Jane Claire Hervey is a community and brand development director, award-winning curator, creative producer and accidental nonprofit founder. Currently, she directs Future Front, a 501c3 cultural space she founded in 2021, alongside her own consultancy, group work. Through these projects, her community-designed festivals and fairs have distributed more than $1M in commissions and support to independent artists, musicians, filmmakers, craftspeople, curators, cultural workers and other creatives in Texas since 2015. We were very pleased to have had Jane in our Small Business Impact Program this past semester to support her efforts at Future Front. Read the interview below to hear more about her unexpected entrepreneurial journey and passion for the Austin art community!
Describe your company/business journey in one word:
Jane: ” Expanisve. Starting Future Front, as well as my consulting company group work, has taken me places I wouldn’t have imagined otherwise. In every sense, my founder journey has expanded my practical, emotional, social and geographical worlds. I’m forever changed!”
What is your superpower? (personal trait, emotional or physical ability that sets you apart)
Jane: “Ultimately, I’m a writer. I write to synthesize. I write to self-study. I write to mind-map. I write my future into every business plan, strategic communications deck and media kit. I have written and rewritten my way through most things in life, difficult or easy, familiar or not. I’m grateful for these words.”
Why did you choose the Small Business Impact Program)?
Jane: “I applied to UT’s Small Business Impact Program at a unique moment in my companies’ growth. I had just started managing budgets and teams that outsized my decade of experience. Although I was on executive-level leadership teams for a number of start-ups before starting my own 7-figure company and nonprofit, a commitment to creativity, learning mindsets and a strong network of peers can only take you so far. I’m brave enough to admit that I’ve been intimidated by financial jargon and all of the cutthroat stories that run around about business classes, too. Choosing SBIP was an easy one—I needed the help, the opportunity was unmatched and I was excited to return to my internationally recognized Alma mater.”
Why is entrepreneurship the path for you?
Jane: “I love a good problem and telling a story. That’s the daily challenge in entrepreneurship, whether you’re fundraising, leading a team or perfecting a program/product. It’s about making sense of the world and rising to the occasion.”
What’s your favorite hidden gem in Austin? (Could be restaurant, park, shop, landmark, or place of personal significance)
Jane: “I really love the Austin Rodeo. I’m a former PRCA Rodeo Queen and FFA member, with a long line of farmers and tradesfolk in my family, so agricultural sciences are really important to me.”
You can find Jane and learn more about Future Front here: