Texas Startup Companies – Top 5 Entrepreneurs

Excitement for Texas startup companies has been growing with a business friendly environment, rapidly expanding population and its quality of workforce. Texas ranks highly for business formation in numerous major publications, from Forbes to Chief Executive Magazine. New technology businesses have seen significant growth the past several years, with an eye on someday rivaling California’s Silicon Valley.

Firms and entrepreneurs throughout the U.S. have relocated to Texas to take advantage of the favorable business atmosphere created by Texas. While Richardson, TX has historically been strong in telecommunications and microelectronics, the companies in Austin are seeking to brand the region as the Silicon Hills.

Responsively, venture capital firms have begun investing more money in these Texas-based startups, which has resulted in expanding local tech startup interest and drawing more new businesses to Texas’ tech scene.

In this article we discuss 5 Top Texas Tech startups.

Procyrion

Procyrion in Houston created a catheter inserted circulatory device to help treat patients with heart failure

Located in the Greenway Plaza business district of Houston, Texas, biotech innovator Procyrion raised $10 Million in series B funding during the last quarter of 2015 as part of its business strategy intended to deliver its minimally invasive heart pump into preliminary human clinical trials.
Pyricion’s innovative product, a pump which it has named the Aortix is the first of its kind in implementing a catheter-deployed micro pump, which Procyrion intends as a replacement for the traditional left ventrical aorta devices.
Pyricion’s founder, Dr. Reynolds Delgado III, who conceptualized and developed the Aortix, founded the firm in 2005.

Virtual Visit Solutions

Virtual Visit launches a mobile app for nursing homes

Addressing the concerns of millennial families’ with regards to their increased expectations for keeping in touch with their nursing home loved ones, Dallas based Virtual Visit, founded in 2014 offers a secure, easy-to-use video messaging platform targeted at the senior care nursing home facility market.
The platform, which uses a mobile device app and a website interface, is well received by patients and their families, appreciative of the increased communications that the platform provides. The program is also well appreciated by staff, who are able to enhance their monitoring and communications with patients.
Because the software can deal with sensitive patient data, it complies with standards outlined by the HIPAA compliance act.

Molecule Software

Molecule Software calculates profit and loss, position, and risk for energy companies

Started by Randy Baker, Sameer Soleja and Adam Strickland, former energy consultants with backgrounds in energy trading and software systems, their tech startup Molecule Software, an energy-based software company which is located in Houston, delivers an energy software solution that simplifies the energy-trading software platform implementations. Their system addresses the basic energy financial risk issues which energy traders face.
The Texas company’s humble origins began with Molecular Software raising $450,000 utilizing a mix of angel investors and venture capital investors. Molecule’s.
Altogether, Molecule has raised $2.33 Million, having closed its most recent round of $1.08 Million a little over a year ago.
The company’s energy trading software is based upon design principles that software should be light, fast, and inexpensive. Priced at a low monthly subscription, the trading application is intended for any company that uses more than $1M of natural resources to strategically manage their investment hedges.

Atlas Wearables

Atlas Wearables developed a super fitness tracker

Started in 2013, Atlas Wearables produces high-tech wristbands that provide athletes with fitness data and workout feedback. The product, which Atlas describes as “The World’s First Super-Tracker” supports more than 50 workout tasks.
According to an SEC filing, Atlas Wearables raised $1 million of a targeted $1.5 million round of funding involving 13 investors.
Additionally, Atlas Wearables raised more than $629,000 from an IndieGoGo crowdfunding campaign last year in. Atlas went on to raise an additional $625,000 using Crowdfunder, Fundable and separate angel investors.

Tech WildCatters

Tech Wildcatters invests in promising startups

Nationally recognized, Dallas-based B2B accelerator, Tech WildCatters (TWC), was founded in 2009 by Molley Cain, Gabriella Draney and Clarissa Lindenmeyer for the purpose of supporting B2B startups in the Dallas tech scene.
TWC started with the goal of introducing the companies they serviced to investors who also desired to serve as mentors to the firms they were incubating.
Today, the firm represents a wide range of firms with more than 150 mentors supporting these B2B companies. TWC provides an initial investment of $25,000 to the founders of the businesses they work with in exchange for 8 percent equity in that tech business.
Since its 2009 beginnings, TWC has produced more than 67 business successes implementing their 12 week B2B nurturing model.
TWC’s successes, as measured by the successes of the 67 companies they represent, has been reported by Forbes and Inc magazines, as well as Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) university professors.

Conclusion

The Texas tech scene has been steadily growing and is producing an impressive assortment of hi-tech businesses. The lack of state income tax and the growing availability of investment capital will only result in further technology based business growth in Texas.