Texas-Squared Startup Newsletter #226

Texas Startup News, Opinion & Events in the Lone StartUP State
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Looking Back on 2019, Looking Forward to 2020

Now that we’re wrapping up another year, the next few days will be spent reflecting on the last twelve months, and contemplating what 2020 will bring.

In most conversations, almost every entrepreneur and investor I’ve spoken with are wildly optimistic about their own prospects (a common trait presented by all of those who have caught Startup Fever). New companies are growing and new funds are being deployed at a healthy clip. The Texas Startup ecosystem is clearly maturing and gaining prominence as a premier business destination.

Like most people, I am still very bullish on the Tech space with cloud-based business productivity software, cybersecurity, and fintech leading the pack here in Texas. I am particularly excited to see the rise of serious interest in Consumer Packaged Goods and especially the sub-category of Direct to Consumer (DTC) which I believe is the bridge between tech and CPG startups.

As I flip from ‘Week 52’ to ‘Week 1’ again, I begin the sixth year of assembling the Texas-Squared Startup Newsletter and its sister publication, the Texas-Boxed CPG Newsletter. I want to thank you for your readership and support with special recognition to José Ancer and my colleagues at our startup-focused law firm, Egan Nelson.

All I ask is that you please continue making startup news (and sending it to me to publish) and I appreciate you sharing this resource with your friends and colleagues.

Wishing you a Happy, Healthy, and most of all, Prosperous New Year!

Sincerely,

Marc Nathan

TeXchange Austin
Funding Your Revenue: Beyond VC and PE
Thursday, January 16, 2020 from 11:30 AM to 1:00 PM (CST)
Capital Factory
701 Brazos Street Austin, TX 78701
REGISTER 50% off promo code: tsquared

Kick off your best year in business yet by coming to the Grow Your Business 2020 Conference on Jan 18th, in Austin TX. Experts will be speaking on Managing Business Finances, Growth Ideas, and Streamlining Operations.

Grow Your Business 2020: Micro-Conference For Founders & Creators
Saturday, January 18, 2020 9:30 AM — 4:30 PM CST
Austin Fine Properties
1201 Baylor Street Austin, TX 78703
REGISTER — 25% off Discount Code — tsquared

• Exits: The Top Austin Startup Acquisitions of 2019 — Link
• Setting a New Bar: The Top Austin Startup Funding Rounds of 2019 — Link
  - Austin Inno’s Brett Wistrom — Subscribe Here
• Smart devices could soon be standardized, thanks to an unlikely team up — Link
• How USMCA is different than NAFTA and if/when it will finally be passed — Link
• MLMs can be dangerous; this podcast explains the schemes — Link
• 12 inspirational quotes for a successful 2020 — Link
• Facial Recognition thinks you might be a toaster, really — Link
• Alfred: Hologram AI takes digital assisting to the next level — Link
• Tweets heard world wide: Twitter’s biggest trends of 2019 — Link
• Entrepreneurs thrive because they are easily distracted?! — Link
• Genetic testing for Apple employees… cool or creepy? — Link
• Facebook’s new operating system is totally going to ‘fix’ everything — Link
  - American Genius
• Welcome Aboard: These Austin Companies Added New Execs in December — Link
• Weekly Refresh: SecureLink Expands its Executive Team and Ender Gains… — Link
  - BuiltinAustin
• M&A wrap: Deals for A Cloud Guru, Trilogy Enterprises — Link
• Former Pei Wei CEO now leading Central Texas company — Link
• Austin airport adds tech, spaces to ease parking crunch — Link
• In the money Dec. 23: $13M raised — Link
• Reporter’s picks: Austin’s biggest economic development stories of 2019 — Link
• ABJ’s most-read economic development stories of 2019 — Link
  - Austin Business Journal
• Leggett: Austin’s Eppright sets sights on top-drive electric hunting car market — Link
• Austin’s 2019 in business: More calm, some cooling — Link
• Which majors make money? New Texas law aims to let college applicants know — Link
• Sweet technology: Silicon Labs employees whip up some high-tech gingerbread creations — Link
• Report: Dell may buy rest of cybersecurity company Secureworks — Link
• Austin insurance startup the Zebra closing year with $38.5 million funding — Link
  - Austin American-Statesman

SAN ANTONIO

• Biggest San Antonio Tech Wins of 2019 — Link
• Why Use Simple Language — Link
  - Geekdom Funds’ Michael Girdley
• Looking back at the retailers that closed stores in 2019 — Link
  - San Antonio Express-News
• Where I Live: 2019 in Review — Link
• TechTonics: Rick Morris Tackles Alzheimer’s with Digital Health Startup — Link
• Amazon Gig Workers in San Antonio Power Packages Through Last Mile — Link
• Businessman Bill Greehey Promotes ‘Servant Leadership’ Through $1M Gift to St. Mary’s — Link
  - The Rivard Report
• A year in events: SABJ’s people and companies highlighted in 2019 — Link
• GUEST COLUMN: Marketing trends in the new year — Link
• Local agricultural tech company names new executive — Link
• How local public companies handles the market slump in 2019 — Link
• Rackspace’s chief technology officer provides his 2020 predictions — Link
• Executive Q&A: BioMed SA president shares parting thoughts — Link
• SA wireless company offers 5G technology to cable operators — Link
• Executive Q&A: John Gallagher, CEO, Element SaaS Finance — Link
• Alamo 1 solar farm gets performance upgrade — Link
• Local drone operator sees spike in pipeline inspections — Link
  - San Antonio Business Journal

