The world of tech is well known to have a type — tech bros with the goofy fleece vest over the shirt from their latest startup, Warby Parker eyewear, and either New Balance or the freshest kicks you can’t get anywhere — and for years, they’re been the leaders of the landscape. But as Silicon Valley continues the mass exodus for Austin, one Texas native is breaking the mold in tech as she brings her voice back to the Lone Star State.

Liberty Madison, dubbed the "Oprah of Silicon Valley'' by Tim Draper, but better known as #ThatTechGirl has long been a rising star in tech as she builds her brand in the biggest tech hubs across the country. Far from an overnight sensation, Madison has been making her voice heard for the last decade creating original content for television and various online outlets.

Liberty Madison hosting at Culture House during SXSW 2022. Photos by kenin3d

“My background is in television and film and I started in tech actually producing and hosting shows. I've always been on-air talent. So doing lifestyle shows and lifestyle content, I really wanted to focus on what I felt was the most important thing in life and that's entrepreneurship, for me. I think that entrepreneurship is a game changer. It changes the direction of your entire family in your lineage and entrepreneurship leads to technology. It's like the gateway drug to technology,” she explained. “I shifted over to what I actually truly liked, which is entrepreneurship, and then I went into innovation, and from there, is startups. That's literally the recipe and the formula for change. From there, I started as doing TechTV, Cisco, Docusign and really just pivoted and switched my entire brand over to tech. That's how I got the impact of being on TV and being a professional TV host and being in that space. It opened the door for me into startup deals, deal flow, venture opportunity and being invited to the table from founders.”

Madison’s passion has paid off. She’s managed to cultivate a space for tech entrepreneurs and venture capitalists to lead a “liberated lifestyle” — letting their voices be heard and connect in ways that empower the underdogs and change the trajectory of companies. This year, Madison’s energy was felt across Austin as she embarked on her first South by Southwest [SXSW] experience.

“It was very huge for me because it was my first one. I've never been to South By, and people think it’s the weirdest thing ever that That Tech Girl has never been to South By,” she exclaimed with a laugh. “And I always say, it's not that weird. I've lived in Silicon Valley for a decade. Like, there was no reason for me to fly out of Silicon Valley to talk about that — It's South by Southwest every day in Silicon Valley! As a person who's from Dallas, I know South By as a music festival, so I never appreciated the fact that it turned into a tech festival.”

As a leading voice in tech, Madison had two major appearances during the festival. She was tapped to host Culture House, an invite-only event at a luxurious mansion where founders and funders could gather, connect and enjoy themselves authentically. Culture House is the brainchild of founders Marlon Nichols, the managing partner of Cross Culture Ventures, and founder and CEO of LISNR Rodney Williams

“Hosting Culture House this year was huge for me,” she said, regarding the soiree of successful tech minds. “They were living a liberated life — to be in a space with 400 founders and funders and they’re founders of color who have literally raised millions for each of their startups. That's not normal. That's not the average. And I love the fact that I like to surround myself with people that are not the average. When you're talking to people, it inspires you to be like, ‘you know what, I can do that.’ And when you're talking to people that are like, ‘oh yeah, we raised a million’ or ‘we raised $3 million’ or ‘we raised $5 million,’ that's inspiring! So they're leading a liberated life in that sense.”

Madison also gave her first talk at SXSW, titled ‘ on being alcohol free and non-sober in the tech space. While the two terms may sound similar, there’s a difference: being “sober” refers to someone who once consumed alcohol and has stopped; “alcohol free” and “non-sober” refers to someone who either has chosen to never consume alcohol — thus never needing to quit — or someone who opts to abstain from alcohol.

“The takeaway is, in the tech culture you have an unlimited supply of alcohol. As much as you can drink, as much as you can carry — all day, every day. It’s just something that’s incentivized for workers. And for me, as an alcohol free non-sober person, it's never been an incentive. It's not an incentive for me to come to your event. It's not an incentive for me to join your organization. It's no incentive whatsoever.”

The concern over tech’s potential drinking problem isn’t a new conversation, but very rarely has a genuine discussion about a solution been brought to the forefront. People have been pushing for change as far back as 2016, easily, but with little or no real change. Madison was able to pinpoint premier examples of the problem right at the festival itself.

“I talked about different events at South By, like when I attended the Cheetos and Amazon Alexa event. They had all these amazing, obviously unlimited, free drinks and free margaritas and just all this free stuff,” she recalled. “They had Cheeto drinks, Cheeto food, and I asked, ‘do you have any non-alcoholic options?’ And the lady was stumped. She's like, 'What? No, do you want some water?' I'm just so tired of being at tech events and only being offered water. And surprisingly enough, a lot of bars and a lot of events don't even have water. They're not trying to hide alternatives. They just don't know that people want it. So that was really the call to action I wanted people to take away. Just speak up and just ask for non-alcoholic alternatives.”

Now that she, like so many others, have made the move to Austin, only time will tell what’s next for Liberty Madison.