Dallas is primed for startup growth from ideation to IPO, but entrepreneurs need to be more aware of local resources available to them, said a former Mark Cuban Companies executive and current leader of a major multifamily office.
As Dallas Startup Week gears up for its seventh annual conference to advise and connect local entrepreneurs and investors, longtime startup manager Abe Minkara is slated to headline the event.
The North Texas startup community should find more ways to connect, Minkara said. Businesses don’t need to move to San Francisco or New York — or even Austin — he added because Dallas is a hotspot for capital, mentorship and expertise.
“I think there's still a lot of opportunity to stay here and engage with investors and mentors and business leaders,” Minkara said in an interview with Dallas Business Journal. “Hopefully we can have the next unicorn. Not just founded, but really from ideation all the way to a growth stage where it can IPO, all in Dallas.”
Minkara has experience as managing director at Mark Cuban Companies, where he oversaw the portfolio of companies acquired on Shark Tank, and currently serves as a founding partner at multi-family office Legacy Knight.
Dallas Startup Week is slated to include speakers such as Minkara, Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson and Match Group CEO Shar Dubey and will be heldfrom Aug. 1 to Aug. 5, hosted by Southern Methodist University Cox School of Business and Capital One.
Here’s what else Minkara said about Dallas’ entrepreneur and investing community:
What's going to be your message at Dallas Startup Week?
I think there's a lot of opportunity to become an entrepreneur in Dallas right now. Obviously, there's still a lot of capital out there. Creating the ecosystem in Dallas for entrepreneurs has always been a goal for many organizations. I still think that there's a gap there. You’ll hear, “It’s Dallas versus Austin, and Austin has more of an ecosystem.” I think Dallas has a lot more to offer. We just need to connect the dots.
I think there are more accelerators, there are more angel investor networks, there are more VCs playing in the space, obviously nothing to compare with New York or San Francisco or even Austin, but we're getting there. (Dallas entrepreneurs) don't have to start a business and then go to Silicon Valley to raise money, which used to be the formula.
You mentioned connecting the dots. What does it take to do that? What does that mean?
I think at every level, at every stage of growth for a business, you have certain needs. If you're just starting a business, a lot of angel network groups and accelerators, they really help you engage with peers, and then engage with mentors, engage with growth-stage investors. There's a lot of learning that has to be there to help entrepreneurs really navigate through the challenges of starting a business from scratch.
You'll be amazed how many great people out there with a lot of experience are willing to help and advise, without really asking for anything. You just need to find the right people, and ask nicely, pretty much. If they like what you're doing, they see the spark in your eyes, and they see you as an individual who can take that vision and execute it strategically, then you've got everyone lining up to be part of your next journey.
So I think that's at an early stage. And then as things evolve, you need to find things that are more strategic for your business, obviously, you're going to need a different level of investor for growth capital, you need to also connect with industry partners. And I think North Texas and Texas in general, has a lot of corporate groups, in addition to kind of medium- to large-sized businesses that could really support a lot of Dallas-based companies in terms of just helping them create traction, access them and provide value as the client.
