# Joshua Baer

> Joshua Dana Baer (1975-2026) was an Austin entrepreneur, investor, and educator who founded Capital Factory in 2009. His earlier companies included SKYLIST, UnsubCentral, and OtherInbox. He taught student entrepreneurs at the University of Texas at Austin and advocated connecting Austin, Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio through the Texas Startup Manifesto.

- **Role:** Founder and former CEO at Capital Factory (2009-2026; deceased)
- **Organizations:** Capital Factory, SKYLIST, UnsubCentral, OtherInbox, Datran Media, Return Path, Trilogy, University of Texas at Austin, The Aspen Institute, Eisenhower Fellowships, The Texas Tribune
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** Computer Science and Information Decision Systems, Carnegie Mellon University
- **Known for:** Built and sold SKYLIST and UnsubCentral to Datran Media., Founded OtherInbox, acquired by Return Path in a transaction publicly announced in January 2012., Founded Capital Factory in 2009.

## Career timeline

- **1995** — Began an internship with StarNine Technologies, supporting ListSTAR users and developing AppleScript extensions.
- **1996** — Founded SKYLIST while a Carnegie Mellon student.
- **1999** — Graduated from Carnegie Mellon and joined Trilogy in Austin.
- **2006** — Sold SKYLIST and UnsubCentral to Datran Media.
- **2008** — Founded OtherInbox, which became a TechCrunch50 finalist.
- **2009** — Founded Capital Factory in Austin as a mentorship-driven accelerator.
- **2012** — Return Path publicly announced its acquisition of OtherInbox in January; Baer continued to lead the subsidiary.
- **2013** — Selected as a Henry Crown Fellow; Capital Factory hosted President Barack Obama.
- **2014** — Named an Eisenhower Fellow.
- **2016** — Recognized as a Braddock Scholar at the Aspen Institute.
- **2017** — Published the Texas Startup Manifesto, arguing for connections among the major Texas startup cities.
- **2021** — Published Texas Startup Manifesto 2.0.
- **2024** — Advertised a two-year chief-of-staff apprenticeship with support for the employee’s subsequent entrepreneurial or leadership role.
- **2026** — Died on June 16 in a plane crash near Laredo, Texas, at age 50.

## Achievements

- Built and sold SKYLIST and UnsubCentral to Datran Media.
- Founded OtherInbox, acquired by Return Path in a transaction publicly announced in January 2012.
- Founded Capital Factory in 2009.
- Co-taught Longhorn Startup Seminar and Lab at UT Austin and served as Entrepreneur in Residence in Computer Science.
- Henry Crown Fellow, Aspen Institute, 2013.
- Eisenhower Fellow, 2014.
- Braddock Scholar, Aspen Institute, 2016.
- Received a Key to the City of Austin.

## Latest updates

- **2026-06** — Died on June 16 in a plane crash near Laredo, Texas. Capital Factory leadership said the organization remained operational and would continue its mission.
- **2026-06** — Brad Feld published a remembrance describing their work together and Baer’s recent open-source Texas Votes project.

## Links

- Website: https://joshuabaer.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshuabaer
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/joshuabaer
- GitHub: https://github.com/joshuabaer

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/joshua-baer
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-21