Tech Wildcatter’s New Model for Startups, The Gauntlet

Tech Wildcatters
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Stacy Stine Cary is a professional with diverse experience in real estate, oil, and gas, and running her own business ventures. Stacy Cary is now a mentor for startup accelerator Tech Wildcatters.

Founded in 2009, Tech Wildcatters has invested in 72 startups, leading to the creation of 450 jobs. Recently, the company has started a new model for the acceleration process they are calling the Gauntlet.

Previously, startups would apply and be given $25,000 and an opportunity to pitch to area investors if accepted in exchange for 8 percent equity. As Tech Wildcatters found, however, some startups were more successful than others; certain real world concerns can stop or slow a startup when they discover that their customers’ needs are not what they expected, for example.

Thanks to improved data collected by the company over the years, The Gauntlet allows Tech Wildcatters to test and explore startups through a five-tiered system, offering the startups more investment the farther they go in the system. This innovative new accelerator model is very different from the previous system, but stands to grow the successful company even more: while Tech Wildcatters would accept around 20 startups annually in previous years, this new model allows for up to 100 this year.

Tech Wildcatters – Startup Accelerator in Texas

Tech Wildcatters
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Stacy Stine Cary is a mentor for Tech Wildcatters in Dallas, Texas. This intensive micro-fund and startup accelerator program invests in talented and ambitious new startup companies. In addition to small loans, beneficiaries receive the guidance and support of experienced mentors like Stacy Cary.

Tech Wildcatters is an example of a startup accelerator, or incubator, a company that helps multiple new businesses develop quickly. These accelerators act as a boot camp for fledgling companies, giving them access to the support and resources of a large, successful network. In addition to providing micro-loans and physical workspaces, accelerators typically offer assistance with business basics, management skills, and legal or regulatory compliance.

All incubators require an application process, and many of them are extremely competitive. The benefits of shared operating costs and built-in networking opportunities make incubators and accelerators very appealing to startups ready to take their company to the next level.

Tech Wildcatters to Launch “The Gauntlet” Accelerator Model

Tech Wildcatters
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An experienced professional with specialized knowledge in the real estate and oil and gas industries, Stacy Stine Cary now works with Tech Wildcatters in Dallas, Texas. As a mentor for the leading startup accelerator, Stacy Cary assists emerging tech firms in developing their strategies, connecting with local investors, and advancing their businesses overall.

Since its inception, Tech Wildcatters has helped more than 70 startups establish themselves in the tech industry. Their participants have raised over $64 million in collective follow-up funding, in addition to creating over 450 new jobs. In 2016, Tech Wildcatters will introduce The Gauntlet, an innovative new accelerator model aimed at highlighting the most promising players in the tech startup arena.

The original Tech Wildcatters model took place over a single three-month program each year. After applying, accepted firms received $25,000 in funding in exchange for an 8 percent equity stake, then benefited from the organization’s vast network of mentorship and workshop resources. The program concluded with a pitch day finale, during which participants had the chance to connect with local investors.

The Tech Wildcatters program will still conclude with a pitch day, but will now offer multiple three-month programs each year from March to September. Each class of startups will engage in a newly designed, five-level methodology comprising phases for business discovery, building, launch, growth, and scaling. Startups that succeed through levels two through four have the opportunity to earn as much as $30,000 in funding for an 8 percent equity stake, with the chance to acquire a $100,000 investment at level five. While tech startups will still benefit from Tech Wildcatters’ numerous resources, this new accelerator model places a renewed emphasis on business competition and strategic development.

Tech Wildcatters Teams Up with a New Airline Partner for 2016

Tech Wildcatters
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A longtime presence in the Texas business community, Stacy Stine Cary guided GeOasis for 13 years. The company sourced and sold natural products from around the globe. Stacy Cary remains active as an angel investor spanning diverse sectors and mentors startups as a member of the Dallas-based Tech Wildcatters.

Reflecting the diverse geographical locales from which participants in the program hail, the B2B technology accelerator recently teamed up with American Airlines to provide additional incentives for applicants to travel to Texas.

Each year, as many as 40 teams of entrepreneurs are invited to make their pitch in Dallas as the final step in joining the Tech Wildcatters program. This in-person event occurs behind closed doors, with attendance limited to select mentors and investors.

Starting this year, 2016 applicants will receive Business Extra Points, which can be used freely for flights on American Airlines. This will help defray some of the capital investment required for startups to make the trip to Dallas and explore the vibrant entrepreneurial infrastructure that has emerged in recent years. There is one caveat: international companies must have a U.S. office in place before taking advantage of the offer.

