Dallas Startup Week

Dallas Startup Week
Name	Dallas Startup Week
Founded	2012
Location	Dallas, Texas, United States
Founders	TechFW; Dallas Entrepreneur Center; Dallas Economic Development
Area served	Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex
Events	annual multi-day festival

Dallas Startup Week

Dallas Startup Week is an annual multi-day festival in Dallas, Texas that convenes entrepreneurs, investors, corporations, accelerators, incubators, universities, and civic organizations to support startup formation and innovation. The event brings together stakeholders from technology hubs, venture capital networks, corporate innovation arms, and nonprofit entrepreneurship initiatives across the United States. Over successive editions the festival has attracted regional startup ecosystems, national accelerator programs, and international delegations seeking collaboration in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex.

History

Dallas Startup Week emerged amid a broader trend of regional startup festivals such as SXSW, TechCrunch Disrupt, Collision (conference), South by Southwest, and Startup Grind Global Conference. Founding partners included local entities like TechFW, Dallas Entrepreneur Center, Dallas Economic Development, and institutions such as University of Texas at Dallas, Southern Methodist University, and Dallas Fort Worth International Airport stakeholders. Early programming featured ties to accelerators like MassChallenge, Techstars, and Y Combinator alumni networks and showcased startups that later engaged with firms such as Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Facebook, and Apple. Over time the festival intersected with initiatives led by Dallas Innovation Alliance, Perot Museum of Nature and Science, and municipal offices including the City of Dallas Office of Economic Development. Partnerships with organizations like Greater Dallas Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Dallas Black Chamber of Commerce, Women's Business Council, and National Science Foundation grant programs influenced early inclusion efforts. The event expanded alongside regional projects such as The DEC, Factory Six03, The Joule, and redevelopment of Deep Ellum.

Organization and Structure

The festival is organized by a coalition of civic, corporate, and nonprofit stakeholders including accelerator programs like Capital Factory, Plug and Play Tech Center, and local coworking operators such as WeWork and Commons Club. Governance has involved advisory boards with representatives from Plano Chamber of Commerce, Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce, Dallas Regional Chamber, North Texas Commission, and corporate innovation teams at AT&T, Southwest Airlines, Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase, and ExxonMobil. Programming logistics coordinate venues across nodes like Mockingbird Station, Klyde Warren Park, Bishop Arts District, Uptown Dallas, and campuses of Dallas College and Baylor Scott & White Health facilities. Sponsorship tiers have included venture funds such as Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Bessemer Venture Partners, and family offices like Perot Jain groups, alongside community partners like Techstars Dallas, Startup Weekend, and philanthropic organizations such as The Moody Foundation.

Events and Programming

Typical programming blends pitch competitions, investor office hours, mentor clinics, and themed tracks hosted by partners like VentureBeat, Forbes, Crunchbase, and Inc. (magazine). Signature events have included pitch stages modeled on Shark Tank (U.S. TV series) formats, demo days tied to 500 Startups, and vertical-specific summits focused on fintech with participants from Dallas Fed, healthtech with collaborators like UT Southwestern Medical Center, energytech featuring Energy Central, and mobility with Lyft and Uber. Workshops draw representatives from legal practices like Jones Day, accounting firms such as Deloitte, marketing partners like HubSpot, and cloud providers Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform. Ancillary programming has incorporated hackathons in partnership with Major League Soccer expansion efforts, social impact tracks with United Way of Metropolitan Dallas, and international delegation showcases involving Consulate General of Japan in Houston and trade missions linked to U.S. Commercial Service.

Participants and Attendance

Attendees range from seed-stage founders and bootstrapped teams to corporate intrapreneurs and university researchers affiliated with SMU Cox School of Business, UT Dallas Naveen Jindal School of Management, Southern Methodist University, and Texas A&M University-Commerce. Investors include angel networks like Keiretsu Forum, syndicates hosted on AngelList, family offices, and institutional investors such as Goldman Sachs, BlackRock, and RBC Capital Markets. Media coverage has come from outlets like The Dallas Morning News, D Magazine, Bloomberg, CNBC, and The Wall Street Journal. Attendance metrics have varied by year, with thousands of participants including startup founders who later entered programs at Imagine K12, Matter, Health Wildcatters, and corporate partners that include State Farm and American Airlines.

Impact and Economic Significance

The festival has been credited with strengthening links among regional ecosystems including Richardson (Texas), Plano, Texas, Irving, Texas, and Fort Worth, Texas. Economic impact assessments cite job creation tied to startups that graduated into accelerator programs such as Plug and Play, increased venture deployment from firms like Next Coast Ventures, and corporate venturing activity by Toyota Research Institute and Samsung NEXT. Collaboration with workforce development efforts at institutions like Dallas College Mountain View Campus, Workforce Solutions Greater Dallas, and nonprofit incubators such as Venture Dallas has been noted. Real estate and urban development projects in Deep Ellum and Design District, Dallas have seen ancillary benefits through new coworking and lab space funded by investors including Crescent Real Estate and JLL Americas.

Notable Speakers and Alumni

Speakers and alumni have included executives and founders associated with Elon Musk-led ventures, alumni from Y Combinator and Techstars cohorts, corporate innovation leaders from AT&T Foundry, American Airlines Innovation Lab, and startup founders who later scaled companies that engaged with Microsoft for Startups, Google for Startups, Salesforce Ventures, and Oracle for Startups. Panelists have featured leaders from Dallas Mavericks ownership circles, nonprofit founders linked to TechSoup Global, and venture partners from firms like Union Square Ventures and NEA (New Enterprise Associates). Alumni startups have progressed to partnerships or exits involving Oracle Corporation, Cisco Systems, Intel Corporation, Nvidia, and strategic acquirers in the energy and healthcare sectors.

Category:Events in Dallas Category:Startup conferences Category:Economy of Dallas–Fort Worth