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I've heard people say that Austin no longer has a better startup scene than Dallas. It's probably not true, but it reaffirms that Austin's startup scene is hurt

by jostmey 11y ago

I've heard people say that Austin no longer has a better startup scene than Dallas. It's probably not true, but it reaffirms that Austin's startup scene is hurting.

hueving 11y ago
I'm not familiar with the scene in Dallas. Is that a high bar to beat?
- jostmey 11y ago
  I don't think the bar in Dallas is hard to beat, which is where I live, but I cannot truly say.
- TheBiv 11y ago
  Short answer: no Long answer: Dallas has a lot of investment money, however most of that investment money goes towards cash flow businesses like commercial real estate, oil speculation, and banking. However, there has been a pretty sizable uptick in investment dollars willing to put towards tech companies within the last 4-5 years. It's relatively straightforward to find capital in Dallas, but it's insanely hard to find capital willing to stomach high burn early stage tech companies.
- bryanmikaelian 11y ago
  Former startup employee here that lives in Dallas. It's ok, and slowly growing, but it is very hard to raise money. There are groups trying to advocate for more startups but they just can't raise the capital. One such group is http://launchdfw.com/jobs/ http://launchdfw.com/jobs/. SoftLayer was probably the biggest exit Dallas has seen. The money is just tied up in other industries and it won't be risked on high tech startups. The lack of capital being raised results in the lack of start up jobs in Dallas. When I was looking for a new job back in August, I think there was maybe 6 postings - one being my current company. We are just a very IT / Enterprise heavy area. People are more likely to find a job at Match.com or AT&T.
- Cshelton 11y ago
  The start up ecosystem in Dallas has gone through crazy growth in the last 2-3 years. When you then consider the amount of talent and amount of money in Dallas overall, investments are becoming more and more common. I know many companies big and small are moving here along with Dallas having the highest growth rate in the nation population wide. I live in Dallas, it's a great place to be right now. Growth is crazy and the opportunities are endless. Also, being in the central part of the country, doing business on both coast and in Europe is so much better..no 4 am meetings.
RhodesianHunter 11y ago
Having been active in the startup scene here in Austin for about three years my anecdotal experience is that it's quite healthy. Yes, many of the startups here do raise money from VCs in the valley, but those dollars go a whole lot farther here.
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Cshelton 11y ago
I grew up in Dallas, have lived in other tech hubs, and I've been to Austin many times. When I came back to Texas, I came to Dallas. Dallas as far as 'start-up numbers' go might not be ahead of Austin (it's really really close now), but the potential and growth rate in Dallas is crazy. It almost seems like everything is aligning to take Dallas to the next level as far as a global player in tech, business, and start-ups. 6 months ago I'd say it wasn't true either, but as of right now, I'd say yes. I just hired a few developers and it was magnitudes easier than it was 1.5 years ago.

by jostmey 11y ago

I've heard people say that Austin no longer has a better startup scene than Dallas. It's probably not true, but it reaffirms that Austin's startup scene is hurting.

hueving 11y ago

I'm not familiar with the scene in Dallas. Is that a high bar to beat?

jostmey 11y ago
I don't think the bar in Dallas is hard to beat, which is where I live, but I cannot truly say.
TheBiv 11y ago
Short answer: no Long answer: Dallas has a lot of investment money, however most of that investment money goes towards cash flow businesses like commercial real estate, oil speculation, and banking. However, there has been a pretty sizable uptick in investment dollars willing to put towards tech companies within the last 4-5 years. It's relatively straightforward to find capital in Dallas, but it's insanely hard to find capital willing to stomach high burn early stage tech companies.
bryanmikaelian 11y ago
Former startup employee here that lives in Dallas. It's ok, and slowly growing, but it is very hard to raise money. There are groups trying to advocate for more startups but they just can't raise the capital. One such group is http://launchdfw.com/jobs/ http://launchdfw.com/jobs/. SoftLayer was probably the biggest exit Dallas has seen. The money is just tied up in other industries and it won't be risked on high tech startups. The lack of capital being raised results in the lack of start up jobs in Dallas. When I was looking for a new job back in August, I think there was maybe 6 postings - one being my current company. We are just a very IT / Enterprise heavy area. People are more likely to find a job at Match.com or AT&T.
Cshelton 11y ago
The start up ecosystem in Dallas has gone through crazy growth in the last 2-3 years. When you then consider the amount of talent and amount of money in Dallas overall, investments are becoming more and more common. I know many companies big and small are moving here along with Dallas having the highest growth rate in the nation population wide. I live in Dallas, it's a great place to be right now. Growth is crazy and the opportunities are endless. Also, being in the central part of the country, doing business on both coast and in Europe is so much better..no 4 am meetings.

RhodesianHunter 11y ago

Having been active in the startup scene here in Austin for about three years my anecdotal experience is that it's quite healthy. Yes, many of the startups here do raise money from VCs in the valley, but those dollars go a whole lot farther here.

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Cshelton 11y ago

I grew up in Dallas, have lived in other tech hubs, and I've been to Austin many times. When I came back to Texas, I came to Dallas. Dallas as far as 'start-up numbers' go might not be ahead of Austin (it's really really close now), but the potential and growth rate in Dallas is crazy. It almost seems like everything is aligning to take Dallas to the next level as far as a global player in tech, business, and start-ups. 6 months ago I'd say it wasn't true either, but as of right now, I'd say yes. I just hired a few developers and it was magnitudes easier than it was 1.5 years ago.