• Identify the underlying opportunity (size / growth) of the startup ecosystem in Texas, relative to other opportunity areas in the US.

• Evaluate if it's better to open in Dallas or Austin based on the startup ecosystem size and attractiveness of opportunity.

• Find out if there are any existing startup-focused accounting firms operating in Texas.
• Prioritize US-based data sources (national reports) and local data for Texas that isn't pre-biased towards Texas.

Data Availability

• The initial round of research indicates that data availability is adequate on the size and attractiveness of the startup ecosystem in Taxes as well as Dallas and Austin.
• Data availability is adequate on existing accounting firms in Texas that provide services to startups, in addition to other sectors (e.g., small businesses or healthcare professionals). Data on strictly startup-focused accounting firms in Texas appears to be limited.

Startup Ecosystem in Texas

• According to the most recent data by Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, the rate of new entrepreneurs (percentage of population that starts a new business every month) in the US in 2020 was 0.38% in both the US and Texas in 2020. This means that "an average of 380 out of every 100,000 adults became new entrepreneurs in a given month" in 2020.
• Overall, Texas performs better on the startup and entrepreneurship landscape compared to the national average.
• On average, startups in Texas created 5.60 jobs in their first year, compared to the national average of 5.03 jobs.
• The rate of new employer businesses as a share of all employer firms in Texas is 8.29%, compared to the national rate of 7.01%.
• Startup Early Survival Rate (% of startups that are still active after one year) is 79.63% in Texas and 78.09% nationally.

Startup Ecosystem in Austin

• Austin has "topped Inc.'s Surge Cities list of the best places in America for startups in both 2019 and 2020."
• According to Startup Genome, "Austin is leading the country when it comes to job creation and high-growth company density."
• In addition, the city is fourth in early-stage funding.

Summary

• During the initial round of research, we were able to identify several statistics and metrics that compare the startup ecosystem in Texas and in the US overall.
• We have also provided some statistics on the startup ecosystem in Austin.
• Based on adequate data availability, we anticipate being fully able to answer the research question and provide a more detailed comparison of the size (in terms of new startups, funding deals, etc.) and attractiveness of the startup space in Texas vs. the US and Austin vs. Dallas.
• Since data on strictly startup-focused accounting firms in Texas appears to be limited, we suggest identifying accounting firms in Texas that provide services to startups, in addition to other end-users (e.g., small businesses or healthcare professionals).