The Venture Dallas Conference will return to an in-person event in 2022 after two years of hosting a virtual gathering. The event will take place on November 3 and last the entire day, according to the Venture Dallas website. The conference is a place for investors, innovators, and other business members to gather and learn more about innovation in the Dallas Fort Worth region.
The annual conference is a signature event for Venture Dallas, a nonprofit committed to the DFW innovation ecosystem.
A co-founder and board chair of Venture Dallas, Aaron Pierce, told Dallas Innovates that the 2022 event will highlight some of the top talent in the region.
Pierce said it will show the rest of the nation “what’s happening here and why they should be excited about investing in Dallas companies.”
It will be held at the George W. Bush Presidential Center on the Southern Methodist University’s campus, starting at 9:30 a.m.
The day prior to the conference, November 2, there will be a VIP reception for mingling and connecting with business leaders and investors, Dallas Innovates reported.
“Venture Dallas 2022 will convene innovators, business luminaries, and investors from around the nation who want to experience the forces propelling Dallas-Fort Worth as a premier hub of innovation,” the event website states. “Through in-depth keynote and panel presentations, including from national VC’s who have invested in Dallas, attendees will learn more about early and growth-stage investment climate in the region, how to capitalize on it, and what’s coming next.”
A steering committee will lead the 2022 event, according to the website. Members of the committee include Perot Jain, Access Capital, Dallas Regional Chamber, Mark Cuban Companies, and Impact Ventures.
Annabel Reeves, the Venture Dallas chief of staff and an associate at Goldman Sachs, shared that Dallas has always been a good place to do business, but in 2020 the city received even more recognition.
“Dallas has always been a great city for doing business, but 2020 really put us on the map in a new way, on a national level,” Reeves told Dallas Innovates. “Record numbers of people began moving here during the pandemic, and it hasn’t slowed down yet. Dallas’ affordability, business-friendly climate, central location, and hospitable people are among the many reasons newcomers can’t get enough, and why businesses continue to thrive here, despite macroeconomic forces that aren’t always so favorable.”
A Venture Dallas co-founder and board member, as well as a managing director at Cypress Growth Capital, Vik Thapar, told Dallas Innovates it is expected that around 400 innovators and investors will attend this year.
The conference is after audience members that consist of startup CEOs or founders who have raised at least one million in funding, individuals with a high net worth, individuals from private equity firms or venture capital firms, service providers known to bolster the ecosystem, and angel investors.
Speakers for the Venture Dallas Conference include Will Coleman, an Alto CEO and co-founder; Mike Kinder, a Veryable CEO and co-founder; Troy Aikman, a sportscaster, entrepreneur, and NFL Hall of Famer; and Ameeth Sankaran, the Religion of Sports CEO.
