Michael Portman and Jayson Rapaport, co-owners of Birds Barbershop, are not barbers, nor do they consider owning the business a hobby. Yet for nearly 10 years they have operated a company based on affordable and top-quality haircuts and fun. “Basically our whole mission is to take the chore out of getting a haircut,” Portman said. The two are childhood friends from Laredo, Texas. After graduating high school, they parted ways for different coasts. Portman worked for The Walt Disney Co. in Los Angeles, and Rapaport worked in finance in New York. Then they both moved to Austin where they saw a niche for a middle-priced barbershop that catered to all people, including services for women, which was an early component of opening Birds. “It’s haircut; it’s a conversation; it’s a beer; it’s some music,” Portman said.  “It really kind of built itself. We really crafted Birds with Austin as its main influencer.” After securing a small-business loan, they opened the first store in May 2006 on South Lamar Boulevard at Oltorf Street. They opened their second store one year later on Burnet Road north of RM 2222, a decision they agreed might not have been the best idea. “I don’t know if demand really got to the point [for a second store],” Rapaport said. “We just did it anyway.” Now with years of living in Austin under their belts, they have a pulse on which neighborhoods would benefit the most from a Birds Barbershop. They do review data but are picky about finding the right location, Portman said. “We don’t force ourselves into any spot,” Rapaport said. “We have locations where we would like to be where we’re not. We don’t have a master plan.” Looking to the future they saw a huge need on US 183 in the middle of the tech corridor and opened the US 183 location in May. “Roughly every other person walking into that store has never heard of us before,” Portman said. “That’s humbling and represents an awesome opportunity. You feel like you’ve got to earn it, go to work and pull up your bootstraps every single time.” In early 2016 the eighth Austin store will open in The Domain’s Rock Rose development.