Startup Houston

Most of my posts are pretty specific. I hope everyone grants me a little liberty for today.

BarCamp was a tipping point for the technology startup community in the Greater Houston area.

There, I said it. Now it is up to all of us to prove it.

We all know that the reason that Houston does not have the street cred for tech startups is not because it is not potent; it is because it gets drowned out in all the noise:

• The noise that oil prices make.
• The noise that natural gas prices make.
• The noise that the Bay Area Web 2.0 community makes (pick your own link here).
• The noise that Enron still makes.
• The noise that the credit markets are making.

Saturday I saw zCubes for the first time and was blown away but what they have developed. I met with the next generation of web developers to come from College Station in BuildingProcess.com. I met the Long Tail in person with a huge niche in Texas with Lone Star Gridiron.

There were media representatives there to mark the occasion. In attendance were advocates galore. Hell, there were even geeks in lab coats.

With all of that hoopla, BarCamp will not create a tech startup community presence. You will.

Make sure you talk up the buzz. Don’t take no for the first or even second answer. Be collaborative when you talk shop with another fellow entrepreneur. Listen to legal counsel but make sure that it doesn’t define your business. Show up to an OpenCoffee event even if you hate waking up early or don’t touch caffeine. Learn about the Rice Alliance and Houston Technology Center. Tell an angel or VC that they are evil after you take their check.

Kurt and I will be there for you every step of the way. We want you to succeed more that you will ever know or understand. This is our passion and you are the play.

Now, let’s get started!

P.S. This rant is brought to you by the makers of Startup Houston.