附近上门

When you step into the doors of , the energy is just what you鈥檇 expect from a place that calls itself the “Center of Gravity” for entrepreneurs in Texas.

Capital Factory鈥檚 vibe is hip and cool yet warm and welcoming. It鈥檚 colorful without being over the top. The 60,000 square foot space sports a Star Wars floor, a live music floor, and murals of Willie Nelson and David Bowie鈥攁 testament to its home city鈥檚 moniker of being the 鈥渓ive music capital of the world.鈥� There are also secret conference rooms hidden behind bookcases, a virtual reality lab, and animated and concentrated faces everywhere you turn.

Capital Factory has come a long way since it was first founded in 2009. At the time, the city鈥檚 startup scene was growing, and Capital Factory鈥檚 three-month accelerator program (modeled after and ) was one of the first of its kind to be offered in Austin.

Fast forward to 2018, and Capital Factory now offers a year-round 鈥渃ommunity鈥� and program, said co-founder and Executive Director . And that鈥檚 putting it lightly. In 2017, Capital Factory hosted 1,348 events with 126,532 attendees. Last year, 2,416 members and 1,480 startups called Capital Factory home. One-quarter of those members were women, and 30 percent are of diverse backgrounds. It has also 鈥渞eally expanded by order of magnitude the number of companies鈥� it works with, according to Baer.

From Humble Beginnings To Large Impact

From 2009 to 2011, Capital Factory worked with just five companies per year. In 2012, that number was up to 50. Now, in 2018, Capital Factory is working with more than 100 startups. In total, about 250 companies have gone through its program.

Along the way, it also became one of the state鈥檚 most active investors through a separate early-stage fund that put money in 53 different deals last year. Half the startups it has invested in are racially diverse. Other accelerators might take 6 to 10 percent equity in exchange for a startup participating in its program, but Capital Factory takes one percent equity and under the agreement it鈥檚 allowed to invest in the first round of funding the startup may go on to raise..

鈥淲hile other entities鈥� have had a large impact on the startup community, Capital Factory and Joshua Baer have connected more people to more startups than any other organization in recent memory,鈥� said Marc Nathan, VP of Client Strategy at Egan Nelson, LLP & publisher of the . 鈥淚t鈥檚 clear they are driving force for the Texas startup region.鈥�

Capital Factory鈥檚 strength lies in its ability to build bridges among startups, funding sources, corporate partners, and government agencies to the benefit of all, according to Nathan. Last year, the organization expanded its mentor and venture fund across the state under the banner of the .

Also impressive is Baer鈥檚 humility. When you talk to the leader of Capital Factory, it鈥檚 clear that he is working from a passion and sincere belief in the region鈥檚 startup ecosystem. He hesitates to call himself the founder, emphasizing that he co-shares that title with many others including Capital Factory Director and .

鈥淲e鈥檙e really focused on accelerating鈥攕uch as taking something that is starting to work and helping to make it work faster by doing things like introducing a company to its first investors, customers and mentors and in some cases, its first employees. This big networking space and community is a magnet that attracts all those resources,鈥� he told 附近上门 News.

And the accelerator just continues to grow. Next month, Capital Factory 26,000 square feet of co-working space a few hours away in Dallas. Later this year, it鈥檚 opening another 15,000 square feet in Austin鈥檚 east side at the new .

鈥淭raditionally, we鈥檝e been focused on just Austin geographically,鈥� Baer said. 鈥淏ut now we鈥檝e expanded to working with companies based all over Texas because we think the state is an incredible opportunity. It鈥檚 so unique because it鈥檚 home to four of the largest cities in the country, that also happen to be four of the fastest-growing cities with top tech hubs, all within a day鈥檚 driving distance of each other.鈥�

Capital Factory鈥檚 vision is to connect people from all four cities together and move them around. It wants to expose startups to the big companies, and the big companies to the startups.

