Founders in Dallas
December 17, 2007
You may have noticed a lack of venture capital activity in Dallas, but there is no dearth of startups. Just a quick look around Dallas and you will find scores of very cool businesses founded by very smart people (very few of which are funded by VCs). The Dallas Business Journal rarely covers self-funded or bootstrapped startups (especially if they aren’t related to real estate) so you may have never heard of any of these founders:
Randy Dryburgh founded VocalSpace LLC and is currently working on two other businesses. VocalSpace is the company behind Hipcast, AudioAcrobat and BYOaudio. Previously Randy worked for AOL and went to school in El Paso.
Darren Dittrich founded sell.com and previously started Emphasys Technologies, Inc. Darren got his masters in human interface design from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. He is a big proponent of open source, online communities and linux. In his spare time, Darren is an associate professor at Collin County Community College.
Giovanni Gallucci founded DexterityMedia a search engine marketing and social media production company. Previously Giovanni served as COO at Zunch Communications Inc. and President of Kinetic Results LLC. He spends quite a bit of time as a faculty member at xTrain.com (Spash Media).
Alexandre Rambaud founded AgendiZe a call-to-action, click-to-call business here in Dallas. Previously Alex was VP of operations for MediaApps. He received his masters in accounting from the University of Paris. He also plays the cello. Very cool.
Matt Rutledge founded Woot, Inc. a very call site that offers a deal a day. Previously Matt started another company called Synapse Micro Inc. after a career in technology sales. Matt is a big Dilbert fan.
Mike Allen founded Opango, an ecommerce engine focused on executive level coaching for mid-level managers. Previously Mike served in business development and client development roles at 1st Markets and Payroll Associates. He attended the University of Texas at Dallas graduating in 2004.
Sean Charnock founded Softlayer a fast growing web hosting business where he serves as VP of business development. Prior to starting Softlawyer he was VP of strategic planning at The Planet and business development manager at Efficient Networks.
Blake Burris founded Corazon Labs, Inc. where he focuses on building Web 2.0 and social applications many of which utilize the Facebook platform. Prior to starting Corazon, Blake was VP of mobility solutions at Fusion Solutions and a key acount manager at Nokia. Besides being a Facebook fanatic, Blake is the creator of CocoaDevHouse, a popular OSX hackathon.
Jonathan Lawoyin founded Rotomania.com an online fantasy sports network. Jonathan has been working on the startup for over a year, but keeps getting sidelined as his expertise is sought after by several web-based startups in the social media space. Look for something very cool from Jonathan.
Juan Carols Velten founded SoftCoin, Inc. a provider of interactive loyalty programs with a very impressive customer list. Juan went to Harvard Business School and prior to starting SoftCoin was with Procter & Gamble and Silicon Graphics. Juan’s surrounded himself with a great team, I would keep my eye on SoftCoin.
Andy Robinowitz founded Social Knowledge LLC a provider of highly moderated online communities. Prior to starting Social Knowledge, Andy worked for Lee Financial Corporation and Xpedior. Andy got his degree in finance from the University of Denver.
Thomas Kessler founded Noofangle Media, a brand new startup focused on helping content providers and journalist make heads or tails of the new media landscape. Prior to starting Noofangle and serving as editor, Thomas spent time working for AOL, Yahoo and the Dallas Morning News. Thomas is a Longhorn ~ go horns!
Andrew Coffey founded Market News First. This company is located in our building and seems to have grown from a couple of cubes to a big business overnight. They have satellite trucks in the parking structure (I have never seen them move), and they seem to stream a constant flurry of internet shows on their website. Prior to starting MN1, Andrew founded Streetiq.com and worked on the bond desk at Southwest Securities.
Kevin Bottner founded Barking Lizards Technologies, a gaming company as well as as stealthy Vufusion. Previously Kevin worked for iStation and Macromedia. He earned his BS in computer engineering from SMU back in 1992.
Sean Piket founded SalesMecca.com more than a year ago as a resource for sales professionals and as a lead generation tool for his sales consulting and training firm, Sales Integrity, Inc. Sean worked for a number of IT firms including DataReturn, Immedient, Raymond James, Whittman Hart, North Central Consulting, and UQ Solutions before finding his calling as an entreprenuer. Sean earned his BS in communication from Eastern Illinois University.
