 30 years of leadership experience. Prior to co-founding Grayline, Joseph co-founded and served as CEO of RideScout, before it was acquired by Mercedes-Benz in 2014.

Joseph served in the U.S. Army for 20 years earning the Combat Action Badge, Army Ranger Tab and Bronze Star.  He is a graduate of West Point with a BS in Aerospace Engineering and also received a Masters from the Harvard Kennedy School in 2002. In 2013, he was recognized as a White House Champion of Change for his efforts in Energy and Transportation.  In 2014, his company, RideScout, won the U.S. Department of Transportation Data Innovation Award.  In 2018, Joseph ran for Congress in a race that attracted more voters than any of the 36 districts in Texas.  Losing by less than 3 points in a heavily gerrymandered district, Joseph demonstrated that voters want civility and problem solvers in Congress.  In addition to being a former member of the Army Science Board, he works with The Bunker, an organization dedicated to supporting veteran entrepreneurs.  In 2018, he co-authored the book, Catalyst, whose themes serve as the foundation of his public speaking.  In 2019, Joseph became the inaugural Chair of the Board of Advisors for the CleanTX Foundation, an economic development and professional association for cleantech.  Joseph and his wife of 28 years, Amy, live in Austin and they are extremely proud of their three adult daughters.