The 80|20 Foundation believes that talent is the key to building a great city. We aim to share stories of the entrepreneurs who succeeded from the city’s ecosystem, companies that relocated here to fuel growth with local talent, and young professionals whose careers started and progressed here. We strive to help people discover a love of San Antonio by sharing the stories that exemplify how anyone can contribute to the history of San Antonio’s tech scene.
80|20 is looking to partner with public charities who find, share and replicate these stories in our ecosystem.
We believe that talent can be grown from anywhere, and that San Antonio’s rapidly growing population has an enormous amount of untapped talent. Over time, San Antonio’s educational offerings have grown to support its fast-growing tech industry, including certification programs, coding bootcamps, associate’s degrees, bachelor’s degrees, master’s degrees, and PhD’s in computer science and cloud computing.
Our goal is to marry local, existing talent with the current workforce and jobs of the future.
Retention of talent depends heavily on quality of life. We understand the factors that can affect someone’s decision to stay in a city requires thoughtfulness, and can pay off tenfold when done right. The 80|20 Foundation aims to focus on radical experiments that help elevate the city, including multi-modal transportation and support for dynamic urban spaces.
In a city with mostly suburban options, our goal is to study and fund initiatives that are successful in retaining young professionals.
Alexandra Frey is Executive Director of the 80|20 Foundation, where she partners with entrepreneurs and community leaders to fund and scale initiatives that strengthen San Antonio’s talent, tech, and startup ecosystem. Since joining the foundation in 2016, she has focused on thoughtful education, strategic investing, and relationship building to help create a more vibrant and equitable city.
Kaitlyn Jones is Director of Program Development at the 80|20 Foundation, where she designs and scales initiatives like Students + Startups that connect local college talent with San Antonio’s startup and small‑business ecosystem. A longtime community‑builder with deep roots in San Antonio’s hospitality, arts, and nonprofit sectors, she leverages her experience in engagement and placemaking to create opportunities for young professionals to grow, work, and stay in the city.
Hannah Crawford is Systems & Operations Manager at the 80|20 Foundation and Assistant Director of Students + Startups, where she builds the processes and partnerships that connect local students with San Antonio’s startup, tech, and manufacturing ecosystem. Drawing on a clinical background as a registered nurse and degrees in kinesiology and nursing, she brings a people‑centered approach to designing systems allowing those in SA to thrive.
A lifelong entrepreneur, Graham Weston launched his first business as a seventh grader, marketing organic pork. In high school he developed a business taking photos at livestock shows to sell back to the animal’s owners. He went on to attend Team A&M, where he launched a venture helping local property owners to appeal their tax bills. Transitioning into Real Estate, Weston bought and developed the Weston Centre, which quickly became a premiere location for businesses to headquarter. In 1998 he took a chance on an unusual business idea pitched to him by three young computer geeks and co-founded Rackspace Hosting (NYSE: RAX), serving as CEO until 2006 when he accepted the position of Chairman. In the same year, Weston was voted “Best Boss” by FORTUNE Small Business and regional “Entrepreneur of the Year” by Ernest & Young. Graham Weston is passionate about issues of urban development, information technology education and entrepreneurship. He is co-founder of Geekdom, a collaborative workspace and start-up accelerator, as well as the 80/20 Foundation, which seeks to further Weston’s goals through considerable charitable gifts and endowments.
