Startup scene in Dallas?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=164390

by jfornear • 18 years ago

4 16 18 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

A couple weeks ago there was a question about the Pittsburgh startup scene on here... What about Dallas, TX?

I am also starting to look for a summer internship and thought it couldn't hurt to ask around here. So I guess my question could be split in to two parts:

1) Is Dallas a good city for startups? 2) Any startups in Dallas taking interns?

ejs• 18 years ago

This might interest you: http://hackrtrackr.com/

chaostheory• 18 years ago

You'll have better chances in Austin...

unexpected• 18 years ago

I'm an avid HN reader/dreamer/schemer in Dallas, and didn't know anyone else existed....

There are a lot of telecom startups in Dallas, but there are not a lot of Silicon Valley style software startups. You'd have better luck in Austin.

Hopefully, I'll soon be changing that ;)

jsjenkins168• 18 years ago

A lot of big tech and wireless companies in Dallas (Verizon, Texas Instruments, IBM, etc). Some noteworthy game companies are located in Dallas too. I would say Austin has a better investment climate for startups than Dallas, but thats not to say there are not any good startups in Dallas too.

The problem I see with Dallas is the personality of the city is a bit bureaucratic. At least relative to other startup hubs such as SV, Austin, and Seattle, which seem to have more of an outdoor-loving hippie vibe.

Dallas is sufficiently "young" though. Lots of new young talent coming in. I believe Dallas is actually one of the fastest growing cities in the US right now.

utnick• 18 years ago

+1 for dallas

texasstartupblog.com has some info about local startups

the owner of that blog runs the only web 2.0 like small company i know of in dallas, you should give him an email, he might be able to hook you up

are you a designer or do you code too?

goofygrin• 18 years ago

I'm here in Dallas and there are some startups (some well funded too).

There is a lot of bigger business moving here and dragging a lot of california imports with it, so we're starting to see more of the free spirit vs. the traditional "work for a big company for security" that is standard here.

aseever• 18 years ago

I moved from Dallas to Seattle and haven't looked back. No comparison - much better startup scene here.

matthewer• 18 years ago

I am from Texas, but now live in NYC. From what I hear, the money is drying up in Dallas. People are having a hard time fundraising; which, doesn't mean anything other than companies are going to move to where the money is. The Angels I have talked to out of Dallas are having a hard time.

omfut• 18 years ago

I have been living in dallas for the past 8 years. I dont think dallas is the place for web 2.0 type startups. Well, there are couple of telecom startups. I dont see a vibrant VC community here.

freikwcs• 18 years ago

How is Austin?

SwellJoe• 18 years ago

Austin is known to be the best startup city in Texas (as others have pointed out), and frankly, Austin leaves a lot to be desired. I moved from there to the Valley, and while I miss the Texas weather (only two seasons: "hot" and "a little chilly") and plan to eventually go back...it won't be until I've got a successful business or two under my belt. The startup investment climate in Silicon Valley is a world apart from anything else (only two seasons: "hot" and "a little chilly").

oxtopus2• 18 years ago

There are some notable startups, but no real Startup Culture to speak of.

There are some ++s:

- Cost of living is relatively low - Modern luxuries, infrastructure, mobility, etc. afforded by a large metropolitan area. - Central location, with major airports (AA and Southwest are based in the DFW area) - Strong technical economy (TI, Lockheed Martin, telecom) - UT Dallas, UT Arlington, SMU - Mark Cuban?

In my personal experience, I work for a startup in Dallas and we are doing quite well (profitable, growing). We're also hiring for full-time, permanent developers.

bretthoerner• 18 years ago

Which is that? I'm always interested to hear what's going on around here (I didn't realize there'd even be this many people from Dallas here).

oxtopus2• 18 years ago

SiSTeR Technologies, best known for our videocarlot product.

Link: http://videocarlot.tv

aquaphile• 18 years ago

I've lived in Dallas for 9 years and Austin for 4 years. I've been a part of 2 consulting startups and 1 product startup, and most recently raised a Series A for my company. I know of many startup companies in Dallas, but the scene is very different from Seattle and the Valley. VC money is non-existent, with a few exceptions.

While many companies are started in Dallas every year, most of them are focused on non-software industries. On the software side, here are a few current ones I know about: 1) Swarmforce is a content system using swarm AI 2) Roov is a social network for the faith community 3) MileMeter sells auto insurance buy the mile 4) Viewzi provides view-based search

A list of some others can be found at http://www.texasstartupblog.com/2007/12/17/founders-in-dalla...

A good way to get involved in the Dallas software startup community is to visit Refresh Dallas, Dallas BarCamp, and Dallas.rb Reading texasstartupblog occasionally provides insight to a new local company.

bigtoga• 18 years ago

I just came across this and wanted to add my thoughts and reach out to the other Dallas startups.

1) Is Dallas a good city for startups? That depends on your involvement/wants/definition. There's a lot of money here and a lot of good MBA schools/programs around. If you had asked, Is Dallas a good city for hackers?, I would've probably said, "Not really since we don't have a quality tech school."

2) My startup, LearnItfirst.com (video training), is hiring both permanent and interns: http://www.learnitfirst.com/jobs/

Someone posted a StartUpDrinks.com group: http://dallas.startupdrinks.com/

Startup scene in Dallas?

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