Dallas chapter

Dallas Startup Community

Founders Network connects tech founders in Dallas with a global peer mentorship community. Members get a cohort of founders a stage ahead of them, monthly peer mentoring, and a member directory that reaches well beyond DFW. Membership is by invitation; request one below.

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For nominated founders · Virtual · 30 min

Nominee Preview Q&A

Thursday, October 15 at 9:30 AM PT

A live Zoom for nominated founders: how Founders Network works, what happens next, and open Q&A.

Guests welcome

Upcoming Dallas events

No Dallas events open to guests are on the calendar right now. The Nominee Preview Q&A above is the best way to meet us, or browse every upcoming Founders Network event.

Dallas chapter

Our Local Leadership Team

Andrew Schulz
Membership Chair
Cofounder, NoiseAware
FN February 2016 Cohort

I enjoy helping other motivated and talented founders see their vision become a reality while avoiding many of the mistakes I've made in my own journey

Patrick Smale
Growth Chair
Founder, ClearSight Therapeutics, LLC
FN April 2024 Cohort

I'm a life sciences vet. Majority of my career has been on the commercial side of the business at Alcon in eye care. I was at 2 commercial stage startups (1 IPOed in '21) and have now started my own venture with former R&D colleagues from Alcon.

Nana Richardson
Event Chair
Founder & CEO, Spare Health
FN September 2025 Cohort

Healthcare IT executive known for strategic and digital transformation planning and securing stakeholder buy-in for execution. Significant experience in building global IT operations, secure enterprise apps and platforms for commercial products.

Khiry Kemp
Chapter Chair
Founder, Oppti
FN January 2020 Cohort

Khiry co-founded Oppti, a software platform with the largest database of internships and volunteer opportunities for high school students. He's also the co-author of Starting Your Own Microbusiness, a book that helps young people explore, initiate, and execute business ideas. He also founded a nonprofit, Building BLOC, that provides youth mentorship services for college and career development.

A Founders Network member speaking at an event

The Dallas startup scene

Dallas–Fort Worth has become one of the largest startup markets in the country, and it got there a different way than the coasts. The region’s corporate headquarters — AT&T, Texas Instruments, Southwest, Toyota North America, American Airlines — give early-stage companies enterprise customers close to home, and a growing bench of local funds now backs them. Companies like o9 Solutions, Alkami and Island grew up here. Dallas Startup Week and the DEC Network tie the community together across a metro that is spread wide.

Founders Network in Dallas

Our Dallas chapter brings local founders together in person and plugs them into the wider Founders Network: chapters in 20+ cities, peer mentoring groups matched by stage, and a global directory of founders who have raised, scaled, and exited. Chapter events are listed below, and the leaders who host them are members running companies in Dallas themselves.

Founders listening at a Founders Network sessionFounders talking at a Founders Network eventA Founders Network roundtable
600+
Vetted tech founders
$5B+
Raised by members
55%
Serial founders
100+
Events a year

Dallas resources and communities

Venture capital: Perot Jain, Goldcrest Capital, Interlock Partners and Green Park & Golf Ventures invest in Dallas-based companies from seed onward.

Accelerators and campuses: Capital Factory’s Dallas campus, Health Wildcatters for healthcare startups, and Pegasus Park for life sciences each run programs and host a steady calendar of founder events.

Community: The DEC Network runs programming for founders across the metro, and Dallas Startup Week is the annual gathering point for the whole ecosystem.

Co-working: Common Desk started in Dallas and has locations across Deep Ellum, Uptown and Plano; Capital Factory and the DEC also offer founder-focused workspace.

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