Tech Wildcatters Celebrate Successful Emerge Program

Tech Wildcatters
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An accomplished Texas-based businesswoman, Stacy Stine Cary has a diverse professional background in the real estate and oil-and-gas industries. Currently, Stacy Cary works in support of several advocacy groups, and serves as a mentor with Tech Wildcatters, a micro-fund that invests money and other resources to help promising startups attain long-term success.

Tech Wildcatters recently completed the first of its “demo days” for its newest program, Emerge. Established through a partnership with the Department of Homeland Security and the Center for Innovative Technology, Emerge is the first accelerator program for startup companies that develop wearable technology solutions with applications for first-responders. Among the devices is a remote controlled ball that can be rolled into dangerous sites or situations to send back data warning first-responders of conditions they could encounter.

The inaugural class of five startups completed the 12-week program and received support from experienced mentors, who guided them on how to develop, improve, and market their products and services. Each company then had the opportunity to pitch their tech solutions during two demo days, held in Dallas and San Francisco.

Following the success of Emerge, Tech Wildcatters is looking forward to the new opportunities ahead in 2016. For more information about Tech Wildcatters and the startups they support, visit www.techwildcatters.com.

Tech Wildcatters Event Honors Veterans

An entrepreneur and philanthropist in the greater Dallas region, Stacy Stine Cary invests in and serves as a mentor at Tech Wildcatters, an accelerator fund that invests in promising new businesses. Stacy Cary and Tech Wildcatters recently partnered with Entrepreneurs for North Texas, Carry the Load, and Equest in an event aimed at remembering fallen American troops and making the Equest Horse Park facilities more accessible to individuals with disabilities.

Equest offers equine therapy for veterans and their families, while Carry the Load provides interactive opportunities for citizens to support veterans. On September 11, 2015, more than 400 volunteers began the event with a minute of silence to honor those killed in the attacks on the World Trade Center. Then, volunteers spent the day completing a number of projects at Equine, from building a wheelchair-accessible ramp to cleaning and clearing riding trails.

Volunteers were also invited to participate in a Horsemanship 101 course, which introduced topics in horse care as well as some of the equine activities available at Equest.

EMERGE – A Tech Wildcatters Program Focused on First Responders

Stacy Stine Cary is a longtime Texas entrepreneur with experience spanning the financial and business spheres. Also a Tech Wildcatters mentor, Stacy Cary is committed to assisting start-up companies in the B2B sphere.

The Dallas organization recently partnered with the Center for Innovative Technology and the Department of Homeland Security in launching EMERGE. This program functions as a seed accelerator for companies with consumer wearable technologies ideal for first responders.

One such company is CyberTimez, which develops technologies that provide those with physical disabilities with pathways toward independence. It helps those who are blind engage more fully with a sighted world and offers those who are hearing impaired ways to increase awareness of their surroundings. Another participant in the EMERGE program is LanguageMAPS, which has created a 1stMinute mobile app that enables first responders to better understand and assist non-English-speaking victims. The EMERGE participant Dashin has created a line of wearable sensors for first responders. These are connected with an open-dashboard platform that aggregates data in real time.

Tech Wildcatters Sparks Innovative Tech in Dallas

Stacy Stine Cary works with several organizations, including the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, child abuse prevention organizations, and animal support advocacy groups. Stacy Cary also is a dedicated mentor for Tech Wildcatters, a seed fund and technology accelerator.

Established in Dallas, Texas, in 2009, Tech Wildcatters identifies promising business-to-business startups and invests seed money in exchange for a share of their equity. Being selected by Tech Wildcatters means much more than seed money, though. The firm hosts an annual 12-week training program that concentrates on education, mentoring, and networking–crucial skills for the modern tech entrepreneur. The firm has a number of highly skilled mentors with whom the startups can consult not only during the training program, but afterward as well.

Since Tech Wildcatters was founded in 2009, it has invested about $40 million in 52 different startups. Selection into a Tech Wildcatters program is highly competitive. Only 4 percent of applicants are selected, and about 80 percent of those selected are still in operation today. Past program participants include Koupon Media, Nimbix, and Image Vision.

Tech Wildcatters’ emphasis on business-to-business startups frequently puts it in the spotlight. For example, late in the spring of 2015, it generated headlines when it brought together Dallas-area tech developers and the area’s disability community to help design new technology specifically aimed at improving the lives of the disabled. Earlier in the year, Tech Wildcatters partnered with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Center for Innovative Technology to encourage the development of technology to assist first responders as they do their jobs.