Austin grew up in third-generation family construction business headquartered in South Carolina. After graduating college and working for the family business, which would eventually be sold to a strategic acquirer in 2015, Austin joined a consumer packaging multinational, where he worked in a variety of finance roles before leaving to attend business school. After graduating from business school, Austin partnered with a group of investors to acquire Sunrise Landscape in 2019, at which time he assumed his current role as CEO.

Austin studied at the University of South Carolina, earning a BS in International Business and graduating Magna Cum Laude. While there, he won the NCAA Division I National Championship as a member of the USC baseball team. Austin received a MBA with Honors from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business with concentrations in entrepreneurship, operations and economics.