Women in Tech $100k Investment Challenge

08/05/2021 | Comment

Female Founders can Pitch for a Fast Track to join  Capital Factory and win a $100,000 Investment

Capital Factory’s Texas Fund, in partnership with Beam Angel Network, Seven Seven Six Fund, and Golden Seeds (Houston), is excited to announce the next $100,000 Investment Challenge at our 4th Annual Women In Tech Summit. We’re dedicated to increasing diversity in the tech community and making Capital Factory an inclusive environment for people of all backgrounds and identities.

On October 4th, five technology startup finalists will pitch to a panel of advisors and judges made up of successful investors, entrepreneurs, and industry leaders. One will walk away with a $100,000 cash investment and a fast-track into Capital Factory. 

Who Can Apply?

Any software, hardware, or CPG startup in Texas with a female founder or co-founder can apply to participate. 

All finalists will receive:

  • A fast track into the Capital Factory portfolio where you will receive opportunities to get in front of potential investors, customers and employees.
  • Access to the Capital Factory Mentor network as long as we are shareholders
  • Up to $250,000 in potential total hosting credits from AWS, Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure and other major hosting providers (each individual offer is different and subject to change)
  • A free Capital Factory coworking membership for you and your team for six months

Capital Factory will receive:

  • 1% common stock grant as advisor equity (separate from the investment)
  • The right to invest up to $250,000 in your next round of funding

The winner will also receive:

  • $100,000 cash investment on a SAFE or Convertible Note using Capital Factory’s term sheet and your most recent funding valuation, or a qualified term sheet provided by the company (see application for more details).

 

Apply now to be one of five teams selected to pitch. You could walk away with a $100,000 investment and a network of entrepreneurs and investors to support your startup! Application deadline is September 12th. 

Want a chance to pitch? Submit your application

 

 

Who has won Capital Factory’s Investment Challenges in the past? 

  • Houston based Syzygy Plasmonics is developing a green power source from hydrogen fuel cell technology and raised a $5.8 million Series A round. 
  • Dallas’ ShearShare has a marketplace connecting stylists with available seats at salons and $2.3 million in funding
  • Houston’s GroupRaise is a marketplace that helps groups of 20-200 people make reservations at restaurants willing to donate a percentage of the sales back to a charitable cause.
  • Austin’s Journey Foods uses AI to create sustainability recipes for food manufacturers.
  • San Antonio’s Easy Expunctions makes it easier and more affordable for people to clean up their criminal records by automating the expunction process and has raised $1.6 million in funding. 
  • Dallas based Mynd VR creates virtual reality experiences for senior citizens to help combat loneliness, stimulate memory and cognition, and reduce anxiety and depression. 
  • Austin based ZPEG developed an upgraded compression algorithm for streaming videos based on an advanced human visual model that reduces streaming costs for 4K streams by 30%. 
  • Dallas’ YouGoNatural designs luxury headwraps and offers an extensive collection of looks that makes protecting hair a stylish experience.
  • Austin based Senseye has developed a system of high resolution cameras and software that can read your mind just by watching the movement of the muscles in your pupils. They’ve raised $7.2 million in funding to date. 

 

About Capital Factory

Capital Factory is the center of gravity for entrepreneurs in Texas, the number one state for startups in the U.S. Thousands of entrepreneurs, programmers and designers gather day and night, in-person and online for meetups, classes and coworking. With boots on the ground in Austin, Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio, we meet the best entrepreneurs in Texas and introduce them to their investors, employees, mentors and customers. According to Pitchbook, Capital Factory has been the most active, early-stage investor in Texas since 2010. 

Apply now to be one of five teams selected to pitch for a chance to win $100,000 and a network of entrepreneurs and investors to support your startup! Application deadline is September 12th.

Startups, submit your application now!

Houston Startups can Pitch for a $50,000 Venture Investment

03/16/2021 | Comment

Who Can Apply?

Apply now to be one of five teams selected to pitch. You could walk away with $50,000 and a new home at the Center of Gravity for Entrepreneurs in Texas! Application deadline is May 2.

 

Who has won Capital Factory’s Investment Challenges in the past?

About Capital Factory

About Houston, TX

About Houston Tech Rodeo

Learn how to get America’s seed funding from the U.S. Government while gaining them as a customer

02/10/2021 | Comment

There’s a growing trend at Capital Factory. Not only are startups increasingly getting funded by traditional means; Angel and Institutional investors, but now startups are also receiving significant funding from the United States (U.S.) government. In 2020 Capital Factory worked with over 50 member companies, of which 31 received more than $63M in government funding. This funding came from “America’s Seed Fund,” programs officially referred to as the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR), and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs.

Startups and government have long been viewed as contradictory, resulting in each avoiding the other. Their cultures and needs are decidedly different. Startups have neither the time nor the resources to overcome the bureaucratic hurdles, risk aversion, and long wait times typically experienced in winning a government contract. The U.S. Government has been intolerant of risks and uncertainty surrounding startups and their solutions, often fearing the lack of technical continuity and lack of financial stability startups are known for. 

