🤧 Head and chest congestion woke me up tonight, so I thought I would share this while I have a minute. Take a quick glance at the attached. Looks like a good session at today’s Dallas Startup Week. It just so happens that one of my clients is coming in town and I am bringing her to the session to meet one of the presenters, Kevin Vela, who is also a friend and probably the top venture lawyer in Texas. Kevin did all of Mark Cuban‘s deals from Shark Tank and teaches venture law at SMU. If you are a Texas founder, you owe it to yourself to talk to him. (I have no skin in that game, just the desire to see you get great legal representation.) Whatever state you’re in, one of the things I’ve learned from the data Kevin collects and tracks on Texas startups is that you need to look at the valuations for startup companies in your state, rather than compare them with valuations across the country, which of course would include arguably inflated valuations of companies based in Silicon Valley, New York, Boston and even Austin. Have you set a valuation for your startup company? (VOTE BELOW)

Are you starting a company and thinking about getting venture capital? Last year was a down year, of course, with Silicon Valley Bank, Signature and First Republic all failing. VCs kept their powder dry. But you can see from the chart below that 2021 and 2022 had been frothy. Should you start seeking outside capital? Do you know what questions to ask yourself, so that you can retain ownership and control of your company and make your vision a reality? Is there non-dilutive capital available instead? 👇 COMMENT BELOW what your biggest concern is about raising outside capital for your young company, and take the poll on your current funding status:

Today I drive to Dallas for Dallas Startup Week. Why is this important for you guys? I'll be getting some first-hand insights into what investors are thinking and ready to allocate toward. There's a lot of really good stuff going down in Texas, including the state getting its own stock exchange in 2025. (For real.) 👇 COMMENT BELOW on what key question(s) you'd like me to find answers for related to your business.

Guys, I recorded a somewhat cringy video to say THANK YOU to you, my members. HERE it is. Be gentle. 😊