Dallas’ own tech angel
Entrepreneur Jason Story puts his money in North Texas startups.
By age 26, Jason Story had already sold one company and left another that he co-founded as a student at the University of Texas.
Instead of starting another business with some of his newfound wealth, the Texas native decided to invest in startups and help build them — in Dallas.
Now an active angel investor and adviser for several Dallas-based startups, Story is contributing to the region’s tech boom. Since returning to North Texas last year, the 29-year-old entrepreneur has invested $500,000 in several startups, including RV spot finder, Need and Park Hub.
“This was the most effective way to reach a large number of individuals and impact multiple startups,” Story said. “It’s more fun for me to work on 10 different projects at once, and this was a way to bring in my skills set and help these companies grow.”
A 20-something entrepreneur-turned-millionaire-turned-investor is a familiar occurrence in Silicon Valley’s thriving startup environment. It’s less common outside the traditional startup hubs such as Boston and New York.
Story is “definitely young on the angel side, especially in Dallas,” said entrepreneur Scott Harper, co-founder and co-CEO of Dallas-based Dialexa, a technology development and consulting company.
In 2009, Story and four friends started Mutual Mobile, an app development firm in Austin. They built the startup into a $26 million business that employed 320 people by 2013. That year, global communications company WPP acquired a minority interest in Mutual Mobile.
After spending almost five years helping to build the startup into a big company, Story wanted to return to his startup roots. He saw an opportunity in his hometown, where entrepreneurial activity has been picking up in recent years thanks to new accelerators, incubators and other resources.
Story created a platform called Hangar Ventures to make his investments and to advise startups.
“You start a company, it does well and you have an exit that allows you to come back,” Story said.
One of the first people Story met when he returned to North Texas was Dallas attorney Kevin Vela, who works with many startups in the region.
Vela introduced Story to several of his clients, several of whom have tapped Story as an adviser or investor. “I love his hands-on approach,” Vela said. “Just about every startup is going to have a key issue or significant problem that Jason can solve.”
Story helped Dallas-based startup RV spot finder raise $1.5 million recently. Story is also an investor and sits on the company’s board. The recently launched business is an online booking platform for RV spots at campgrounds and parks.
CEO Nathan Smith said Story’s connections helped the company raise capital fairly quickly.
“Jason has great networking ability not only with his cash investment, but he has been able to successfully bring in additional capital from other sources,” Smith said.
Story said it has been gratifying to see some of the startups experience early success, especially since they help change the perception that entrepreneurs can’t raise grow in North Texas.
“We’re trying to change that, and we’re trying to recognize that these startups are real and getting off the ground and getting funded and solving real problems,” Story said.