Where are Austin’s Venture Capital Firms?
Tuesday, 03 May 2016
Of late I’ve been exploring, discussing, and working with Austin’s venture capital economy. We’ll not belabor the ongoing discussions of the state of venture capital, lack of funding, future of financing, and otherwise here; rather, what struck me as potentially helpful is a mere layout of where venture capital is found. Certainly, before we can
- Published in Industry, Insights / Research, Raising Capital, Texas Startups
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Why Should Anyone Fund Your Startup?
Tuesday, 12 April 2016
Referred to by a couple local financing executives as “the best seminar they have been to here in Austin,” I recently had the honor of moderating a discussion of venture capital funding, thanks to the support and hard work of Texas State University’s SBDC and Frost Bank. Why so compelling? That’s precisely the question we
- Published in Industry, Insights / Research, Startups
How Big Data is Finding its Market in Texas
Monday, 28 March 2016
Data. Statistics, measurements, and analytics are funny things, particularly in entrepreneurship, as if you think about it, data is invaluable but difficult to aggregate, informational but difficult to consume, technical but immensely educational. Why so hard when so important? Data geeks such as myself often find ourselves lost in the weeds; we love mining
The NW Austin Tech & Startup Corridor
Thursday, 07 January 2016
There is a frequently heard mantra in Austin that we’re not like Silicon Valley (that we don’t want to be like Silicon Valley) and though I’m of the mind that disagrees with that, considering Silicon Valley an industry of which we’re a part rather than a merely a specific location, what you can’t refute is
- Published in Austin, Industry, Insights / Research, Startups
Why Where Matters
Monday, 09 November 2015
Some time ago, I shared some thoughts about how the size and scope of Silicon Valley eludes most entrepreneurs. That, challenging most startup communities, is the fact that comparing and contrasting one’s local economy to “Silicon Valley” easily misleads, as N. California’s startup community is much more than a city, more than a region even,
- Published in Brand Marketing, Economic Development, Industry, Insights / Research, PR, Startups
Austin is Where Tech Comes to Life
Tuesday, 12 May 2015
With another SXSW well behind us and the inevitable cries that the conference has lost something since it has failed again to discover the next Twitter or Facebook, I find myself considering bigger picture questions: Why are so many moving to Austin? Why did I move to Austin? Is it finding the next Unicorn that
- Published in Advertising, Austin, Industry, Insights / Research, Local, Startups
What Stickers on Laptops Say About Your Startup Community
Wednesday, 14 January 2015
Think about the last time you spent in a coffee shop working. Perhaps you had a quick meeting with a friend or potential partner, perhaps you haven’t made the leap to coworking and call Starbucks your office; regardless of why you were there, picture the laptops around you. When I arrived in Austin, TX, I