Curated News
By: NewsRamp Editorial Staff
October 29, 2026
Ali Khataw: From Immigrant Entrepreneur to Community Leader on Rock Solid Podcast
TLDR
- Ali Khataw scaled Incoteq from a solo practice to a 45-person firm by pivoting from design to business development.
- Khataw explains how he grew Incoteq by following Jerry Davis's advice to cut his pay, stop designing, and focus on business development.
- Khataw's firm rewards volunteer hours and supports education and conservation, showing how business can uplift communities.
- Khataw's photojournalism spans Oaxaca, Pakistan, Cuba, Tanzania, and Kenya, including a feature on transgender communities.
Impact - Why it Matters
This episode offers a rare blend of entrepreneurial wisdom and humanitarian perspective, showing how integrity, community engagement, and creative passion can drive business success and personal fulfillment. Khataw's story resonates with aspiring entrepreneurs, especially immigrants, by demonstrating that starting from scratch is possible with perseverance and a commitment to giving back. His insights on leadership—such as the value of stepping back from technical work to focus on business development and incentivizing volunteerism—provide actionable strategies for scaling companies while fostering a culture of service. Moreover, Khataw's photojournalism and upcoming conservation trip highlight the role businesses can play in addressing social and environmental issues, encouraging listeners to think beyond profit and consider their broader impact on society.
Summary
In Episode 96 of the Rock Solid: Round Rock Business Leaders Podcast, host Bryan Eisenberg sits down with Ali Khataw, CEO of Incoteq Engineering and a Round Rock Chamber board member, for a conversation that spans business strategy, leadership, and humanitarian storytelling. Khataw recounts his journey from arriving alone in the United States and enrolling at the University of Arkansas to launching Encotech in 1990. Under his leadership, the firm has grown into a 45-person mechanical, electrical, and structural engineering practice that has operated for 35 years and contributed to notable projects such as the Austin Central Library, the Butterfly Bridge, and Zachary Scott Theater.
The episode delves into Khataw's leadership philosophy, shaped by programs like Leadership Austin's 2009 class on collaborative thinking and community trusteeship, and his experience chairing the Austin Chamber of Commerce. He shares candid lessons on visibility, failure, and the entrepreneur's imperative to put ideas into the world, emphasizing the core value his father instilled: "If money is lost, nothing is lost because you can always make it up. If health is lost, something is lost. But if integrity is lost, everything is lost." Khataw also opens up about his photojournalism work in Oaxaca, Mexico, Pakistan, Cuba, Tanzania, and Kenya, including a feature in LFI magazine on transgender communities in Pakistan and a Tono magazine piece titled "Hands That See" about a blind Oaxacan sculptor.
Practical leadership insights abound, from advice by former Goodwill Industries CEO Jerry Davis to take a pay cut and focus on business development—a pivot that unlocked growth—to a firm-wide points competition proposed by principal Patrick Morrissey that rewards volunteer hours, earning Incoteq recognition from Austin Gives. Khataw previews an upcoming workshop trip to Tanzania and Kenya with Fair Trade Safaris CEO Saurabh Katipal, with proceeds supporting wildlife conservation and education for a young woman in Tanzania. The episode is available now wherever podcasts are heard.
Source Statement
This curated news summary relied on content distributed by Newsworthy.ai. Read the original source here, Ali Khataw: From Immigrant Entrepreneur to Community Leader on Rock Solid Podcast
