About
Dallas needs a helpful community for and by software founders
Dallas is a big successful place with big Fortune 500 companies, big football, big churches, big law firms, big highways, and big private equity investors. It's hard to see all the small startups and scaled-up software companies.
But there is a lot going on in software here. More than anyone can see. And it's growing fast. There are at least 750 real, active software, SaaS, and AI companies based in Dallas-Fort Worth — and hundreds more that are getting created in this year's AI software explosion.
Behind every one of those names is a "crazy" founder solving hard problems, usually in isolation, usually without a room full of people who actually get it.
Dallas lacks a real, helpful ecosystem for software founders to support one another, unlike just about every other major city in the world. Founders helping other founders, not service providers or investors doing all the work, which is the opposite of the open connection hives of Silicon Valley, Austin, and other startup-first cities.
Who Dallas Software Founders is for
This is for builders of real software companies in Dallas-Fort Worth: current founders and co-founders of software, SaaS, and AI companies; B2B, consumer, fintech, marketplace, or whatever you're building.
Founders at every stage, from first-timers figuring it out to operators who've already exited. Bootstrapped or funded, pre-launch or post-revenue.
Mentors are part of this community. Experienced operators and exited founders who want to give back, not to prospect.
DSF partners are software-focused service providers who help DFW founders and help spread the word about DSF with their founder friends.
Who it's not for
This isn't a place to drop in to sell products or services to founders, or for founders to get funding.
Sorry, it's not for software job seekers or non-founder employees of software companies. It's also not for non-software entrepreneurs. There are other organizations for that.
Just founders building software products.
How it works
Joining the list and getting invited to events are two different things.
Anyone can join the list — that's how you hear what we're doing and put yourself forward. From there, events are invite-only. I review who's joining and invite the founders who fit.
We meet quarterly in person around Dallas-Fort Worth, with smaller founder meetings and mentor sessions in between. The format is simple: real founders, helpful conversations.
A few common questions
- Do I have to pay?
- No. Joining and attending are free.
- What kind of founders is this for?
- Software, SaaS, and AI product-focused founders across the Dallas/Fort Worth area — bootstrapped or funded, any stage.
- Is this for investors or service providers?
- This is a founder-first community, so software-focused service providers and investors can be invited if they help first and don't pitch hard.
- Where do you meet?
- Around Dallas-Fort Worth. Exact times and venues go to invited members.