Texas has always been a place that embraces new ideas and hard work — from the scrappy ranchers of the early days, to the oil wildcatters, culminating in today’s high-tech entrepreneurs. It’s no wonder that Texas is one of the most active states for entrepreneurs and startups. This year’s Global Entrepreneurship Week, which included Capital Factory’s Texas Startup Roadshow, included breakout sessions relevant to each city and showcased local promising startups. These Texas startups exhibited the innovation, determination and grit of the early Texans.

What you’ll find out

• Why Investors and Entrepreneurs choose Texas
• Experiences startup founders have had starting and growing companies in Texas
• What Austin’s mayor has to say about why Austin has become so popular
• What kinds of investment seeking startups pitched at the Texas Startup Roadshow
• Which breakout sessions occurred in each Texas city along with links to view them

In 2017, Capital Factory’s founder put forth a vision for a unified Texas startup ecosystem in his Texas Startup Manifesto. In it he claims that the infrastructure of Texas, that 4 of the 11 largest US cities are all within a day’s drive of each other (creating literally, the “Texas Triangle”), the talent in Texas as an outcome of its strong University system, its diversity, and Texas’ history of determination and grit are all uniquely Texan strengths that startups can tap into.

We amplified this in last month’s sessions. In the Houston keynote, Joe Alapat, CEO of Liongard, said “When you invest in Houston, you get the oomph of the Texas Triangle.” In the Dallas keynote, Dave Copps, CEO of Worlds was lamenting how things are different than a few years ago. When talking about his two previous startups, he said “it was a normal thing to get started here and then move west…..I’m thrilled to say that’s not only not the case anymore, but over the last several years, that’s completely reversed…. I don’t lose anybody anymore!….most importantly there’s capital. You can raise money here. There’s no reason to go anywhere else.”

▶️ Click to play the full Keynote with Brett Hurt and Miguel Garza

In the Austin keynote, Mayor Adler said, “Austin, culturally, has a higher tolerance for risk than any other city. That’s why we like to keep this city weird, which means innovative and creative.” Brett Hurt, CEO of data.io, shared why Amy of Amy’s ice cream chose Austin (because Austin was the only place that she visited where small business owners literally would open their books for her). To help explain why Austin and Texas are even better places to start a company Brett also said, “Capital is all about the ripple effect. There have been almost 50 companies started by former Bazaarvoice (his former company) employees. We went public in 2012.”

Each city hosted break out sessions around topics that are especially relevant in that city.

In Austin and San Antonio, the breakout sessions included:

In Houston, the breakout sessions were:

In Dallas, the breakout sessions covered:

Investors heard pitches from upcoming startups in Austin and San Antonio on robotics, taxes, and water systems, in Houston on technology related to energy, broadband infrastructure and healthcare and in Dallas on healthcare and enterprise software. The week culminated with both a keynote from Mark Cuban and a competition awarding cash prizes to the best startups.

The Texas startup Manifesto was written in 2017; hasn’t a lot changed since then? In a word, YES! First the pandemic has sent people home to work, meaning it’s no longer required to live on one of the expensive coasts of the US to get funding; many moved to Texas where housing is cheaper and the quality of life is better. So there’s more talent coming in. The pandemic created layoffs, allowing more people to pursue their dream of starting a business. We’re seeing more startups than ever before. Events have gone virtual, so it’s even easier to get a mentor in one city to share their expertise or to get the attention of an investor in another city. Capital Factory holds events for all of Texas, not just Austin or Houston or Dallas, and attracts people from around the country and around the world.

In Austin, the innovation departments of the US Defense departments have taken up residence, many within Capital Factory and are curating, funding and buying technology from local startups. This has sped up dual use technology, technology that can be used for both commercial and military applications and helped startups to think bigger, both in product and in its application. Dr. Kevin McNeill, SVP Cyberspace solutions CACI said, “CACI has been investing resources into the Texas technology corridor over the past several years, including opening new offices in San Antonio and in Austin. We’ve made these investments because this area provides the ideal startup environment for companies like your own to develop the products and expertise our national security customers’ need.”

When answering the question: What’s the outlook for startups and entrepreneurship in 2021? Mark Cuban answered, “Phenomenal!” We know Capital Factory will continue to be the center of gravity for entrepreneurs in Texas. If you’re an investor, you’ll want to seriously consider investing in Texas companies. A great way to do that is to engage with Capital Factory. Mark your calendars for November 16–22, 2021 for next year’s event. On line or in person, it promises to be another event not to miss.

▶️ Click to play the full Keynote Address from Mark Cuban at The Big Idea Competition