An important component that can bridge this divide is money. The government is making a deliberate investment into entrepreneurial solutions that meet strategic, economic, and/or defense objectives. Although the U.S. government created the SBIR program to encourage nascent technologies, certain federal departments have only recently realized how they can use SBIR’s public funding to help minimize commercial investment risk and stimulate or accelerate innovation and scale of these small business solutions. The STTR program, which partners small businesses with universities and research institutions, makes it more feasible for small businesses to adopt available federal research projects and complement their R&D efforts in partnership with a university to help facilitate technology transitions.

The SBIR/STTR programs are financed by public funds and distributed to eleven federal agencies. The SBIR/STTR budget totaled $3.2B in 2020 and is administered by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). A startup firm must be working on a dual-use commercial solution to qualify for SBIR/STTR funds. Dual-use means that the solution is intended for sale to, or consumption by, the general public, but also adaptable across inherently governmental applications. 

 

 

SBIR has three distinct phases: 

• Phase I establishes a concept for the exploration of its technical merit and feasibility often called the concept development phase. Awards range from $50,000 – $250,000 and typically last for three to six-month periods. 

• Phase II is a continuation of Phase I where R&D occurs and a prototype is developed. Awards are typically around $750,000 with an 18-24 month performance period. In Phase II, the aim is to achieve the necessary R&D, testing, and prototyping to enable a successful commercial product. 

• Phase III is the period when the efforts move from the laboratory into the marketplace. It’s important to note that Phase III is not funded by the SBIR program, but by the federal department or agency that is interested in purchasing the final solution.

So, how does a startup, with limited resources and little to no government process expertise take advantage of SBIR/STTR? First, get educated (visit SBIR/STTR) and stay informed. Learn how the government structures its procurement offices, understand what the government is looking for, what their timelines are, and how the different SBIR/STTR phases apply to a startups’ growth plans. Attend our Federal/Defense Academy or Fed Supernova (more info below). Another critical factor for success is getting to know the right decision-makers. It can be the office that can buy for an end-user within the government agency, or people who can match the startup with the right department within the right government agency customer. Here is a hint, it’s not the highest-ranking bureaucrat within an agency or department. Another hint, you can find five government agency offices within Capital Factory: AFWERX, AAL, NSIN, DIU, and NGA. Capital Factory’s Fed Supernova virtual event can also introduce you to some of the right people. 

 

 

Capital Factory is an organization that actively bridges the gap between startups and the Government. What does Capital Factory offer? Education, translation, and introductions. To educate, Capital Factory regularly holds Ask Me Anything (AMA) sessions and is building upon its Federal/Defense Academy. In this academy, speakers from the government walk through what the current desired solutions are and how to navigate the competitive processes. In order to translate, Capital Factory has the knowledge and resources to help adapt “government speak” federal processes to jargon-free English for our many startups. Capital Factory excels at making introductions. When it sees that a startup has dual-use potential, especially in a targeted area that government agencies are interested in, we introduce the startup to the appropriate government contact(s), many within the Capital Factory immediate ecosystem! 

One way to educate yourself on the strategic technologies important to the U.S. Government agencies right now and which future problems they’re thinking about is to attend Fed Supernova March 9-10, 2021.  This is a virtual event where you’ll have the opportunity to hear from government innovation personnel and meet not only the government people but also dual-use startups, technical talent, and investors all interested in U.S. government plans and priorities. This year the topics are Quantum Computing, Space, Digital Engineering and Autonomy, and Robotics and Drones. It promises to be both exciting and informative. Register today!

 

Check out 2020’s Fed Supernova presented by Deloitte!

$100,000 Autonomous Drones & Mobility Investment Challenge

01/18/2021 | Comment

Robots!
Drones!
Autonomous cars! 

If your startup works with anything that walks, rolls, flies, or swims by itself, you might be able to win $100,000!

The challenge will occur on March 10 in partnership with Guinn Partners and the Center for Autonomous Robotics. Part of the second annual Fed Supernova, this will be an entirely virtual experience that draws national attention and connects leading entrepreneurs, investors, thought leaders, corporations, and decision-makers in the defense industry. In the first year,  successful results in hosting virtual events and helping startups win funding.

The challenge will feature five technology startup finalists that will be evaluated by a panel of successful entrepreneurs, defense industry leaders, and venture capitalists. One will walk away with a $100,000 investment!

Startups, submit your application

 

Are you eligible?

Any U.S.-based startups working on hardware and/or software applications that leverage or enhance autonomous mobility can apply to participate. If you win, you will receive a $100,000 investment from Capital Factory on a convertible security (see application for more details).

 

What is the Center for Defense Innovation?

In 2019, Capital Factory opened the Center for Defense Innovation – 23,000 square feet of collaboration space with the Army Applications Lab, AFWERX, Defense Innovation Unit, the National Security Innovation Network (NSIN – formerly MD5), The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, the Texas Military Department (National Guard), and a team of Booz Allen Hamilton’s defense innovators. This unprecedented collaboration between the public and private sector brings entrepreneurs and government innovators shoulder-to-shoulder in a coworking environment where they can learn from each other and have a kind of serendipity that can’t happen behind high security.