• IoT America and the University of North Texas Announce Collaboration to Strengthen Innovation Outcomes — Link
• DFW Exits: The Top Startup Acquisitions NTX Inno Covered in 2019 — Link
• Common Desk to Open One of the First Coworking Spaces in DFW of 2020 — Link
• Prime Players: The Top Startup Hirings in DFW of 2019 — Link
• The Top Startup Funding Rounds for North Texas in 2019 — Link
  - NTXInno’s Kevin Cummings
• Arlington’s Short-Term Rental Property Owners Get Ugly — Link
• The 10 Happiest Moments in Dallas Culture for 2019 — Link
• Food Sisters: Local Nonprofit Catering Company Gives Refugees a Hand Up — Link
  - Dallas Observer
• D CEO Editors Wrap Up the Year In Business — Link
• D Magazine Editors on Their Favorite Stories of 2019 and the Decade — Link
  - D Magazine
• Former CIA, Special Ops agents run Dallas nonprofit investigating online sex sales — Link
• 20 North Texas startups to watch in 2020 — Link
• DBJ 2019 events year in review: Minority Business Leaders, 40 Under 40 and Best Real Estate Deals — Link
• DFW company wants to change education for students of color — Link
• This Frisco party box startup looks to create moments and memories — Link
• Four areas in DFW poised for big changes in 2020 — Link
• Dallas firm bringing AI smarts to wound exams closer to key launch after $92M contract — Link
• Amazon may build massive distribution center outside Austin — Link
• DFW Raytheon exec talks transition from engineering to leadership — Link
• Texas business leaders feel a bull year coming on — Link
• Here are the most popular Lyft destinations in North Texas — Link
• This Addison startup looks to be the ‘eHarmony of health care’ — Link
• The Richards Group founder shares succession plan — Link
  - Dallas Business Journal

• The Latest Changes in VC Deal Terms — Avoiding The Valuation Death Spiral — Kirk Coburn — Link
  - Kirk Coburn
• Houston area drone company revolutionizes the agriculture industry — Link
• Here’s how much Houston’s household income grew over past decade — Link
• Overheard: Experts weigh in on the future of the workforce in Houston — Link
• 5 most popular innovation stories in Houston this week — Link
• Here’s what you need to know if you’re raising a seed round in Texas — Link
• These were Houston’s top impact innovation stories this year — Link
• 3 innovative research projects coming out of the University of Houston — Link
• Editor’s picks: 5 best Houston innovation interviews of 2019 — Link
• Texas needs to stay innovative, says this nonprofit leader — Link
• Here were Houston’s top 5 tech innovation stories of 2019 — Link
• Houston area sees more new apartments than almost any other city — Link
• 3 Houston innovators to know this week — Link
  - InnovationMap’s Natalie Harms / Culture Map Houston
• Year in Review: Coworking booms in Houston in 2019 — Link
• Year In Review: Houston adjusts to slowing economy, job growth in 2019 — Link
• Year in Review: These were the largest IPOs by Houston companies in 2019 — Link
• 3 Texas Medical Center officials depart in recent weeks — Link
• Photos: These notable Houston restaurants opened in 2019 — LinkHere’s how much employees typically spend on gifts for co-workers, bosses — Link
• Here are the gifts young executives are giving to others this year — Link
• Houston billionaire’s restaurant co. wins bid for Houlihan’s assets; final price may fall — Link
• Displaced in space: Boeing, NASA hopeful despite Starliner’s complications — Link
  - Houston Business Journal
• SnapStream Media tunes into customer needs as it expands — Link
• Here are the 10 most-influential technologies of the decade — Link
• The Woodlands-based Othram applies DNA sequencing to aid investigations — Link
• UH professor harnesses the itty-bitty to make a big impact — Link
  - The Houston Chronicle’s Andrea Lienfelder / Techburger Blog
• Three Key Elements for Effective Listening — Link
• Three Keys for Personal Success — Link
  - McCallen Chamber of Commerce

