How Pflugerville guides and supports budding entrepreneurs.
Most of us dream of one day launching a new business and being our own boss.
In Pflugerville, Texas, a growing number of people are doing just that. A north Austin suburb of close to 75,000 people, Pflugerville has long been known as a hub of innovation, with dozens of manufacturers engaged in everything from 3D printing to new technologies.
Today, that spirit of innovation produces a wave of entrepreneurs who branch out and create new companies of their own. Pflugerville, nestled in the heart of Central Texas’ high-tech mecca alongside Austin and Round Rock, is attracting world-changing talent.
Because of that, the Pflugerville Community Development Corporation recently launched the Entrepreneur Hub. The idea is to equip budding entrepreneurs with the resources and information they need to be successful. Offerings of the Hub include funding resources, legal resources, personalized mentorship, and access to other tools essential to helping businesses grow.
Crystal Connally, business retention and workforce director for the PCDC, says the PCDC is launching the Startup Support Center Platform in January 2025, and it is going to be a difference-maker. “It will guide entrepreneurs from the initial idea stage to the actual realization of a business, product or new technology,” she says. “Each entrepreneur will have access to mentors and learning modules. The program will connect them to funding resources they need to grow their ventures. In addition, we will offer workshops and network opportunities for entrepreneurs.”
Pflugerville appeals to entrepreneurs because it attracts the types of people who think creatively and have the ambition to build a business. More than half the adult workers in Pflugerville hold either a bachelor’s degree or a post-graduate degree. The median household income in the community is over $114,000; and more than two-thirds of residents in the city are homeowners.
“Entrepreneurship impacts individuals and the whole community,” says Connally. “Providing support is important because entrepreneurs are the innovators who create the new technologies and the new products. If an idea makes it to the market, the success creates a diverse and healthy business climate which builds wealth in the community.”
More than 70 new businesses were established in Pflugerville last year, and many more are percolating. The PCDC Is connecting entrepreneurs in Pflugerville to resources such as the Central Texas Angel Network; the Economic Growth Business Incubator; the Small Business Development Center of Southwest Texas; the Texas Venture Alliance; the LinkedIn Learning Upskilling Database; Workforce Solutions Capital Area; the downloadable Business Resource Booklet; and the new Startup Support Center Platform.
Women’s Meetup for entrepreneurship in Pflugerville is a new community program sponsored by PCDC.
Photo courtesy of PCDC
Anyone who joins the Entrepreneur Exchange Network immediately receives access to all of these resources, as well as other benefits and services offered through the PCDC and the Pflugerville Library small business resources.
An early success story from this program is Pflugerville Venture Week. “This year, we held the first ever Pflugerville Venture Week during the first week of October,” says Connally. “We highlighted five of our local entrepreneurs and created videos about their ventures. They talked about their ideas and how being an entrepreneur has changed their lives. We held four dynamic meetups during the event. First, the HER Texas Meetup for female entrepreneurs took place at West Pecan Coffee & Beer, where attendees gathered to discuss innovation and network. We also hosted the Entrepreneur Exchange in partnership with Comerica Bank and the Pflugerville Chamber of Commerce. Additionally, Venture Connect, hosted at Prost Alehouse, featured entrepreneurs pitching their innovative business and product ideas to an audience.
“Finally, PCDC hosted a lunch and learn where startup entrepreneurs learned from the Austin Angel Network and Business Center Lender (BCL) of Texas about what is required to gain access to capital. The PCDC is excited to begin the planning process for their upcoming annual Venture Week in the fall.”
It Takes One to Know One — or Two
Connally says PCDC knows what entrepreneurs need because the organization aligned with successful local entrepreneurs — Oscar R. Mitchell and Dexter Jones.
A serial entrepreneur and a PCDC board member, Mitchell has made a career out of building successful companies, primarily in the scalable hardware/software systems & network security sectors. Between 1994 and 2008, Mitchell and some of his colleagues at IBM worked together to launch three ventures that would go on to revolutionize the consumer electronics, digital imaging and network security & transactional privacy worlds: Skipstone, Nordview and Layer Networks.
Mitchell was also involved in a startup for medical devices in the brain imaging sector. His past led him to partner with the PCDC to help others build their own businesses. “I came on board with the PCDC last January. Everything came together at the right time. It was obvious that there was this wealth of desire to start new businesses in Pflugerville. I had talked to many local people in the last few years, and they all wanted to leave the corporate world and start their own venture. That led to putting together the Entrepreneur Hub for Pflugerville.”
Mitchell says all entrepreneurs need access to the same things: capital, guidance and mentoring. “The new platform will provide these services. The portal will be available through the PCDC website so that entrepreneurs can receive that essential support online. In addition, we invite entrepreneurs to meet with our staff. Being able to talk through issues with real people makes a big difference.”
“Pflugerville is a breeding ground for successful entrepreneurs. PCDC is making huge strides in bringing investors and capital to the community. They bridge the gap.”
— Dexter Jones, Founder and CEO, VIPS Personal Protection LLC
How a City Bridges the Gap
Dexter Jones concurs. Founder and owner of VIPS Personal Protection LLC, Jones got the entrepreneurial bug when he retired from the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission in 2021. His idea? Launch an elite personal security business; and he did it in Pflugerville.
“I always wanted to break the cycle of poverty in my family, and I always wanted to be an entrepreneur,” he recalls. “My involvement in business formation led me to become involved with the PCDC. I joined a steering committee, and I shared my ideas on what I would like to see happen in this community.”
Establishment of the Entrepreneur Hub and Startup Support Center Platform followed. Jones adds that every entrepreneur needs help putting together a business plan, networking with other business owners and finding a mentor.
“PCDC has those resources to connect entrepreneurs to people who can help them,” he says. “When I needed guidance, they helped me. Pflugerville is a breeding ground for successful entrepreneurs. PCDC is making huge strides in bringing investors and capital to the community. They bridge the gap.”
This Investment Profile was prepared under the auspices of the Pflugerville Community Development Corp. For more information, contact Veronica Ramirez at veronicar@pfdevelopment.com.
On the web, go to www.pfdevelopment.com.
