Startup Houston

I have had several people around town ask me about this event and whether they should attend. First off, an overview of the event form the ACG Texas site:

“The Texas ACG Capital Connection is the largest and most significant private equity event in Texas and the Southwest. This national conference is one of the largest in the country and brings 80 of the nation’s leading private equity and mezzanine firms to Texas representing more than $90 billion of capital available for investment. The event enables business owners, executives, intermediaries and other service providers in the Southwest to network with the nations leading sources of private equity and debt capital.

“The conference, hosted by the Association for Corporate Growth (ACG) chapters in Houston, Dallas/Fort Worth, Austin and Louisiana, will offer the perspectives of top business leaders on the critical issues impacting M&A, financing, and the economic outlook for domestic and international companies.”

I plan on being at this event for several reasons, foremost being that this is what I do for a living. You should make a point of going if you meet the following criteria:

• You are in the business of capital raising for client companies (this is me);
• You are with a company looking for either private equity or mezzanine financing for your mature business; or
• You are an investor or source of capital (this is also me).

Make no mistake, private equity is NOT venture capital, angel capital or seed funding; neither is mezzanine capital. This conference is geared towards insiders and non-startups. Therefore, if you are a startup looking for capital, this conference will likely not be a worthwhile day of your time, unless you are a networking nut and like to wear suits for fun.

Don’t get me wrong, this is an amazing event and Houston will be an awesome host for the day. The lunchtime keynote speaker will be Ed Whitacre, former CEO and Chairman of SBC (now AT&T) and my former boss (I am going to see if he remembers me but I am not hopeful since it has been almost 13 years since I had a meaningful conversation with him). I also expect to see plenty of old friends and catch up.

Hope this helps. Let me know if you want me to do a primer on the various types and stages of private equity.

Our good friends at the Houston Interactive Marketing Association (HiMA) will be hosting a panel discussion February 21, 2008 on the myths and realities about Hispanics, demographic and cultural aspects of the Latino community, as well as offer tips about how to succeed in this untapped market. Panelists include:

• Manuel Delgado, CEO, Agua Marketing
  From Mass Marketing to Más Marketing
• Anne Howard, Director Interactive Marketing, Lopez Negrete
  Best Practices for Targeting U.S. Latinos Online

Here is an overview from HiMA on what to expect at the event:

• Get an overview of the fast growth of the Hispanic online market as well as future areas of opportunity.
• Get hard market data, useful to build the business case for Hispanic marketing initiatives.
• Learn about cultural values of Hispanics, and how can you use those values to connect with the market.
• Learn about do’s and don’ts to avoid cultural or language mishaps when communicating to Hispanics.
• Get actionable tips for attracting and retaining Hispanic customers online.

You can RSVP to the event here.