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Applied AI Live #2: Austin

Date: February 26, 2026 Venue: Grain & Berry, 1213 W 5th St, Austin, TX Attendance: ~80 checked in (~36% show rate) Format: Context Engineering masterclass + Agentic GTM case study + OpenClaw Security panel + Q&A + Networking

What Happened​

Applied AI Live #2 was the second gathering of the Applied AI Society, co-hosted with the AITX Community. Held at Grain & Berry in Austin, it brought together ~80 practitioners for an evening of applied AI knowledge sharing across three distinct segments: a context engineering deep dive, a real-world agentic go-to-market case study, and a security panel on guardrails for agentic systems.

The Format​

  1. Welcome + Opening. Gary set the stage with a guiding principle: "Nobody has figured it out, so we should just be sharing notes." He covered emerging genres of work (AI agent consultants, fractional AI executives, context engineers) and why community matters for navigating the transition.
  2. Context Engineering Masterclass. Mahaveer Dharmachand (founding product manager of IBM Watson, now leading AI engineering at Accenture) broke down context engineering: why AI systems need structured context, how context graphs map data relationships, and why 99.9% of enterprises are still figuring out where their data is.
  1. Agentic Go-to-Market Case Study. Reid McCrabb and Jack Moffatt from Linkt demonstrated their forward-deployed engineering approach. Their talent agency case study showed automated job monitoring across 12 niche sites, with an agent finding hiring managers, matching candidates, and running outbound campaigns. The result: multiple new deals per month. One audience member shared a testimonial: "This tool automated 20% of my team's weekly time."
  2. OpenClaw Security Panel. Jack Moffatt, Stephanos (Good Life Consulting / Gamer Plug), and Patrick Skinner discussed guardrails for agentic systems. Key advice: don't run OpenClaw on personal machines, treat agents like new employees with limited access, separate action agents from read agents, and build transcript scrubbing pipelines.
  1. Open Networking. Attendees connected after the formal program.

Full recording: Watch on YouTube

Photo gallery: View photos (pin: 1467)

What We Learned​

Things That Worked​

  • The organic demand is real. 220 RSVPs for a second event confirms the format resonates with the Austin practitioner community.
  • Reid and Jack from Linkt delivered a standout case study. Real numbers and a concrete client story kept the room engaged. Audience members responded with specific follow-up questions and a live testimonial.
  • The OpenClaw security panel surfaced practical, actionable advice. Guardrails for agentic systems is a topic practitioners are actively grappling with, and the panel gave them concrete takeaways.
  • QR codes on slides drove engagement. Attendees could follow along on their phones and submit questions in real time.
  • The venue's backstory added authenticity. Mahaveer, the owner of Grain & Berry, is the founding PM of IBM Watson turned acai bowl shop owner. That story set the tone for the whole evening.
  • Gary's moderation kept energy up despite technical difficulties early in the event.
  • Crowding created energy. The venue was too small for the turnout, but the packed room generated buzz and a sense of momentum.

Things to Improve​

  • Sound system failed. Ron Roberts and John Roberts bought a speaker mid-event. Going forward, the team must have a battle-tested audio setup checked and ready before every event.
  • Venue was too small for 80 people. Need a space where most attendees can be seated comfortably.
  • Don't open with a long technical presentation. Starting with something higher-energy or shorter would warm up the room more effectively.
  • Need more live demos. Attendees want to see tools and workflows in action, not just hear about them.
  • Glare from sunlight in the early evening. This resolved itself as it got dark, but it's worth factoring in for future daytime venues.

By the Numbers​

MetricResult
Checked in~80
Show rate~36%
RSVPs~220
Q&A questions submitted10+
FormatContext Engineering + Agentic GTM + OpenClaw Panel + Q&A

Founding Sponsors​

Applied AI Live #2 was made possible with the support of the Applied AI Society's founding sponsors: OpenTeams and OT Incubator. Learn more about our founding sponsors.

What's Next​

  • Applied AI Live #3: March 26, 2026 at Antler VC, Austin. Kit Edwards (Vector Intelligence Consulting) and Ripley Labs AI on Production Infrastructure for AI Agents.
  • SXSW Panel: March 15, 2026 at The LINE Hotel (RedThreadX House). "How To Apply AI To Solve Valuable Business Problems."

See Also​