Capital Factory launches to help Startups

Through my work at Houston Technology Center (http://www.houstontech.org) and Katy Dock (http://www.katydock.com), I’ve learned a lot about the Houston Startup scene and how we’re perceived regionally and throughout the business world. For the last ten years, I’ve helped promote the City of Houston as a hub for high-tech entrepreneurship and startup investment, and I think that we’re well on our way to gain the recognition that our startups have earned.

It may seem somewhat ironic that as my inaugural post to StartupHouston I’m going to talk about something that is mostly based in Austin. Austin has enjoyed a well-deserved reputation as a high-tech hub since the first dotcom boom and crash, and I’ve made it my personal and professional mission to demonstrate that the rest of Texas shares the spotlight – not by taking Austin down, but by building Houston (and Dallas and San Antonio) up.

With that said, I want to tell you about a group that I was honored to join recently, Capital Factory (http://www.capitalfactory.com/). It’s a collection of successful high-tech entrepreneurs and startup enthusiasts who are banding together to provide cash, services and most importantly, mentorship to qualified startup companies. The model for Capital Factory was originated by Paul Graham (http://www.paulgraham.com) through YCombinator (http://www.ycombinator.com) and is based on an application/acceptance policy that focuses a small amount of equity capital and a heavy dose of hands-on mentoring for a specific period of time. TechStars (http://www.techstars.org) based in Boulder, Colorado stole appropriated the model three years ago with great success (two exits to date). Capital Factory stole borrowed this model and added their own twist, by adding more advisors and services to the mix. I strongly believe that this hybrid incubator/angel organization is the future of seed stage investments and it certainly seems that way to me and some other groups have sprung up regionally like Shotput Ventures (http://www.shotputventures.com/) in Atlanta , DreamIT Ventures (http://www.dreamitventures.com/ ) in Philadelphia and Lauchbox Digital (http://www.launchboxdigital.com/) in Washington D.C. with more on the way.

This is an email I recently put out that explains Capital Factory in more detail:

Do you know any entrepreneurs who could use $20k in cash, $20k in free stuff and 20 mentors for their startup?

I need your help to get the word out to entrepreneurs about a program that may help them.

I am a mentor and investor in Capital Factory, a new seed capital and mentorship program in Austin. We’re choosing 3 startups to spend 10 weeks here to build their company. They receive $20k in cash, $20k in free stuff, and 20 successful mentors as investors. The 10 weeks end in August with a Demo Day to potential investors. It’s the mentor’s job to ensure they head in the right direction, and introduce them to potential customers and investors.

http://capitalfactory.com | twitter: @capitalfactory | facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Capital-Factory/62503086648

This is an unbeatable opportunity for a technology-based entrepreneur to get an accelerated start, especially in tough times. The reason I’m emailing you is the deadline of April 3 to apply is fast approaching. I want any entrepreneur in your network to have the opportunity to consider this program.

Could you take a few minutes to forward this to your network? Or introduce me to someone who may be interested?

If you’re on Twitter or Facebook, please update your status with:
RT @CapitalFactory get $20k in cash, $20k in free stuff, and 20 mentors to help launch your startup http://capitalfactory.com (please RT)

I appreciate your help. Think of it as rebuilding our economy one startup at a time!

The deadline for applications is Friday April 3^rd: http://www.capitalfactory.com/apply.html

Some recent press about Capital Factory:

TechCrunch: http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/03/26/capital-factory-gives-austin-its-own-startup-incubator/

Venture Beat: http://venturebeat.com/2009/03/26/capital-factorys-joshua-baer-on-incubating-startups-in-austin/

San Antonio Startups: http://www.sanantoniostartups.com/2009/03/27/san-antonio-startups-and-starups-to-be-heres-20k-in-cash-20k-in-free-stuff-and-20-mentors-for-your-startup-not-a-misprint/

If you have any questions about the program, please feel free to contact me:

Marc Nathan
mnathan – at – houstontech.org