Guide to Austin’s Startup Ecosystem

400+ Resources for Entrepreneurs

This working guide was developed by the Austin Founder Institute, local leaders, and commenting from the public.

This is a working document – more input is needed, so please leave your comments on this collaborative Google document, and it will be considered for the next update.

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Startup Stages

There is no one right way to build a technology company, but for the sake of simplicity we have outlined a basic, common, sequential framework.

1. Idea Stage

This is where new entrepreneurs get inspired, learn best practices, develop skills, validate ideas, and begin to build their team and product.

A. Inspire

  • Startup Media: Centralized local information, listings, and news. (i.e. startup blogs/ publications/ lists/ FB groups/ newsletters, Startup Digest)
    1. 512Tech
    2. Austin Fire Show
    3. AustinInno
    4. Austin Startups
    5. Austin Startups List
    6. Built In Austin
    7. foundingAUSTIN Magazine
    8. SEO’Brien
    9. SiliconHills
    10. Startup Digest Austin
    11. Tech.co Austin
    12. T Squared newsletter
    13. Xconomy
  • Inspirational Events: Open, inclusive, beginner startup events (i.e. Startup Weekend, idea fairs, and inspirational meetups)
    1. ATX NoPay Startup
    2. Austin Diversity in Tech Meetup
    3. Austin Forum on Technology & Society
    4. Austin Hardware Startup Meetup
    5. Austin Internet of Things
    6. Austin Inventors and Entrepreneurs
    7. Austin Music Tech Meetup
    8. Austin Startup Meetup
    9. Austin Startup Week
    10. Built In Austin Meetups
    11. EdTech Austin Meetups
    12. Female Founders ATX
    13. Female Founders Austin
    14. Feminist Hack ATX
    15. Girls in Tech Austin
    16. HackerNest
    17. Intro to the Austin Tech Startup Scene
    18. Startup Weekend Austin
    19. Startup Weekend HackOut

B. Educate

  • Best Practices: Beginner knowledge-sharing events. (i.e. beginner events that serve to educate more than inspire, like Startup Founder 101, etc).
    1. 1 Million Cups Austin
    2. Austin eCommerce Meetup
    3. Austin MediaTech
    4. Austin Mobile Developers and Entrepreneurs
    5. Austin Startup Entrepreneurs
    6. Bleeding Edge Meetup Group
    7. FinTech Austin
    8. From Napkin to Revenue
    9. Health Technology Forum: Austin
    10. Mobile Growth Austin
    11. ProductTank Austin
    12. Social Innovators
    13. Startup Founder 101 Austin
    14. Startup Fuse Austin
    15. Startup Grind Austin
    16. Startup Law Austin
    17. Talkabot ATX
    18. TechShop Startup ATX
    19. Women Who Code Austin
  • Training & Feedback: Skill & Idea development. (Ex. bootcamps and comprehensive training programs, like Founder Institute, General Assembly, Lean Startup Machine, etc)
    1. 3 Day Startup Austin
    2. Access Silicon Valley Austin
    3. Ada Ryland Consulting
    4. Austin Blockchain Technology
    5. Austin Coding Academy
    6. Austin Lean Startup Circle
    7. Austin Startup: Idea to IPO
    8. Data Science Dojo
    9. Dev Bootcamp
    10. Digital Creative Institute
    11. Early-Stage Entrepreneur Essentials
    12. Founder Institute
    13. Founders Bootcamp
    14. Galvanize
    15. General Assembly
    16. Hack Reactor
    17. Lean Startup Machine Austin
    18. Longhorn Startup
    19. Lumenbrite
    20. Patriot Boot Camp
    21. Startupbootcamp FinTech & CyberSecurity FastTrack
    22. Startup Pitch Bootcamp
    23. The Iron Yard
    24. UT Austin Boot Camps
    25. Venture Forth

