Starting a winery in a city with no vineyards is bold—but doing it as a trio of first-time founders takes a different level of trust and tension. In this episode, I’m joined by Ross McLauchlan and Matt Smith—two of the three minds behind The Austin Winery (Cooper in spirit)—to unpack what co-founding really looks like behind the scenes. From blurred roles and creative conflict to growing pains and long-haul alignment, they share how the partnership evolved, what nearly broke it, and what’s kept it strong over a decade of building. It’s a refreshingly honest look at what it takes to build something meaningful without burning out—or burning bridges.

00:00 Introduction
01:00 How wine became their cultural bridge
06:08 Launching Austin’s first urban winery
08:42 The hidden challenges of wine production
13:23 Reshaping Texas wine’s reputation
16:08 Making wine approachable for everyone
20:13 What they’d do differently now
23:15 Wisdom for aspiring wine entrepreneurs
25:30 Staying passionate after a full decade
27:32 The value in starting small
28:43 Navigating decisions as cofounders
33:04 Inside the winery’s team culture
35:18 Finding balance in workplace dynamics
42:11 Breaking down wine business economics
46:06 When politics disrupted their global plans
50:05 The five-year vision ahead
54:23 Stories behind their signature bottles
57:50 Approaching each wine like an album release

→ Follow Founders With Nick:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/founderswithnick
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/founders-with-nick

→ Nick Langridge
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nick-langridge/
LNGR: https://www.lngr.co.uk/

→ Follow Austin Winery:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theaustinwinery/?hl=en
Austin Winery: https://www.theaustinwinery.com/