Central Texas Electric Cooperative (CTEC) is using student entrepreneurship as a tool for rural economic development, according to a new episode of The Building Texas Show. Host Justin McKenzie spoke in Fredericksburg with CTEC CEO Tachi Hinojosa about the co-op's sponsorship of Hill Country Venture Fest and the Incubator EDU program, where high school students build real businesses and pitch them to community members. The conversation, available in the episode Inside VentureFest: How CTEC Powers Hill Country Student Pitches, highlights why an electric cooperative serving 11 Hill Country counties chooses to invest in teenage founders.
The stakes are tangible. Hinojosa said the first-place team last year in Fredericksburg won $12,000, and another team at a Fredericksburg Chamber of Commerce banquet raised over $100,000 because attendees were so impressed with their presentation. Many students initially sign up to build public speaking skills, but they prepare as if a venture capitalist were ready to write a check. Sometimes, Hinojosa noted, the money is real. That matters for a region where McKenzie raised a familiar rural Texas challenge: talented graduates leave for college or careers and rarely return. Hinojosa sees Venture Fest and Incubator EDU as part of the answer, giving students who want to stay the tools to build a business in the Hill Country and contribute to the local economy.
CTEC's interest extends beyond the pitch stage. The co-op opened its summer internship program to high school and college students, growing from one student in the first year to six this past year. It also invites high schools to tour its facilities so students can see careers beyond the line crews they recognize, including member services, engineering, human resources, accounting and IT. Hinojosa pointed to Brodie Smith, who toured CTEC at 16, shadowed the operations department, worked a summer internship, was hired full time as a groundman and, at about 19, is now an Apprentice Lineman I. Smith is a good example, Hinojosa said, that not every career path requires a college degree.
Hinojosa, a Texas A&M business graduate who started in the co-op world through a 2003 marketing internship and moved to the Hill Country in 2022, said community service is built into the cooperative model through the principle of concern for community. CTEC employees serve on volunteer fire departments and coach youth sports, and after the co-op challenged staff to log their volunteer time, they reached 1,000 hours last year. Line crews and technicians have also helped local nonprofits set up and tear down tables and chairs for fundraisers.
For readers and businesses in the region, the implications go beyond goodwill. By cultivating student ventures and exposing young people to technical and professional careers, Central Texas Electric Cooperative is betting that local investment can slow the departure of talent and seed the next generation of Hill Country employers. Hinojosa summarized the co-op's local identity simply: "When you call Central Texas Electric Co-op, you're calling the Hill Country," adding that being local is the advantage of the cooperative business model. The full conversation is available on The Building Texas Show.
