Keiretsu Forum Exploration Could Bring New Investors and New Funding To Texas Startups
Cindi Sutera | Published on 2/7/2023
Keiretsu Forum, a global network of angel investors, is exploring an expansion into the Texas startup ecosystem. This could bring new investors, funds, and deal flow to the region.
Keiretsu Forum boasts 50+ chapters on 4 continents. Its 2,000+ members have invested over $1 billion in 2.400+ companies since its founding in 2000. Pitchbook Venture Monitor consistently ranks Keiretsu as #1 in early-stage deal flow. Additionally, Keiretsu Forum has been ranked the most active angel group across the U.S. for the last 5 years, as reported by the Angel Resource Institute’s HALO Report.
“Keiretsu Forum chapters across North America have been seeing impressive companies coming out of Texas.” .” says Sotiris Pagdadis, President Keiretsu Forum Midwest “We want to help them grow,"
The leadership team from Keiretsu’s Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, and South-East Regions are leading the effort to validate expansion into Texas, starting with what would become the North Texas Chapter in the greater Dallas area. If successful, this would lead to expansion into Austin, Houston, and Lubbock creating a new Keiretsu Forum Region in the future. Investment stats in late 2022 indicated that investors were becoming more cautious about their allocations and favoring capital deployment in proven, existing portfolio companies.
“Savvy angel investors realize this is a market correction following extraordinary growth and inflated valuations.” says Howard Lubert, Area President of Keiretsu Forum Mid-Atlantic and South-East. “Keiretsu Forum’s expansion would open opportunities to investors and entrepreneurs in Texas looking for great deal flow.” Of note, Keiretsu Forum deal counts in 2022 remained well above 2018 and 2019 (pre-pandemic) levels. Investors report that they continue to invest actively!
An important part of the Keiretsu Forum’s mission is to support entrepreneurs and help them get access to the resources they need to be successful. Keiretsu Forum is looking for local business partners, family offices, and interested investors to participate in the expansion. Hall Martin of Ten Capital and Kirk Otis of Merger Partners Inc, both seasoned professionals in the venture capital and entrepreneurial ecosystem in Texas, are supporting the exploration. They are optimistic about success in their mission to promote increased investment in Texas' early-stage community. As such, they are dedicated to leveraging all the available tools to ensure that this exploration yields positive outcomes.
If you're interested in learning more, contact Howard Lubert at hlubert@keiretsuforum.net