鈥淚f you鈥檙e a startup and not going to Dallas to sell to big companies, you鈥檙e missing out,鈥� Baer said. 鈥淎nd there鈥檚 a lot of old oil and real estate money in Dallas and Houston that can be invested elsewhere. No matter where a company is in the state, it shouldn鈥檛 think of another city as really far away but as a resource that it can tap into. We want to treat the four cities not as separate places but as one big city.鈥�

Fostering Success

In its nine-year history, Capital Factory has seen a number of success stories.

Self-storage software startup was one of the original companies that went through the Capital Factory accelerator program. It recently announced a significant liquidity event when Boston private equity firm in the startup. (Disclosure: I am a for SpareFoot.)

SpareFoot鈥檚 co-founders and had just graduated from UCLA in 2009 when they decided to move to Austin and go through the Capital Factory program. Capital Factory, according to Baer, helped the pair come up with a name for the company, figure out their business model, and introduce them to mentors and investors such as .

鈥淭he company is still going and growing,鈥� Baer said. 鈥淎s the first and early investors, it鈥檚 been a good outcome for us and everyone involved.鈥�

, general partner of Austin-based , agrees.

鈥淪pareFoot was a great example of not only us working together, but of putting Capital Factory on the map as well,鈥� Flager said. 鈥淭hey dropped everything and came to Austin to participate in the first class and had a great experience.鈥�

Another company, WordPress host WPEngine, was introduced to Silverton via Capital Factory. WPEngine recently announced a $250 million private equity investment by Silver Lake Partners.

鈥淲P Engine was actually officing in Capital Factory Space, and Josh was instrumental in terms of getting that company started,鈥� Flager said. 鈥淭hen we did two early investments in that company as well.鈥�

When Capital Factory first launched in 2009, it filled a gap in the early-stage venture ecosystem in Austin, noted Flager. It offered entrepreneurs the benefit of working in close proximity to鈥攁nd sharing best practices with鈥攐ther people with similar challenges.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 really important for early-stage companies,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd it gives us a great avenue to observe companies as we serve as advisors and mentors.鈥�

In general, Flager believes Capital Factory helped create a positive environment for early entrepreneurs.

鈥淭hey deserve a lot of credit for really helping get the ball rolling in terms of making Austin a really interesting place to start a company,鈥� he said.

Mobile-first education platform is another Capital Factory company that Silverton invested in that has grown significantly over the years.

Aceable Founder entered into Capital Factory鈥檚 program in 2013 and it was through Capital Factory mentors and potential investors that he realized he needed to switch gears on his early ideas.

The company focuses on mobile-first education that relates to licensure or continuing education. It developed the state-approved driver鈥檚 education mobile app, and it recently expanded into real estate education.

鈥淲hen I entered Capital Factory, I was making trivia games mobile for nonfiction books and training material,鈥� Garrett recalled. 鈥淏ut when a mentor told me I was on the wrong track, I initially was discouraged. But he told me the idea of education on mobile devices with gamification and social mechanics actually made a lot of sense, and that I just needed to do it for things people had to learn.鈥�

It was advice that proved fruitful.

Aceable has since raised about $8.7 million in funding from investors such as Silverton and . The startup now has 82 employees and more than 500,000 people have used its app.

Besides the access to valuable mentorship and an introduction to investors, Garrett credits Capital Factory for making him 鈥渉ustle.鈥�

鈥淚 would say what鈥檚 different about Capital Factory compared to other programs is that what you put into [it] is directly proportional to what you get out of it,鈥� he said. 鈥淚n business in general, the only reason you鈥檙e successful is if you鈥檙e willing to outwork and out-hustle other people. Capital Factory exposes you to all the necessary resources, but it doesn鈥檛 do all the work for you. And that鈥檚 a good thing.鈥�

As Capital Factory continues to grow, there鈥檚 no doubt that hundreds of more startups will benefit from all it has to offer. Here鈥檚 to hoping that other accelerators around the country will learn from Capital Factory鈥檚 strengths and successes and use the organization as a model for their own programs.

Featured image credit: Capital Factory