Capital Factory’s center of gravity for defense innovation brings together military leaders with entrepreneurs, innovators, and established defense industry leaders to co-create solutions that ensure our armed forces are poised to meet the threats of tomorrow. On June 6, 2019, the 75th Anniversary of D-Day, Capital Factory held our first Defense Innovation Challenge and awarded $100,000 to Austin startup, ZPEG, a video compression marketplace that reduces file sizes and streaming costs.

In November 2019, Capital Factory held a second $100,000 Artificial Intelligence Investment Challenge aligned with the AI “initial thrusts” articulated by the Army Artificial Intelligence Task Force. Pattern Sciences, a SaaS startup helping businesses in healthcare, defense, and other industries make sense of their data with machine learning and AI algorithms, received the $100,000 investment.

In July of 2020, Capital Factory completed a third $100,000 investment challenge and invested in Boston, MA, Pison Technologies. Pison leverages neuromuscular data and filtering signals from the nervous system. Pison is building an advanced human-machine interface and intuitive control of digital devices and interfaces.

Capital Factory will showcase the finalists of this $100,000 Autonomous Drones & Mobility Investment Challenge and select the winner during Fed Supernova, a two-day virtual conference gathering qualifying startups, investors, mentors, and corporate companies in the defense industry. This event will also include keynotes, lightning talks, Epic Office Hours, panel discussions, and more to connect Texas’ defense startup ecosystem and make the introductions to fuel its growth.

Think you’ve got a shot at $100,000? Apply now to be one of five teams selected to pitch. You could walk away with $100,000 and a new home at the Center of Gravity for Defense Innovation! Application deadline is February 19.

Startups, submit your application now!

 

 

How the US military built a structure in record time

11/21/2020 | Comment

Imagine an airplane dropping a 3D-printing robot out of the sky, and that robot using local materials to create places for people to live after natural disasters such as earthquakes, hurricanes, or tornadoes. Imagine similar technology creating structures to hide military vehicles anywhere in the world using local materials.

This is not science fiction. It’s happening today, enabled by the US military taking a fresh approach to innovation. They have pivoted from being slow and bureaucratic to agile and leveraging technology developed by others.  

How does this new military innovation work? The military looks for startup companies that already have interesting technology that can be applied to military problems or make existing military processes better. The military’s goal is to utilize this existing technology and modify it so it’s fit for military purposes.  They even have programs that will pay for the technology modifications, things like Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR).

According to Get2Growth, 100 million startups launch annually in the US alone. How can the military sift through 100 million startups to find the ones who have viable technology, investor backing, competent founders, and are on a reasonable path to success? This is where Capital Factory comes in. According to Pitchbook, Capital Factory is consistently the most active investor in Texas. They are the center of gravity for entrepreneurs, introducing the best entrepreneurs to investors, employees, partners, and customers. One way Capital Factory supports entrepreneurs is through an accelerator program where only the most promising startups are invited. The accelerator companies receive the benefits of mentorship, visibility to investors, introductions to customers, a community of peers, and education at their own pace. Capital Factory’s accelerator program companies are a great source of innovation for the military innovation agencies.

Because of the hotbed of innovation and technology at Capital Factory, several innovation-focused military organizations took up residence there. You can find military engineers working side by side with startup founders inside the Capital Factory offices or virtually. 

Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) is one of the innovative military branches that partners with Capital Factory. They are a Capital Factory Innovation Council member where the programs and events put curated technology leading startups directly in their view. At one such event, DIU met what appeared to be an unrelated technology startup named ICON.  

ICON is one of Capital Factory’s accelerator program companies that combines 3D printing, robotics, materials science, and software to print standalone structures regardless of location. Their mission began by building houses for impoverished families living on $3 per day in rural Mexico with housing nonprofit New Story, and for individuals experiencing chronic homelessness in central Texas at Community First! Village in Austin.

DIU recognized the potential in ICON’s technology and saw ways to apply it to the military, but modifications to the technology were needed. This is where Capital Factory’s mix of expertise came into play including finding a way to get non-diluted research dollars. ICON received SBIR funding to apply its technology to the military, including increasing the size of the structures it could build to accommodate large military vehicles that needed housing in remote locations. 

The first of many proof of concept deployments between ICON and the military was completed with DIU and the United States Marine Corps at Camp Pendleton in the summer of 2020. ICON trained eight Marines on how to operate its technology and completed building a vehicle hide structure within 36 hours of print time across three and a half days. More detail on the project, including a video of the technology in action, is here. This proof of concept has led to several military contracts for ICON and a big win for DIU and the government agencies involved. This successful deployment provided proof that startup technology could be modified and applied to solve military problems.

People often talk about the serendipitous collisions that happen at Capital Factory, the center of gravity that draws government entities, prime contractors, and commercial giants to work with startups. Introducing DIU to ICON and the resulting application of ICON’s technology to military structures is a great example of Capital Factory’s Innovation Council at its best–creating the environment for both the large company member and the startup to create something that wasn’t conceivable prior to the partnership.

