The Dallas Entrepreneur Center (The DEC) is welcoming us to Dallas at the West End and soon the other locations such as Addison and Denton. Members of The DEC now have access to the Capital Factory and 1776 mentor networks in-person at The DEC or online via Skype. They also have access to work from Capital Factory in Austin and tap into our network for introductions to investors and strategic corporate partners.

“Teaming up with The DEC is the first step for us in building a super connected startup megatropolis between the major Texas cities,” said Joshua Baer, Executive Director of Capital Factory. “By leveraging the strengths of different entrepreneurial ecosystems, we can make Texas the best state for startups and entrepreneurs in the US.”

“Having offices in both Austin and Dallas is a competitive advantage that lets us attract the best talent and sell into all of the large businesses based in Texas,” said Ben Lamm, CEO of Conversable, a startup company that launched at Capital Factory in Austin and expanded to The DEC in Dallas.

Austin, Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio are 4 of the 11 largest cities in the country, and connecting these cities will help to raise billions of dollars in capital and unleash thousands of diverse entrepreneurs. Texas is also home to more than 50 Fortune 500 companies, but funding has largely been untapped due to the disconnect between the entrepreneur and investment communities throughout the state.

“The DEC is excited to participate in this statewide initiative and we believe Capital Factory’s expansion into Dallas will allow entrepreneurs across North Texas to leverage the immense resources and network of their programs,” said Trey Bowles, CEO of The DEC. “We believe that by partnering with Capital Factory, we can combine the strengths of both ecosystems for the success of entrepreneurs across the state.”

“Austin and Dallas are consistently ranked as two of the top up-and-coming startup hubs,” said Steve Case, co-founder of AOL, chairman and CEO of investment firm Revolution, and creator of the Rise of the Rest platform that promotes startup hubs outside of Silicon Valley. “I’m excited to see the synergies that Capital Factory and The DEC can create to support the broader Texas tech community.”

The first public event Capital Factory will be hosting at The DEC is the How to Meet Investors in Texas and Ask Me Anything with Joshua Baer on Tuesday, September 5 from 4–7pm. The event will be live-streamed over the Internet back to Austin at Capital Factory.

This is step one of our Texas Startup Manifesto.