Tech in Dallas? (Austin, Howe: tech job, legal, activity)

[west_2_east]

Hi,

I was wondering if anyone knows about the startup scene in Dallas? From what it sounds like, Austin is the place to be for tech in Texas, but it seems odd to me that this is the case given that Dallas has huge companies like AT&T headquartered there, an international airport, etc. How is the tech scene in Dallas in your opinions?

[roseball123]

There are a number of tech companies in DFW area but Austin has more startups....Also, its more competitive to find a tech job in DFW area when compared to Austin. Contacts/Networking is the name of the game here.....What tech area are you looking in?

[west_2_east]

Originally Posted by roseball123

There are a number of tech companies in DFW area but Austin has more startups....Also, its more competitive to find a tech job in DFW area when compared to Austin. Contacts/Networking is the name of the game here.....What tech area are you looking in?

Well, I'm actually more on the finance side of things, but I want to specialize within tech or energy down the road. If I go with tech, I think big data, machine learning (or other AI type functions), or general software would be interesting. In my line, there are specific rules for the tech industry plus, even though we don't develop software or write any code whatsoever, you end up learning a lot about how the company and consequently the industry it operates in works. Therefore, being somewhere that's big in that area would be helpful because there's more opportunities to be a specialist and be more valuable to my company.

Plus, if and when I leave my firm, it helps to have worked with a lot of software companies so that one will snap you up for an in-house finance position

[west_2_east]

bump for more opinions?

[frenzyrider]

Startup scene in DFW is heating up really well. There is a dramatic increase in the activity compared to 5-8 years ago.

It would be helpful if you can tell us what is it that you do in finance that would be appealing to a startup in particular. For example, if you are in corporate finance / FP&A kind of roles then that is not a unique differentiator for many of them to hire you. However, if you specialize in startup finance, capital raising kind of roles then you may be important. Not to bust your bubble but for tech companies, finance is not a core competency to hire (even the B/S and P&L are pretty straight forward).

For startup's with limited resources, finance people outside a CPA or basic FP&A analyst come directly from investors. Again not a immediate need for them. The basic functions about a market/ industry outlook and technology rules generally come from consultants (hourly basis), founders themselves or from advisors recruited by the founders. I think the best bet for you is to get experience with PE/ VC firm focussed on tech startups and then try to get into one of their portfolio companies as a CFO. Outside this, it will be hard to convince your value to a startup tech firm unless you are a CPA and want to work for equity in exchange of cash. Of course, relationships matter and if you had a senior management experience then you show case your value to a startup outside finance roles. Alternatively, you can be an angel investor / friend's and family investor for a couple of startup to get some visibility. It is not that straight forward to get a job with a startup because limited resources mean people wear multiple hats. You can combine your finance experience with regulatory and legal knowledge on the industry to bring some differentiation. However, working for a financial consulting firm focussed on startups will be more viable route to enter a startup as well.

My opinion will differ for larger companies such as AT&T and others because they hire FP&A, treasury and other corporate finance roles all the time but you will not be valuable to most startup's with middle management experience not at least for equity. However, if you are a CFO or SVP in finance with very good relationships with investor community, etc then you are immediately valuable (more as an advisor to startup).

[west_2_east]

Originally Posted by frenzyrider

Startup scene in DFW is heating up really well. There is a dramatic increase in the activity compared to 5-8 years ago.

It would be helpful if you can tell us what is it that you do in finance that would be appealing to a startup in particular. For example, if you are in corporate finance / FP&A kind of roles then that is not a unique differentiator for many of them to hire you. However, if you specialize in startup finance, capital raising kind of roles then you may be important. Not to bust your bubble but for tech companies, finance is not a core competency to hire (even the B/S and P&L are pretty straight forward).

For startup's with limited resources, finance people outside a CPA or basic FP&A analyst come directly from investors. Again not a immediate need for them. The basic functions about a market/ industry outlook and technology rules generally come from consultants (hourly basis), founders themselves or from advisors recruited by the founders. I think the best bet for you is to get experience with PE/ VC firm focussed on tech startups and then try to get into one of their portfolio companies as a CFO. Outside this, it will be hard to convince your value to a startup tech firm unless you are a CPA and want to work for equity in exchange of cash. Of course, relationships matter and if you had a senior management experience then you show case your value to a startup outside finance roles. Alternatively, you can be an angel investor / friend's and family investor for a couple of startup to get some visibility. It is not that straight forward to get a job with a startup because limited resources mean people wear multiple hats. You can combine your finance experience with regulatory and legal knowledge on the industry to bring some differentiation. However, working for a financial consulting firm focussed on startups will be more viable route to enter a startup as well.

My opinion will differ for larger companies such as AT&T and others because they hire FP&A, treasury and other corporate finance roles all the time but you will not be valuable to most startup's with middle management experience not at least for equity. However, if you are a CFO or SVP in finance with very good relationships with investor community, etc then you are immediately valuable (more as an advisor to startup).

I am working toward my CPA and am looking at doing FP&A at a company. Besides startups, I'm also just interested in tech in general. I wouldn't be opposed to working for an AT&T type of company in finance, since, as you mentioned, it IS hard to work for a startup on the finance side without being a programmer.

Even for mature companies, hwoever, Austin seems to have a better rep for whatever reason. I'm trying to gauge if Dallas has a lot to offer as well.