Startup scene in Dallas?

[jfornear]

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?

[SwellJoe]

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").

[utnick]

+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?

[jsjenkins168]

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.

[oxtopus]

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 → oxtopus]

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).

[oxtopus → bretthoerner]

SiSTeR Technologies, best known for our videocarlot product.

Link: http://videocarlot.tv

[aquaphile]

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.

[matthewer]

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.

[goofygrin]

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.

[ejs]

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

[bigtoga]

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/

[unexpected]

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 ;)

[omfut]

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.

[aseever]

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

[chaostheory]

You'll have better chances in Austin...

[freikwcs]

How is Austin?