C. Validate

  • Team Formation: Resources for teaming up. (i.e. events or other resources that facilitate early-stage recruitment and cofounder matching)
    1. Austin Crowdfunding
    2. Austin Early Stage Product Startup Founders
    3. Austin Entrepreneur Networking & Community Building
    4. Austin Entrepreneurs & Business Leaders Networking Meetup
    5. Austin Professional Networking Group
    6. Austin Tech Happy Hour
    7. CoFounder Austin
    8. CoFoundersLab
    9. FounderDating
    10. Global Women Entrepreneur Network
    11. Hardman Batchelor International
    12. Team Austin
    13. Texchange
  • Build First Product: Hackathons & resources to build. (i.e. hackathons and other builder-focused events and resources)
    1. Angelhack Global Hackathon Series Austin
    2. athenahealth MDP Hackathon
    3. ATX Hack for Change
    4. Austin Coders & Hackers
    5. CodeDay Austin
    6. DeveloperWeek Austin 2017 Hackathon
    7. DevOpsDays Austin
    8. Docker Docs Hackathon
    9. DreamHack Austin
    10. ExpeditionHacks Austin
    11. Girls in Tech Hackathon
    12. HackATX 2017
    13. HackerNest Austin Tech Socials
    14. Hack the Machine
    15. HackTX
    16. Startup Drive: Austin 2017
    17. SXSW Hackathon

2. Launch Stage

In this stage, entrepreneurs establish and formalize the company, develop the product, get feedback from customers, and prepare for the next step.

A. Start

  • Establish: Law firms & banks for startups
    1. Andrews Kurth Kenyon LLP
    2. Bracewell LLP
    3. Broadway Bank
    4. Business Bank of Texas
    5. Capital One
    6. Carroll Counsel PLLC
    7. DLA Piper
    8. Frost Bank
    9. Hillcrest Bank
    10. Horizon Bank
    11. K&L Gates
    12. Kastner, Huggins, Reddien and Gravelle
    13. Lynch Law Firm
    14. Miller, Egan, Molter and Nelson LLP
    15. Silicon Valley Bank
    16. Square 1 Bank
    17. Stacy Cole Law
    18. Vela Wood
    19. Villhard Patent Group
    20. Vinson & Elkins LLP
    21. Wilson Sonsini Goodrich and Rosati
  • Workspace: Co-working and flexible workspaces (note: “official” office space goes in 3.1.a. Infrastructure)
    1. Capital Factory
    2. Chicon Collective
    3. Createscape
    4. DwellStronger
    5. Fibercove
    6. Galvanize
    7. Impact Hub Austin
    8. IncubatorCTX
    9. Industrious Office
    10. Journey Coworking
    11. Link Coworking
    12. Orange Coworking
    13. Patchwork Austin
    14. Soma Vida
    15. TechSpace
    16. Vessel Coworking
    17. Vuka Collective
    18. WeWork
    19. Work Well Win

B. Develop

  • Formalize: Accounting, development and HR for early-stage startups.
    1. AngelSpan
    2. Austin HR
    3. Calavista
    4. Command Group
    5. Corn and Corn LLP
    6. CSI Executive Search
    7. Enola Labs
    8. Gennovacap
    9. Growth Acceleration Partners
    10. Hardman Batchelor International
    11. Iflexion
    12. Insogna CPA
    13. Jackrabbit
    14. Libby King & Associates
    15. MagRabbit
    16. Marci Shafto CPA
    17. Praxent
    18. Richard A. Crow and Associates
    19. Roger E. Coyner, CPA
    20. Sitegoals
    21. Snyxius
    22. Tanya L. Stokes, CPA
    23. The BHW Group
    24. W. Hamilton & Co., PLLC
    25. White Lion
    26. Workhorse Marketing
  • Prepare for Seed: Incubators and advanced mentorship. (i.e. advanced knowledge sharing, later stage events and resources for startup TEAMS)
    1. ACC Bioscience Incubator
    2. Austin Technology Incubator
    3. Bunker Labs
    4. DivInc
    5. EdTech Action Incubator
    6. G51
    7. Longhorn Startup
    8. Nexus Incubator
    9. Startup Next Austin
    10. Tech Ranch Austin
    11. Texas Venture Labs
    12. Thinktiv

