DALLAS DENVER FIG. 10 Dallas seed- and early-stage VC deal activity Denver's startup ecosystem has grown and developed 87 tremendously even in the past five years. We see it across 74 the board: Founders choosing to build their businesses here 40 68 64 in the city, VCs putting down roots in the region, incredible .7 63 61 59 talent relocating here from across the country, and professional 5 48 52 51 services firms growing their teams locally. On top of the many 9 3 success stories that fuel excitement and growth in our city, we $ .0 3 5 9 . 5 0. 0 have a wonderfully supportive startup and founder community, 0 51 7. 5 . 4 2 5 . 4 which is both impressive and accessible. 3 4 2 1 . .0 $ $ . 3 3 . 25 9 0 8 $ $ 22 2 4 5 2 24 $ 1 $ 0 6 $1 $ , , $1 $1 CRISTINA DEVITO 1 3 4 7 8 * CFO & CSO at Havenly 1 2 1 1 5 6 1 9 1 1 1 1 1 1 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 02 2 FIG. 11 Denver seed- and early-stage VC deal activity Deal value ($M) Deal count 184 Source: PitchBook | Geography: Dallas 153 158 160 *As of September 1, 2021 120 122 128 112 126 eed- and early-stage activity has surged in Dallas in recent 95 96 years. Last year was a record for deal volume, with 87 seed- 3 Sand early-stage rounds worth a combined $1.0 billion. 2021 has 7. 8 already surpassed that dollar value, with $1.7 billion invested through 2 9 9 $ 0 3 3 3 . 5 8 4 9 . . early September. A decade ago, in 2011, only 33 seed and early- 4. 5. . . . 2. 6 6. 02 4 1 0 3 3 8 5 70 13 stage rounds were raised worth a combined $395.7 million. The chart 4 3 3 41 51 61 6 , 1 above shows an unmistakable increase in startup activity, and two $ $ $ $ $ $ $6 $9 $ $ consecutive years above the $1 billion mark bodes well going forward. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 * 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 20 1 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 02 2 Dallas startups have tended to be overlooked. That is changing, Deal value ($M) Deal count with a visible upswing in local VC investments and a record Source: PitchBook | Geography: Denver 2020. Still, there’s plenty of room for improvement. That’s *As of September 1, 2021 why Dallas mayor Eric Johnson spearheaded the Task Force on Innovation and Entrepreneurship, which is designed to enver’s ecosystem has grown over the past decade, both create a plan in North Texas to attract, retain, and support local statistically and influentially. In 2011, seed- and early-stage VC entrepreneurs. Dallas is one of only a few cities to implement a Dfinancing recorded 95 rounds for a combined $402.9 million. By program like this. 2019, Denver’s seed and early-stage deal volume almost doubled to Often associated with energy, Dallas is home to several 184 rounds. Over time, the amount of capital coming into Denver also big names in other industries. AT&T is headquartered here, rose steadily, breaching $1 billion for the first time this year. buttressing a strong talent pool for the technology sector. Texas Instruments and Match Group are also here, which has helped local startups attract tech talent to the city. Match Group, for example, is supporting the task force by building its matching technology that pairs startups and mentors from similar industries. MANDY PRICE CEO and co-founder of Kanarys (a ROTR Portfolio Company), Co-Chair of Mayor’s Task Force on Innovation and Entrepreneurship 7 / Beyond Silicon Valley: Coastal dollars and local investors accelerate early-stage startup funding across the US