• Here’s what you need to know if you’re raising a seed round in Texas — Innovation Map Houston Guest Columnist José Ancer — Link
• Hatch Pitch Summit 2020 — Apply
• OFFICIAL CES Curated Events + Parties List (YKC Media) — Link
• A highly subjective list of some of this year’s notable young startups -TechCrunch — Link
• Best Stories Of The Decade: “Silicon Valley’s Hottest VC Is a Rug Dealer” — Forbes — Link
• Ten Predictions for the 2020s — Alex Danco — Link
• Clueless Founders Don’t Get Funded — James Shomar — Link
• v3 Terms — Bryce Roberts — Link
• 7 Female Founders You Should Have on Your Radar in 2020 — Jenna Kutcher — Link
• Working for a startup makes less sense — Zain Amro — Link
• Biggest in the World: Global Crowdfunding Platform OurCrowd Expects 20,000 Registrants at Forthcoming Investor Summit — Link
• Mature workers are stepping up to segue into high-tech careers — NY Post’s Hailey Eber — Link
• The Campus Innovation Myth — The Chronicle’s Matthew Wisnioski and Lee Vinsel — Link
• Eight Lessons from the Distributed Podcast So Far — Cole Stryker — Link
• Ask Your Old Employer to Be Your First Freelance Client — Karin A. R. Taglang — Link
• What’s it like to bootstrap a business before it can financially support you? — Indie Hacker’s Channing Allen — Link
• Everything and Nothing Is a Tech Company Now — Wired’s Paris Martineau — Link
• Blog Diet: A Starter List For Your RSS Reader — Warren Ellis — Link
• I coached 101 CEOs, founders, VCs and other executives in 2019: These are the biggest takeaways — Leo Widrich — Link
• 12 Proactive Actions Employees Can Take To Sharpen Skills Outside of Work — Forbes — Link
• My Top 6 Proudest CEO Moments of 2019 — Kara Goldin — Link

Tech Events Network: Austin | Dallas | Houston | San Antonio

INNOVATING TEXAS
Commercializing Texas Research
Tuesday, January 7th — 9th 2020
Fairmont Dallas
1717 N Akard Street Dallas, TX 75201
Http://TAMEST.org

Austin Technology Council Presents
Women In Tech: Negotiating Your Salary
Tuesday, January 7, 2020 07:30 AM — 09:00 AM
Calavista
3700 N Capital of Texas Hwy #450, Austin, TX 78746
REGISTER

Story Marketing: Your Message is in Your Mess
Thursday, January 9, 2020 6:00 PM — 8:00 PM CST
The Riveter Austin
1145 West 5th Street Austin, TX 78703
REGISTER

Austin Fast Start: Consumer Packaged Goods Pitch Event
January 9, 2020 5:30 PM — 7:00 PM (CST)
H-E-B and Favor Eastside Tech Hub
2416 E 6th St, Austin, TX, 78702, United States
REGISTER

Capital Factory Roadshow at DreamWeek with Accenture
Tuesday, January 14, 2020 12:00 PM — 4:45 PM CST
Accenture
6415 Babcock Suite 100 San Antonio, Texas 78249
REGISTER

Houston Day of Code
Saturday, January 18, 2020 9:00 AM — 5:00 PM CST
Improving
10111 Richmond Avenue #Suite 100 Houston, TX 77042
REGISTER

AustinInno’s State of Innovation: Startups To Watch 2020
Thursday January 30, 2020 4:00pm — 6:30pm
Hotel ZaZa Austin
400 Lavaca Street Austin, TX 78701
REGISTER
Top Tech Trends for 2020 (And Beyond)
The Austin Forum on Technology & Society
Tuesday, January 7, 2020 6:15 PM — 7:30 PM CST
Austin Central Library
710 West Cesar Chavez Street Austin, TX 78701
REGISTER

Get It Together: Gain Compentency as a Startup Founder (ONLINE)
Hosted by Ada Ryland Consulting
Friday, January 10, 2020 at 9 AM — 12 PM
Impact Hub Austin
411 W. Monroe Street, Austin, Texas 78704
REGISTER

WORK: A Conference For Creatives And Entrepreneurs
Hosted by BossBabes ATX
Saturday, January 11, 2020 at 9:30 AM — 6 PM
Robert B. Rowling Hall
300 Martin Luther King Blvd W, Austin, Texas 78701
REGISTER

Bunker Connect Austin: A Community of Resources for New Year’s Resolutions
Monday, January 13, 2020 5:00 PM — 7:00 PM CST
Capital Factory
701 Brazos Street Voltron, 1st Floor Austin, TX 78701
REGISTER

xTech 3.0 Accelerator — Defense Innovation Ecosystem Immersion Day
by FedTech
Thursday, January 16, 2020 1:00 PM — 8:00 PM CST
Capital Factory
701 Brazos Street Austin Texas 78701
REGISTER

MassChallenge Texas in Austin Launch 2020
Wednesday, January 29, 2020 5:30 PM — 7:30 PM CST
South Congress Hotel
1603 South Congress Avenue Austin, TX 78704
REGISTER

Copyright © 2019 T-Squared Agency, All rights reserved.
This newsletter is about news and opinions about Texas Startups.

Special thanks to Keith Dudley of BrandNew Marketing for design support

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