OrgSync is Moving to Dallas – Farewell Austin

April 21 2010, 9:48am

It saddens me to bid Austin adieu as we announce that OrgSync is moving to Dallas on April 30th.  I am thankful and happy though to take a moment to reflect on how wonderful Austin has been and all the support this community has given to our company since our founding in 2007. Exactly three years ago, my co-founding partners and I moved into a 5-bedroom house in Avery Ranch (northwest Austin) with the intention of bootstrapping the start-up of our company, OrgSync.  We did not have any money beyond what our credit cards would hold, and so we decided to move in together and live off the company.  Rent was only $1,650 and with all our bills and food, the five of us figured out how to live on roughly $2,500 per month. We followed the Rainbow to the OrgSync House in Avery Ranch We had heard of other entrepreneurs bootstrapping their companies out of their houses and apartments, so it seemed like a good idea.  I’m pleased to tell you, three years later, that it was the best decision we ever made!  In fact, I would go as far to say the past three years literally living OrgSync have been the best three years of my life.  We did run into challenges along the way, but at the end of the day, we strongly believe it was that intense level of devotion that enabled us to self-fund and grow our company as fast as we did.  Austin was absolutely the best city with the most supportive community to do something like that.  I recommend to anyone thinking about starting a company to consider doing it in Austin, out of a house. Hard at work inside OrgSync HQ Beyond bootstrapping, the Austin community has been extremely friendly providing my team and me continual support and encouragement.  Everything from the Austin Tech Happy Hours to South by Southwest (SXSW) to all the social media meet-ups; the opportunities to network and meet new people are endless!  The best part of Austin is the people that make up this city.  Almost everyone here is genuinely interested in what others are doing and always willing to help out.  It’s that type of support that is extremely crucial for startups as you grind out and overcome the seemingly never ending hurdles of starting a new business. So why are we moving the company to Dallas?  There are a few primary reasons we have chosen Dallas for the next stage in OrgSync’s life:

New Executive Management – for the past three years my father, Don Fortenberry, has served as our virtual CFO, and has agreed to come on board full-time if we moved the company to Dallas.  Furthermore, we have hired one of Don’s former business partners and close friends, Michael Schwartz, as our Chief Operating Officer.  In order to maintain OrgSync’s rapid growth, we recognize the importance of having the right, experienced people around the table to ensure we continue to build OrgSync in a healthy and sustainable manner.  And since the right people, who we know and trust, are permanently located in Dallas, then that’s where we must go. Access to Capital – in Dallas our CFO and COO were able to raise a substantial amount of capital within two days, and now we have some great corporate leaders serving on our advisory board.  Fund raising was not nearly as feasible in Austin. Strong Corporate Environment – we have secured a great office in Dallas that is affordable and meets our needs as a small and growing business.  We are also very excited about the corporate environment that Dallas has and believe it will be a great opportunity for us to network with several larger businesses as we continue to grow ourselves. Close Proximity to More Clients – we have numerous clients in the DFW area (UTD, UTA, TCU, UNT, UNT Health Sciences, TAMS) and want to be as close to them as possible.  This will provide us the opportunity to frequently visit with these clients, conduct focus groups, provide lots of training, and take new employees on-site to visit with clients and organizations using OrgSync.

The OrgSync Team at Twestival 2009 With all that said, we are still very sad to leave the Austin community.  Austin will always be OrgSync’s birthplace, and we will never forget our roots.  Even though we are moving our corporate headquarters, we will continue to have a large presence in Austin and will continue to attract talent and supporters to assist us in achieving our corporate mission. On behalf of my entire team, I want to thank each and every Austinite that we have met and exchanged stories, advice, and memories.  We will keep you close in our hearts and wish everyone in Austin the very best with your current and future endeavors. Sincerely, Eric Fortenberry, President & CEO

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