There’s new leadership at Tech Wildcatters, the Dallas technology seed accelerator that has seen significant management changes in the past year.
Co-founder and Managing Partner Gabriella Zielke introduced Vorachai (Ricky) Tejapaibul as the new managing partner and CEO Wednesday evening at a town hall meeting for staff, investors, mentors, and alumni.
Zielke said she will stay on as managing partner and will be involved in the accelerator’s fall program.
“After searching for years for a new partner to take what we started at Tech Wildcatters and build on it, myself and the other partners are pleased to work with Ricky in creating what we like to call TW 2.0,” Zielke said during the meeting.
Zielke’s announcement comes after significant leadership changes at Tech Wildcatters.
“I see new opportunities for our platform to extend beyond Dallas, and to leverage Texas as a gateway for international investors and entrepreneurs who want to access the U.S. market.”
VORACHAI (RICKY) TEJAPAIBUL
D CEO reported that last June, Zielke let go the accelerator’s executive director and chief revenue officer. She laid off the organization’s chief operating officer and much of its staff six months later, and suspended plans to raise a new fund and accept a new class of startup companies.
Tejapaibul, a Thailand native, is a chartered financial analyst who did both investment banking and management consulting in the Fortune 500 sector, while simultaneously angel investing.
“I am very excited to start the next chapter of Tech Wildcatters,” he said in a release. “I believe this platform has so much potential, as demonstrated from the success of our Gauntlet methodology that we introduced last year.”
He said that Tech Wildcatters is dedicated to finding the best entrepreneurs and then helping them to build a scalable business “by surrounding them with the right resources.”
Tejapaibul touted the North Texas region.
“Dallas is a great place to build a company and North Texas is increasingly a leading destination for startups,” he said. “I see new opportunities for our platform to extend beyond Dallas, and to leverage Texas as a gateway for international investors and entrepreneurs who want to access the U.S. market.”
The application process for the accelerator’s fall class is open, with a deadline of Aug. 26.
Dallas Innovates, every day
R E A D N E X T
-
The gender gap in computing is getting worse: In 1995 37% of computer scientists were women, dropping to 24% today. State Farm is taking action with a new STEM summit to engage girls in science, technology, engineering, and math. Registration is open until Sept. 18.
-
Entrepreneur, investor, and corporate governance authority Dennis Cagan kicks off a new series on seldom-taught things an entrepreneur needs to know about equity and governance, before making needless mistakes. Part I: Getting the right advice
-
Entrepreneur, investor, and corporate governance authority Dennis Cagan shares insights on seldom-taught things an entrepreneur needs to know about equity and governance—before making needless mistakes—in the Shadow CEO series. Part 2: Equity distribution for entrepreneurs, explained
-
Entrepreneur, investor, and corporate governance authority Dennis Cagan shares insights on seldom-taught things an entrepreneur needs to know about equity and governance—before making needless mistakes—in The Shadow CEO series. Part 3: Why use equity as an incentive?
-
With Dallas ranked as one of the top cities in America for tech pros, UT Dallas and Fullstack have launched four skills training bootcamps focused on coding, cybersecurity, data analytics, and DevOps. The online bootcamps begin in November with tuition at $11,995 each.
