We are back in Texas with a venture capital firm and its FinTech portfolio company. Bryan Chambers and Joel Radtke join us to discuss venture capital innovation and the journey of an up-and-coming Texas startup.

Capital Factory is a firm that connects investors with new companies and talent. Texas has five of the twelve largest and fastest-growing cities in the U.S, making it a hot area for startups and investors. When it comes to raising capital, many middle-market companies struggle. They often run into various credit risks leading to rejection by banks.

Raising capital is where Joel Radtke and Collateral Edge come into play. Collateral Edge is a startup that uses technology to mitigate risk, allowing the borrower to secure needed bank loans, aiding both the lender and the borrower. Because of Collateral Edge’s technologies, banks can form new relationships that benefit them and their community.

When it comes to startups like Collateral Edge, people often make the mistake of failing to plan around their ideas. The value is not in the idea. It’s in the execution. It is vital to build a relationship with investors and help them fully understand the vision before asking them for money.

The team at Collateral Edge was patient in the process and built solid relationships. As a result, Collateral Edge has gained large Texas investors, New York investors with massive capital pools, Silicon Valley investors who have grown billion-dollar companies, etc. They intentionally targeted investors who could help with bank relationships, capital, and technology, which has paid off.

Bryan’s advice for innovators with ideas but no connections are simple. If you live in or near a large metropolitan area, you need to seek out the startup community. Looking for a community sounds easy, but it requires a lot of effort.

Step two is to work for somebody else who is building a startup. Building a startup is a complex and challenging thing to do. When you work for someone else’s startup, you will gain a wealth of knowledge that you can apply to your future startup efforts.

Bryan Chambers is the Vice President of Ventures at Capital Factory. He manages the statewide accelerator and investment operations for the venture capital firm.

He is a founding member of Venture Dallas, a venture capital conference in Dallas, Texas. Bryan is also a Professor of Entrepreneurship at UT Dallas and the Director of the UT Dallas Seed Fund for technology startups founded by students. Bryan holds a B.A. in Business Marketing and an M.B.A in Entrepreneurship from UT Arlington.

Joel Radtke is the Co-Founder, President, and Chief Operating Officer at Collateral Edge. Collateral Edge provides banks with an innovative, automated solution to bolster credit profiles on individual loans to allow greater underwriting flexibility while mitigating risk. He is the former Co-Founder and C.F.O. at United Orthopedic Group. Additionally, Joel has worked in the investment banking and private equity industries. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Government from Harvard University.

To know more about FinTech and venture capital innovation, listen to this week's show: Bryan Chambers and Joel Radtke on FinTech and Venture Capital Innovation.