[ryanmarsh]

I think you're agreeing with me. The tech startups that are successful here do so in spite of the ecosystem. We're missing whatever that seed is that gets a healthy community going that would feed on itself and create more successes and make us appeal to TechStars.

[7Figures2Commas]

No, I think you're placing way too much emphasis on the "ecosystem." Again looking at Silicon Valley, there are exponentially more failures than successes even though it has the ecosystem that is the envy of the world.

[ryanmarsh]

I can't help but wonder how much you actually know about the history of Silicon Valley, Fairchild, and military funding.

[7Figures2Commas]

I know people who lived here when Silicon Valley still had orchards and whose parents were employed by some of the early companies. Silicon Valley's history, however, has little relevance to the discussion at hand.

You seem absolutely convinced that entrepreneurs can't build successful companies without a certain kind of "ecosystem" in their city. It's simply not true, but please don't take my word for it.

If and when you leave Houston and come to an area with a great ecosystem, like the Bay Area, you'll soon discover that despite the ecosystem, there are tons of entrepreneurs and wantrapreneurs who aren't any better off. The only difference might be that instead of the excuses you've provided ("there's no ecosystem", "the investors don't invest in tech") you'll hear a different set of excuses ("I can't find a co-founder", "YC rejected me for the fifth time", "the VCs won't invest in my company").

[ryanmarsh]

You are projecting. I am under no such illusion. I've lived and worked in the Bay Area at startups and in Houston, Austin, and Chicago at startups. I'm not saying the ecosystem is the constraint on entrepreneurial success. I'm saying there's something that would attract TechStars and Houston is missing it. My guess is community. I assert that ecosystem helps more than you appreciate.