C. Launch

  • Seed Accelerators: Seed funding mentor programs (Techstars-style programs that provide funding)
    1. Accelerate at Capital Factory
    2. International Accelerator
    3. MassChallenge Texas
    4. Medical Innovation Labs
    5. MobilityX Accelerator
    6. SKU
    7. Sputnik ATX
    8. Techstars
  • Pitch & Demo: Show local startups for investment (i.e. demo days for companies seeking seed investment)
    1. [Re]verse Pitch Competition
    2. Apps4Change Demo
    3. Austin TechBreakfast
    4. Demo Day: Techstars Austin
    5. Digital Demo Day
    6. HATCH Pitch
    7. KiwiTech Demo Day
    8. Open Pitch Practice and Pizza
    9. Startup Pitch Night Austin
    10. SXSW Accelerator
    11. Texas Data Demo Day
    12. The Iron Yard Austin: Demo Day

3. Growth Stage

Here, a startup proves their utility, receives recognition, and scales up. This usually requires funding, angels, VCs, and ways to connect them to startups.

A. Recognition

  • Investor Networking:  Connect professional investors with founders. (i.e. events or groups that facilitate connections with professional investors)
    1. Austin Technology Council
    2. Central Texas Angel Network
    3. Ellevate
    4. Gathering of Angels
    5. Hill Country Angel Network
    6. J9 Partners
    7. NewChip
    8. Southwest Angel Network
    9. Texas Investment Network
    10. TiE Austin
  • Major Media: Mainstream local business press. (i.e. major local or regional publications that frequently champion local businesses)
    1. Austin American-Statesman
    2. Austin Business Journal
    3. Crain’s Austin
    4. Texas Business Radio
    5. Texas CEO Magazine

B. Funding

  • Angels / Micro-VCs: Seed-stage investors
    1. Andrew Busey
    2. Arun Prakash
    3. Asad Zafar
    4. Bart Robertson
    5. Bill Boebel
    6. Brett Hurt
    7. Cameron Drummond
    8. Chris Shonk
    9. Dan Graham
    10. David Altounian
    11. David Cohen
    12. Edward Batchelor
    13. Jared Slosberg
    14. Jason Seats
    15. John Stockton
    16. Joshua Baer
    17. Mark Clayton Hand
    18. Mellie Price
    19. Michael Trafton
    20. Rick Wittenbraker
    21. Rob Taylor
    22. Rony Kahan
    23. Rudy Garza
    24. Russell Hinds
    25. Scott Kosch
    26. Shane Adams
  • Venture Capitalists: Series A and beyond
    1. Arch Venture Partners
    2. Arena Growth Partners
    3. ATX Seed Ventures
    4. Bandgap Ventures
    5. Blue Sage Capital
    6. Corsa Ventures
    7. Covera Ventures
    8. Escalate Capital Partners
    9. Limestone
    10. LiveOak Venture Partners
    11. Mercury Fund
    12. Moonshots Capital
    13. Murphree Venture Partners
    14. Next Coast Ventures
    15. Next Step Capital Partners
    16. Peak Rock Capital
    17. PTV Healthcare Capital
    18. Recurring Capital Partners
    19. S3 Ventures
    20. Silverton Partners
    21. Trellis Partners
    22. Tritium Partners
    23. True Wealth Ventures
    24. Vista Equity Partners

C. Growth

  • Infrastructure: Office space, HR, local business insurance. (i.e. office space/ HR/ insurance providers for capital-rich companies to grow and scale)
    1. 42Floors
    2. Anco Insurance
    3. Austin Office Solutions
    4. Austin Office Space
    5. BKCW Insurance
    6. Britton and Britton Insurance
    7. Central Insurance Agency
    8. Hardman Batchelor International
    9. Hiscox Insurance
    10. Instant Offices
    11. Premier HR Solutions
    12. Solid Business Solutions
    13. Southwest Commercial Insurance
    14. Strive Insurance Group
    15. ValentineHR
    16. Watkins Insurance Group
  • Expansion: Growth accelerators/consultants. (i.e. programs and business consultants for capital-rich companies to grow and scale)
    1. Accenture
    2. Aon
    3. Austin Consulting Firm
    4. Bridgepoint Consulting
    5. Bunker Labs CEO Circle
    6. CGI
    7. Deloitte
    8. Denary
    9. Ernst and Young
    10. Grant Thornton
    11. Idea Labs Consulting
    12. KPMG
    13. Momentum Consulting
    14. PwC
    15. Towers Watson
    16. vcfo

D. Success Stories

Successful homegrown companies that have raised significant institutional funding, employ a large workforce, or have achieved liquidity.