If you want to know more about how you can get involved with Capital Factory’s Innovation Council, reach out to partnerships@capitalfactory.com

An introduction to the SBIR Accelerator

09/02/2020 | Comment

Powered by…

 

The SBIR Accelerator is designed to enable success for Phase-I awardees on the AFWERX Open Topic SBIR. Up to 50 Phase-I companies will complete a focused, 90-day cohort connecting them to potential Phase-II DoD customers, transition and commercialization partners from defense and commercial industry, and investors. SBIR Accelerator also provides instruction to cohort companies and participating partners on topics of interest to Phase-I and Phase-II performance so that all participants extract maximum value from the program.

This program is completely free to invited companies thanks to the generous help of our sponsor, Microsoft.

 

Applications are now closed.

 

How the Program Works

Eligibility

Any company that submits a Phase-I application to the AFWERX Open Topic may apply. In order to be accepted, applicants must be selected for a Phase-I award.

 

Application

The application window opens with Topic Pre-Release for the 20.3 Cycle and closes 5 days after the submission deadline for Phase-I applications.

 

Screening

Applications will be screened for eligibility and program fit. Ideal applicants will be US-based, venture-backed companies who intend to raise investment capital within the next 12 months and present a dual-use technology product with military and commercial applications.

 

Assessment

Companies who meet screening criteria will be invited to Assessment Day. Prior to Assessment Day companies must confirm receipt of a Phase-I award. All companies will present a 5-minute product, capabilities, and investor pitch during Assessment Day. Pitches will be recorded and distributed to customer, partner, and investor participants.

 

Selection and Onboarding

Assessed companies will be invited to participate in the Accelerator on a rolling basis beginning immediately after Assessment Day. Companies will have 10 days to accept their invitation, complete an onboarding form, and submit some basic company and product information to be shared with partners.

 

Kickoff Summit

The SBIR Accelerator will officially begin with a Kickoff Summit approximately 45 days after the close of applications. The Kickoff Summit will provide cohort companies with an overview of the SBIR Accelerator program and participating partners, focused instruction to help companies make the most of Capital Factory and the Accelerator, and an opportunity to sign up to meet DoD and industry partners and investors.

 

Epic Office Hours

Capital Factory will host multiple Epic Office Hours events, each pairing cohort companies with up to six 20-minute one-on-one meetings with potential customers and investors. Separate Epic Office Hours events will be scheduled for DoD customers, defense and commercial industry, and investors.

 

Investor Relations

Cohort companies that are raising investment capital will leverage Capital Factory’s Investor Relations team to facilitate individual meetings with investors who fit the company’s technology portfolio, stage, and company profile. Investor Relations support will be available for the duration of the cohort and continues after for companies who join the Capital Factory Accelerator.

 

Bi-Weekly Cohort Updates

For the duration of the cohort, Capital Factory will host a bi-weekly call to ensure cohort companies are on track. Each bi-weekly call will also feature a 1-hour instructional program on a relevant topic, such as intellectual property, STRATFI, writing Phase-II proposals, and other topics as required by the cohort.

 

The Value Proposition

Why participate in SBIR Accelerator?

 

Defense industry companies

Leveraging startups gives you a competitive advantage in R&D. Small businesses are the largest source of innovation as measured by patents and PhD employees.

Augment IRAD with SBIR-funded prototypes or adaptations of commercial products.

 

Commercial companies

You are building solutions to the same problems the DoD faces.

“Dual-use” is the DoD’s word of 2019 and forms the foundation of the DoD’s innovation strategy and most successful programs, including the CSO and SBIR Open Topic.

 

Venture Capital

DoD innovation programs are creating incentives that target you and your portfolios. Investment dollars can be matched in Phase-II, potentially up to $20MM or more through the STRATFI program. Startups can effectively raise a $2M+ Series-A to develop, test, and integrate a software using non-dilutive DoD grants. Successful companies in the SBIR Accelerator will tether a DoD program and large commercial customer to the product.

 

Department of Defense

AFVentures is creating a marketplace of innovative technologies that you need to exploit. Take these excerpts from the DoD Small Business Strategy, October 2019:

“The Department is working to identify opportunities to improve its day-to-day support of small businesses, maximize the utility of each individual program, and replicate our most successful tactics.”

“The Department’s small business and innovation programs specifically drive the strategic goals of enabling innovation, attracting small businesses and reducing barriers to entry.”

 

SBIR Accelerator is the model of dual-use innovation

This is built for you!

As an industry or commercial partner, join us to find cutting-edge solutions, enhance the capabilities of your own systems, and multiply internal R&D budgets with DoD R&D funding.

As an investor, Capital Factory’s SBIR accelerator will be a steady pipeline of deals you can invest in today, and leverage that investment more than 2x with program funding.

As a DoD problem or program owner, leverage the marketplace of emerging technologies as more and more companies turn their capabilities towards military domain problem sets. Sign on as a customer or user and leverage SBIR program funds to solve your problems!

 

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Fed Supernova Replay 2020

08/11/2020 | Comment

We’ve reviewed, quoted, and edited all of the great content from Fed Supernova. Re-experience this virtual-first conference highlighting defense innovation in Texas with us below!

