Dallas, Nov. 15, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The 3rd quarter was a record setting period for Dallas investors and early stage companies. Dallas area companies received over $274M of venture capital, exceeding VC investments made in any of the previous quarters in 2015 and 2016. With the 4th quarter still remaining, VC investments have already exceeded last year’s total.
The period was also a record quarter for Tech Wildcatters, exceeding previous quarterly, and in some cases, annual records. Tech Wildcatters is a venture capital seed fund and nationally ranked accelerator headquartered in Dallas. Established in 2009, it is the first and largest accelerator in Dallas. Tech Wildcatters is the highest ranked accelerator in Texas and ranked in the Top 10 nationally. Initially a Business-to-Business (B2B) focused accelerator (ranked #1 B2B accelerator nationally), Tech Wildcatters has expanded into Business-to-Consumer (B2C) and Business-to-Government (B2G).
Tech Wildcatters attributes this performance to its investors, mentors, entrepreneurs, and staff. Additionally, Tech Wildcatters implemented the new Gauntlet Methodology and benefited from process and organizational changes made in the first half of the year:
- Record amount of investment in startups (nearly double of previous quarters)
- Led and syndicated its first and second ever seed rounds (Selery Fulfillment and Tech EdVentures) with both rounds being oversubscribed
- Raised the most investment ever in company history. In a single quarter, raised nearly double of any previous annual total.
- Received the largest number of applications from startups and entrepreneurs
- Most selective acceptance rate of any previous class
- Highest average revenue of any previous class
“Dallas presents an undervalued opportunity for investors to get into early stage companies. The thriving economy in North Texas offers strong potential for tapping a massive consumer market, forming B2B partnerships, and attracting a talented workforce while maintaining reasonable operating costs which is critical for young companies with limited funding to make every dollar go further,” said Ricky Tejapaibul, an active investor that recently relocated from Pittsburgh to Dallas. “I see several promising companies coming through the Tech Wildcatters Gauntlet program, many of them relocated to Dallas to start or grow their businesses.”
Ricky’s background includes having worked at leading advisory and Fortune 500 companies in the areas of finance and technology. Ricky’s investment model emphasizes in discovering resilient founders at a critical juncture where he can help them develop the business model and technology in order to reach an inflection point in building a long-term scalable business, along with identifying the path for subsequent funding needs.
“Tech Wildcatters set a new high water mark in the 3rd quarter,” said Robert Brevelle, Managing Director of Tech Wildcatters. “We overachieved against key objectives, and delivered incredible value to our startups, mentors, and investors. These stellar results reflect the improvements we made across the board in our operations, staff, culture, and community. Mentor-investors such as Ricky, Deep Space Ventures, TIG Investments, and others played an instrumental role in that transition and success. It also speaks to the evolving startup ecosystem in Dallas, that is clearly opportunity rich and provides for one of the best, business-friendly environments in the country to operate and grow a company.“
At Tech Wildcatters, mentors, investors and staff work closely together to select startups for the Gauntlet accelerator program, identify their specific needs, bring the right resources to bear, and to develop with the CEO the investment and growth strategy of each startup. Mentor-investors are mentors that also invest in the Tech Wildcatters fund, as well as directly in startup companies that complete the Gauntlet. Those direct investments may be at the seed, series A, or subsequent rounds of financing.
“Beyond the capital investment, mentor-investors also invest their time, work and life experiences, and passion,” said Ricky. “Therein lies the real long-term value that truly accelerates startups in the right direction.”
“We formed TIG Investments specifically to invest in early stage tech companies,” said Steven Gehfeld, Partner at TIG Investments. “We recognized that the economic factors in Dallas allow our tech investments to go much further than other metropolitan areas on the East and West Coasts and that there was an abundance of entrepreneurs and technical talent in the area. A benefit we did not identify early on but have come to embrace is the exceptional investor network. We regularly collaborate with other investors such as Ricky, and we compare notes on investment strategies and specific deals. Unlike what we have seen in other parts of the country, investors in Dallas actively mentor, advise, and support CEOs of early stage companies.“
“I see the momentum continuing for Dallas-based companies to establish themselves on the map and gain attention from investors outside the region,” said Ricky. “Now is the time to start looking at Dallas companies if you have not done so already.”
About Tech Wildcatters
Tech Wildcatters is a global venture capital seed fund and nationally ranked startup accelerator based in Dallas, Texas. Founded in 2009 as one of the first accelerators in the world, it is consistently ranked as a top 10 accelerator. Tech Wildcatters operates a global network of entrepreneurs, mentors, subject matter experts, corporate partners, and investors and employs the performance based Gauntlet Methodology to accelerate companies and to help entrepreneurs achiever higher levels of success and impact. Tech Wildcatters invests at the pre-seed, seed, and series-A, and partners with companies to achieve long-term, strategic results to include scale, market leadership and operational excellence. For more information, visit the Tech Wildcatters website at http://www.techwildcatters.com.