    1. Able Lending
    2. AppSumo
    3. Bazaarvoice
    4. BigCommerce
    5. BP3
    6. Bumble
    7. Chasm.io
    8. CM First Group
    9. CognitiveScale
    10. Consero Global
    11. Continuum
    12. Cratejoy
    13. CSID
    14. Data.World
    15. Double A
    16. EverlyWell
    17. Favor
    18. Granify
    19. HomeAway
    20. Icontrol
    21. Indeed
    22. LawnStarter
    23. MailLift
    24. MainStreet Hub
    25. Markerly
    26. Modernize
    27. OtherInbox
    28. OutBound Engine
    29. Outdoorsy
    30. OwnLoca
    31. Phunware
    32. Plum
    33. QuintilesIMS
    34. Reaction
    35. RetailMeNot
    36. Riskpulse
    37. SailPoint
    38. SiliconLabs
    39. SolarWinds
    40. SpareFoot
    41. Spiceworks
    42. Spredfast
    43. Tenfold
    44. Trendkite
    45. Twyla
    46. Umbel
    47. UnaliWear
    48. Unseen
    49. Whole Foods Market
    50. WP Engine
    51. YouEarnedIt
    52. Zenoss

Supporters

To facilitate the steps, every ecosystem needs strong supporters.

1. Evangelists

Successful local founders who lead the ecosystem & frequently mentor newbies.  (i.e. Local leaders who have taken a leadership position, speak at a lot of startup events, mentor all the programs, etc)

  1. Amos Schwartzfarb
  2. Anil Pattni
  3. Barbary Brunner
  4. Barbary Brunner
  5. Bart Bohn
  6. Bijoy Goswami
  7. Brandon Satrom
  8. Chris Makell
  9. Claire England
  10. Corey Butler
  11. Damon Clinkscales
  12. David Altounian
  13. David Barnes
  14. Elijah May
  15. Erik Kallenbach
  16. Fernando Labastid
  17. Hannah Oiknine
  18. Heather Ann Havenwood
  19. Jacqueline Hughes
  20. John Zozzaro
  21. Joshua Baer
  22. Kristin Spindler
  23. Lance McNeill
  24. Lyn Graft
  25. Marc Hafner
  26. Marc Nathan
  27. Martin Martinez
  28. Mike Millard
  29. Paul O’Brien
  30. Ron Batra
  31. Ruben Cantu
  32. Ryan Joy
  33. Ryan Merket
  34. Sabrina Wojtewicz
  35. Scott Sullivan
  36. Shakeel Rashed
  37. Tarzan Sharif
  38. Tim Ferriss
  39. Wayne Peck
  40. Whurley
  41. Zuby Onwuta

2. Government

Public organizations that facilitate local economic development

  1. City of Austin’s Economic Development Department
  2. City of Austin’s Innovation Office
  3. Entrepreneur Center of Austin
  4. FastForward Entrepreneur Training Program
  5. Greater Austin Asian Chamber of Commerce
  6. Greater Austin Black Chamber of Commerce
  7. Greater Austin Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
  8. The Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce
  9. Women’s Chamber of Commerce of Texas

3. Talent

Major local business or tech universities and employers that attract and retain local talent.

  • Local Universities (universities with prominent technical or business programs)
    1. Acton School of Business
    2. Austin Community College
    3. Concordia University Texas
    4. Huston–Tillotson University
    5. Rice Alliance of Rice University
    6. South University
    7. St. Edward’s University
    8. Texas A&M University
    9. The University of Texas at Austin
  • Local Employers (Major technical employers, like Microsoft or Google or large local companies, with large local offices)
    1. 3M
    2. Amazon
    3. AMD
    4. Apple
    5. Applied Materials
    6. AT&T
    7. Blizzard Entertainment
    8. Cisco
    9. Dell
    10. Facebook
    11. Flex
    12. General Motors
    13. Google
    14. Home Depot
    15. HP
    16. IBM
    17. Intel
    18. Microsoft
    19. NXP Semiconductors
    20. Oracle
    21. PayPal
    22. Samsung Semiconductor Inc.
    23. Tableau Software
    24. Visa
    25. VMware
    26. Walmart
    27. Whole Foods Market
    28. YETI