 

Day One

Opening Remarks on Operational Data Science, featuring Deloitte

Nishita Henry, Chief Innovation Officer at Deloitte, kicks off Fed Supernova with a bang in these opening remarks.

Fed Supernova Opening Remarks with General Murray

General John Michael “Mike” Murray streams in to Fed Supernova live from Austin, Texas in his introductory remarks for the event.

Fireside Chat with General John Murray & CEO of Amazon Web Services Andy Jassy

Doug Wolfe of BlackLynx sits down with General John “Mike” Murray and the CEO of Amazon Web Services (AWS), Andy Jassy, for this opening fireside chat during Fed Supernova.

Army Futures Command Innovation Combine Opening Ceremony

Erica Bertoli of the US Army serves as MC for Day One of the Army Futures Command Innovation Combine opening ceremony, with Dr. Robert Hart of the US Army giving opening remarks.

Fireside Keynote with Jason Kelley and Maj. Gen. Dawn Ferrell

Jason Kelley of IBM and Maj. Gen. Dawn Ferrell of the Army National Guard in Texas sit down for a fireside chat on COVID Innovation in Texas and beyond.

Dual-Use Investing with Deloitte at Fed Supernova

Joe Lonsdale from 8vc chats with Silpan Patel of Ultra Labs. The subject? Building a dual-use technology company on the back of Venture Capital, and investing in Artificial Intelligence companies that serve commercial and national security customers.

Pivoting DoD innovation programs to defeat COVID-19 with technology

Mellie Price hosts a panel of Army, Air Force, and TMDx representatives on the process of pivoting DoD innovations to help find COVID-19 solutions.

Building Talent to Operationalize Data Science with Deloitte and Army Futures Command’s Software Factory

Meagan Metzger, CEO of dCode, sits down with Army Futures Command, Joint Special Operations Command, the US Air Force, and startup Striveworks to talk about how military organizations attract, train, and retain top data science talent.

Artificial Intelligence Startup Showcase with Deloitte at Fed Supernova

Jack Fitzsimmons of Deloitte moderates the AI Startup Showcase with Sisu, Imandra, Rizse, Veraset, and StreamSets, all sourced by Deloitte and touching on AI Applications on an operational level.

COVID Technology Startup Showcase with the Texas Military Department

Discover new COVID-19 solutions from companies in the Capital Factory ecosystem that are on the front lines developing technology to fight COVID-19 in the COVID Technology Startup Showcase.

 

Day Two

A Conversation with Dr. Portia Crowe of Army Futures Command and Sandy Carter of AWS

Sit down with Sandy Carter and Dr. Portia Crowe as they discuss automation, cloud-to-edge challenges, and the future of the cloud in this fireside chat.

Army Futures Command Innovation Combine Welcome, Day Two

Opening remarks for the second day of the Army Futures Command Innovation Combine by Douglas Tamilio of the US Army Natick Soldier Research, Development & Engineering Center, and Erica Bertoli of the US Army as MC.

Bringing the Cloud to the Operator with Nicolas Chaillan, US Air Force Chief Software Officer

Capital Factory’s Kevin Landtroop sits down with Nicolas Chaillan, the Chief Software Officer for the Air Force to discuss how the Air Force does DevSecOps using their dedicated Platform One and Kubernetes.

The TMDx Launch Story with Major Goldberg and Major General Tracy Norris

Sean Duffy of Capital Factory moderates as Major Alex “Stoiky” Goldberg and Major General Tracy Norris tell the story of TMDx, highlighting how TMDx finds companies and how one can navigate the bureaucracy of the DoD, AKA Mount Everest.

Redefining the Edge & Cloud Architecture with Amazon Web Services

Amazon Web Services representatives Even Glemmstead and Shayn Hawthorne sit down in this panel to discuss the technical capabilities of extending the cloud to the edge and beyond.

Connecting Texans to Texas with Technology with your National Guard and TMDx

Lieutenant Colonel Cindy Storoy of the Texas Military Department sits down with Jordyn Fetter of AFWERX, as well as Guardsmen Edwin Vasquez, Brian Stevens, and Andrew Williams for a moving panel on how the Texas Military Department connects Texans to their National Guard through service, fellowship programs, business opportunities, and Honorary Commands.

Bringing the Cloud to the Warfighter: a Startup Showcase with Amazon Web Services

Moderator Wilfred Justin of Amazon Web Services leads an exploration of cloud solutions focusing on AI and machine learning with EdgeTensor, Parasanti, and IoT/AI.

Texas-sized opportunities for Texas companies through TMDx: a Startup Showcase

Enjoy a Startup Showcase featuring startups sourced by TMDx who have found success in connecting with the Department of Defense and won contracts, moderated by Major Alex “Stoiky” Goldberg.

Army Futures Command Closing Remarks

General John “Mike” Murray closes out the day and MG John George announces the Army Futures Command Innovation Combine winners.

 

Day Three

Dual-Use Case Startup Success Stories with Sean Singleton

Join Sean Singleton from Oglethorpe Capital as he explores the Capital Factory success stories with founders and companies that connected to over $63 million from DoD innovation programs in the last year.

Cybersecurity and Accenture with Tamara Fields, Managing Director

Tune in as Managing Director at Accenture, Tamara Fields, gives a warm welcome to the Cybersecurity programming on the third day of Fed Supernova.

Opening Remarks on Human Performance with Dr. Charlene Stokes

Join Dr. Charlene Stokes as she gives a warm welcome to those participating in the Human Performance track for the last day of Fed Supernova.

A Keynote and Fireside Chat on Human Performance Tech

Join in on the Human Performance track keynote from Brigadier General Michael Talley who is followed by a fireside chat with Matthew Quinn and Dr. Mark Buller of Medical Research and Development Command, Dr. Charlene Stokes, and Capital Factory’s own Sean Duffy.

A Fireside Chat between MG (Retired) George Franz and Lt. General Tim Haugh

George Franz, Managing Director for Accenture Federal Services, sits down with Lieutenant General Tim Haugh, Commander of the 16th Air Force and Air Force’s Cyber in San Antonio Texas to discuss the challenges and opportunities with standing up and operating the Air Force’s operational cyber command.

The Cybersecurity Melting Pot with Accenture: from Tech Vision to Workforce to Operations

Bill Marion II from Accenture sits down for a panel discussion with BG Edmonson (United States Army), Bob Butler (Cyber Strategies LLC) and Guy Walsh (UTSA) on the Cybersecurity Melting Pot.

Capital Factory’s $100,000 Human Performance Investment Challenge

Celebrate and cheer on the finalists as Fed Supernova is capped off with the $100,000 Human Performance Investment Challenge, with several Capital Factory startups all vying for a $100,000 award!

Showcase: the Texas Cybersecurity Ecosystem

Explore innovative startups focusing on the cybersecurity ecosystem in the Texas Cybersecurity Startup Showcase, featuring Rick Lipsey of Alamo AFCEA, Bobby Blount from MITRE, Jim Perschbach & Will Garrett of Port San Antonio, Melissa Unsell-Smith of Rectify, Jorge Jimenez from Accenture, and Richard Valdez of IPSecure.

Problems, Pitches, and Partnerships between Defense Industry, Startups, & VC’s

Heather Richman, founder of Defense Investor Network, moderates a panel on investing in dual-use human performance tech and highlighting the Triad between defense industry, startups, and venture capital with Scott Hastings of Zpeg, Dave Vitale of CACI, and Eric Frahm of AFWERX.

 

About Fed Supernova

Fed Supernova, presented by Deloitte, is a virtual conference highlighting defense innovation in Texas. This first-of-its-kind interactive experience will draw national attention and connect leading entrepreneurs, investors, thought leaders, corporations, and decision makers from around the world.

About Capital Factory

Capital Factory is the center of gravity for entrepreneurs in Texas, the number one startup state in the U.S. Hundreds of thousands of entrepreneurs, programmers and designers gather day and night, in-person and online for meetups, classes and coworking. With boots on the ground in Austin, Dallas and Houston, we meet the best entrepreneurs in Texas and introduce them to their first investors, employees, mentors and customers. According to Pitchbook, Capital Factory has been the most active investor in Texas since 2013.

Capital Factory Center for Defense Innovation Year One Success Stories

05/07/2020 | Comment

It’s been a little over a year since the . The CDI is an unprecedented public-private partnership anchored by the upstart  (AAL) that officially opened to the public during SXSW 2019. Towards the end of the first year, the CDI closed out with an unprecedented event for the Air Force: the . This first all-virtual AFWERX event included over 2,000 online attendees, 88 virtual pitches, 60 online Air Force and Space Force judges, and 599 government contracts worth $625 million in what Dr. Will Roper called “the largest small biz transaction in gov’t history!”

Not all of the “unprecedented” events were good. The COVID-19 outbreak precipitated a string of economic disasters, including the cancelling of SXSW 2020, nation-wide school closures, and shelter-in-place orders that had Austinites, and billions worldwide, stuck in their homes.

We knew when we started that it is hard for small businesses to work with the government. Not many startups in our community had done much government contracting before this and most thought it was a waste of their time. Knowing that the government contracting process can take a long time, we set a goal of three companies in our community receiving funding in the first year. We thought that was ambitious. We had no way of predicting the scale of what actually happened…

Thirty-one Capital Factory companies received funding through government and defense innovation programs worth more than $63 million.

As we closed out 2019, we knew the numbers would beat our goal. There were a lot of individual examples of companies in our community who had incredible success in finding DoD customers, and these projects were changing the direction of their products and companies. Once we started to pull the numbers together, and the totals got bigger and bigger, the magnitude began to hit us.

Capital Factory companies won awards from:

  • Air Force
  • Army
  • Navy
  • Special Operations
  • Defense Innovation Unit
  • NSF
  • NASA
  • Department of Energy
  • DARPA
  • Intelligence Community

Programs and contract vehicles included SBIR, OTAs, AFWERX challenges, AAL’s Capabilities Accelerator, xTech Search, and even a few subcontracts. Federal funding awards ranged from $10,000 to $15 million, with four companies receiving more than $5 million. Two companies received awards in the recently announced AFVentures’ Strategic Financing (STRATFI) program, where the Air Force is making big bets on early-stage companies with disruptive technologies and emergent investor backing.

We’re blown away by the success so far, but we also know this is only the beginning– this is just year one. Capital Factory has taken deliberate steps to learn from, replicate and scale this success.

  • We’ve developed specific programs to help our companies understand DoD innovation programs and how to sell to the federal government.
  • We’re replicating Defense Innovation programming in Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio to create the awareness and relationships in those markets that contributed to Austin’s success.
  • We’ve launched SBIR Accelerator, a deliberate vehicle to connect startups, defense industry, and investors to a funded innovation project and maximize DoD grant funding.

We are energized by the success that Capital Factory companies are finding through Defense Innovation opportunities, and we are excited to support them through year two and beyond. If you want to be a part of the Center of Gravity for Defense Innovation,  Our next SBIR Accelerator kicks off with the 20.3 application cycle!

Coronavirus: An open letter to the Startup Community

03/22/2020 | Comment

I want to reach out to see who has been affected by the Coronavirus / COVID-19 and let everyone know how the Capital Factory community is rising to the challenge. This is a terrible disaster that we still don’t understand the full implications of yet, but we need to adapt to the “new normal” and try to keep our lives moving forward safely. We are entrepreneurs!

If a member of our community has the virus or has been exposed to it, we want to know about it and we want to help. We might know about resources you don’t. Please leave a comment and let us know or email me at josh@quityourjob.com.

As you can imagine, the Capital Factory network is buzzing with ideas and actions. Money is being raised, supplies are being delivered, and technology is being developed around the clock.

If you are working on a solution to help people affected by the Coronavirus, we want to know and we want to help. Please leave a comment and let us know or email me at josh@quityourjob.com.

The world has never needed our community more than we do today. Isolated in our homes, our community is what connects us together. Without coworking and meetups, we need new ways to meet new people and discover business opportunities. Faced with some of the biggest challenges our global society has ever faced, we need leaders to step forward and innovate our way out of this.

We need the Army, the Air Force and the National Guard. We need capital from investors with vision. We need political and business leaders. We need entrepreneurs.

This is an incredibly challenging time. But this is when entrepreneurs are at their best. Capital Factory was started in 2009 right after the 2008 housing market crash and the last recession. There was nowhere to go but up. Many businesses will fail but many new ones will be created. Will you call it quits or will you rise to the challenge? I’m proud to say that I see the Austin community and the startup community doing the latter.

Here are some examples of what our community is working on:

  • MDBox is offering Coronavirus consultations over telemedicine
  • Lazarus3D is printing masks and face guards for health care workers
  • Athena Security and Eagle Eye Networks are developing thermal sensing cameras
  • Eugene Sepulveda helped create the Stand With Austin Fund to support small businesses & individuals affected by the SXSW cancellation.
  • CareSnap has an online marketplace for in-home healthcare services
  • Nanohmics is developing a 5-minute Coronavirus test that works on asymptomatic patients
  • Skin Probiotics offers an anti-viral sanitizing spray that incorporates silver ions for prolonged protection
  • FabuLingua offers a Spanish language learning solution that can be used in a home-schooling environment
  • CureCompanion has developed a portable telemedicine kit
  • Everlywell has developed a home-administered Coronavirus test that is shipping this week
  • Living Security released a video with tips on how to have good security hygiene while working from home

We were thrust into the forefront of this issue because the virus coincided with SXSW. As one of the busiest local venues we were faced with a dilemma; do we continue with our SXSW activities in the face of Coronavirus, even though SXSW was still moving forward with the approval of the Austin Public Health Department? It seems like an obvious decision now, a few weeks later, but at the time it wasn’t so clear. I’m glad that we made the right decision.

We put our SXSW initiatives on hold…and immediately got to work figuring out how to make lemons into lemonade. For us, that starts with moving to “virtual first” delivery of all of our programs.

Here is some of what has happened in the past two weeks:

  • More than 100 Mentors have held virtual office hours over Hangouts, Webex or Zoom
  • In 48 hours we helped the Air Force AFWERX pivot from an in-person pitch day for hundreds of people into a virtual pitch day with more than 2,000 people with 84 startups presenting to Air Force leaders including the Secretary of the Air Force.
  • We hosted HackCorona, the first hackathon to specifically target and solve the new healthcare and technology challenges in a “town hall”, with members of the innovation community from healthcare, technology, and public policy.
  • Capital Factory’s staff of 98 has continued to operate at full capacity while remote, supporting our community of members, mentors, partners, and founders through virtual events, meetings, and operational support.

Here is some of what is happening in the next two months:

  • We are talking to all of our community members to help them have an impactful virtual experience while waiting for us to be able to leave our homes.
  • We are reaching out to every event that was going to happen in person and helping them figure out how to execute it virtually instead.
  • We’ll be getting the rest of our Mentors on virtual office hours which means a dozen different people to pick from on many days. There are 50 mentors signed up for 200 virtual mentor sessions this coming week!
  • We are figuring out how to deliver all of our most important programming virtually. Epic Office Hours, Open Coffee, Robot University, AMA’s… even the Startup Crawl.
  • On Wednesday, Gordon Daugherty will be hosting a Coronavirus Fundraising AMA for Entrepreneurs on Instagram
  • We’ll be hosting the biggest Founders Academy with Gordon Daugherty yet. This will be the first time anyone can register and we expect hundreds of participants from around Texas.
  • We are hosting a Virtual Black in Tech Summit + $100K Investment Challenge with the dedication of increasing diversity in the tech community
  • Our Virtual Founders Stories in Dallas and Austin where we talk with startup founders about what it takes to start a successful company
  • A Pilot SBIR Accelerator with 24 cohort companies was launched and is being conducted 100% virtually

Stay tuned for more updates weekly and please reply and let me know if you are affected by the Coronavirus and how Capital Factory can best support you during these difficult times.

Sincerely,
Joshua Baer
Founder & CEO

p.s. Capital Factory is famous for our t-shirts. We printed a limited number of SXSW 2020 shirts before SXSW was canceled and this is your only chance to get one of the most exclusive Capital Factory shirts ever! All proceeds go to the Stand With Austin Fund — which makes grants to nonprofits assisting individuals and small businesses most negatively impacted by the cancellation of SXSW and least able to recover on their own. Grab yours before they are all gone!

AFWERX’s Virtual Conference Previews What’s Next for Our Startup Scene Amid Coronavirus…We’re Going Virtual!

03/20/2020 | Comment

With big plans to organize, host and promote multiple days of complete programming at Capital Factory House, an official SXSW venue, you can imagine the impact on the team when SXSW was understandably canceled due to concerns surrounding the spread of COVID-19. Despite the sudden setback, we quickly got up, dusted ourselves off and got to work pivoting to continue to support our community. AFWERX, a community of Air Force innovators who strive to connect Airmen to solutions across the force, was one such example.

What happens when you’re handed lemons? You make lemonade.

What was initially planned as a three-day in-person defense innovation event with 600 collaborators, AFWERX’s 2020 Spark Collider and Pitch Bowl was an essential occasion that we just had to move forward with- by any means possible. With the news that SXSW would be canceled, we brainstormed with AFWERX on how we could quickly bring this event to life outside the confines of physical walls.

In the span of three days, Capital Factory worked with AFWERX, the U.S. Air Force, and its joint partners to promptly create a one-day virtual mega-event including keynotes, presentations, and collaborative engagements with more than 2,000 online and small group attendees across the country from government, industry, and academia.

What resulted was a quick-turn virtual experience that boasted more than 150 individual events in 15 virtual rooms over the course of 8 hours with a total of 5,000 virtual viewers- 4x the number of participants expected to attend the actual in-person event.

The event also included morning and afternoon Spark Collider breakout sessions and educational programming, which were designed to bring service members of all ranks together with industry professionals to discover potential solutions to Department of Defense problems and learn from each other.

Adam Welch, Assistant Director for Spark Cells at AFWERX said, “What ended up happening was we had just over 80 companies that all participated in virtual pitches that lasted eight hours. Everybody jumped in the role and it went on autopilot. It was really cool to see.”

The comment above is from Capital Factory’s upcoming podcast episode, which will give listeners a behind-the-scenes look at how the event all came together— featuring our Senior Programs Manager, Maryann Alspaugh, and AFWERX members Adam Welch and Tony Perez. Subscribe to the podcast and check out the full episode when it’s released on Tuesday, March 24!

“With the need to pivot from a live to a virtual event, the AFWERX team knew Capital Factory would roll-up their sleeves and drive into the trenches alongside us. Capital Factory and its staff, led by Maryann, were essential to the success of the virtual event. To have collaborative teammates who are willing to jump out on a ledge and trust that this event was possible made us even more determined to put in the hard work to see it through. This virtual event wouldn’t have been possible without the support of Capital Factory,” said Tony Perez, Director of Spark for AFWERX.

We’re incredibly proud of what our team was able to accomplish in just a few short days. The success of this virtual mega-event has given us an optimistic glimpse of what’s to come for our startup ecosystem as a whole.

A Look Towards the Future

At Capital Factory, we’re currently planning programming for our community that will provide the same level of connection, insight, and advice they have come to appreciate from Capital Factory— now through virtual means. Our goal is to allow our community to continue engaging with each other, making valuable connections and thriving during this time. Even during a time of social distancing, it’s crucial for us to stick together and help each other grow.

To keep up with the virtual experiences and programming we have planned, subscribe to our Austin Tech Live or Dallas Tech Live mailing lists and follow us @CFStartupEvents for updates.

The Capital Factory Family Supports the Stand With Austin Fund

Capital Factory is famous for our t-shirts. We printed a limited number of SXSW 2020 shirts before SXSW was canceled and this is your only chance to get one of the most exclusive Capital Factory shirts ever! All proceeds go to the Stand With Austin Fund— which makes grants to nonprofits assisting individuals and small businesses most negatively impacted by the cancellation of SXSW and least able to recover on their own.

Click here to get yours before they run out! Three different versions to pick from.