Back to Homepage



POWER FACT
The Silicon Hills of Greater Austin surpassed Silicon Valley in several areas during the 1990s - including a population that has grown three times faster, and job growth that has been eleven times as large.

BRAIN SNACK
Hosiery sales fell again in the U.S. during 1998, particularly in Texas. This five-year decline says less about the weather, than about the business community's trend toward a more casual and comfortable dress code.

POWER FACT
Texas ranked third in the nation in the number of high tech degrees awarded during 1996. And while the number of Texas high tech grads has gone up only 8% since 1990, the number of Texas high tech jobs has soared by 25%.

99 YEARLY REPORT

greater austin community highlights

Austin 1999: Landmark Growth. Community Development. Global Innovation.

1999 was a big year for The Thompson Group. Austin experienced explosive growth in its business and technology communities, and with that growth came new jobs, new challenges, and new opportunities. The Thompson Group was integrally involved in this expansive development - facilitating innovative new discussions, bridging barriers, and initiating successful and lucrative new alliances for our clients. This retrospective is a recap of the year, highlighting not only the city's most influential events, but showcasing the powerful potential of this region, and The Thompson Group's dedication to creating a more profitable and connected environment for our clients.

Over 300 high tech leaders came together in January for Austin's innovative 360 Summit, a one-day conference created to address the overall needs and issues of our region. At issue: workforce readiness, community infrastructure, and collaboration between high tech and educational entities. The result: several breakthrough initiatives for high tech companies and supporting organizations.

The exploding e-commerce industry spawned a new statewide organization in February. The Thompson Group collaborated to introduce the Texas Electronic Commerce Association, known as Texas eComm, to Austin, Dallas and Houston through regular "ePanels" and executive roundtables. Texas eComm attracted nearly 50 company members in its start up year, and will sponsor the Texas Ten Awards in March 2000, recognizing top leaders of the Texas e-commerce community.

Austin's international business readiness went under the microscope, when KPMG, in partnership with R.R. Donnelley Financial, the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce, and IC2 Institute, sponsored a study of the city's capabilities in February. Opportunities for global business expanding to Austin, and for local businesses exporting to the world are increasingly prevalent.

Entrepreneurs welcomed a new link to start up funding in March, with the formation of Texas Angel Investors. TAI invites selected entrepreneurs to present business plans for investment consideration. Internet company ibooks.com is one start up that has been successfully funded through TAI.

Business in Europe got a boost through the EuroTex Conference in April. Hosted by the Texas Department of Economic Development, EuroTex brought nearly 60 small and medium Texas businesses together with over 110 European-based companies for open discussion on potential business partnerships. Over 1,000 private meetings took place, and 85% of attending companies report ongoing business opportunities.

For the fifth consecutive year, Austin's leading business women were honored by the Austin Business Journal at a sold out awards luncheon in July called ñProfiles in Powerî. The Thompson Group sponsored and coordinated a pre-luncheon seminar created to give women a professional tool-kit, with expert speakers leading topics such as presentation skills and effective time management.

The high tech community got a generous dose of low tech fun, as the Zachary Scott Theater hosted a private performance of ñThe Rocky Horror Picture Showî in September. Thompson Group clients and members of the Austin Software Council, AEA, and Texas eComm were treated to a networking reception and private show - and joined in actively with the newspapers, lighters, water guns and crackers handed out before the performance.

Austin and San Antonio companies received a record breaking $215 million in venture funding during 3rd quarter 1999. And in November, Austin Ventures, the "founding father" of local VCs, announced its new $825 million fund, making it the third largest early-stage venture capital firm in the country, with a total of $1.6 billion under management. One of Austin's longest standing community organizations, the Young Men's Business League, hosted a professional polo matched, to benefit the Austin Sunshine Camps, which provide year-round opportunities for at-risk youth. Austin Sunshine Camps programs include dropout prevention, leadership training, personal growth and life skills. More than 200 attendees supported the event with teams sponsored by Agillon and Outback Steakhouse.

Austin gained an online source for the latest tech headlines, when dbusiness.com launched in June. An Internet division of Digital South Magazine, dbusiness.com delivers free e-mail alerts daily, featuring top news stories from the local high tech community.

The Austin American-Statesman unveiled a new look and expanded coverage for its TECHMonday section in October, by featuring the "25 Top Tech Players You Need to Know." Included were Rod Adkins of IBM, Steve Papermaster of Agillon, Christy Jones of pcOrder.com, Bob Fabbio of TL Ventures, and our own Carol Thompson.

The national media again shined its spotlight on Austin last November. FORTUNE Magazine ranked Austin third behind Dallas and San Jose for its 1999 Best Cities for business in North America. And Inc. Magazine named Austin the second best Small Metro in America for starting and growing a business.

The KPMG Austin High Tech Awards drew more than 700 attendees from the high tech community for its fourth annual show in November. Award winners included Dell, 3M, InfoGlide and Origin Systems, who were honored with a lavish banquet and keynote address by Todd Wagner, co-founder of Dallas-based broadcast.com.

The Thompson Group presented ñNetworking in the Greater Austin Business Communityî its first training seminar open to the public in December, to over 160 professionals. The response was outstanding. In the words of one participant, "This was almost like your Christmas gift to the community - so much information for such a small price!" The seminar is the first in a series of public courses planned for 2000.

1999 was a successful year for Austin-based companies to go public. Nine took the IPO leap during the year: Vignette Corp, drkoop.com, Hoover's Inc., Perficient Inc, garden.com, NetSolve, Crossroads Systems, Inc., and Classic Communica-tions, Inc.

OUR PEOPLE
The Thompson Group Team: 1999 Highlights

1999 has been a year of growth and opportunities for The Thompson Group and our staff. Marny Lochhead, who joined the firm in 1995, became a partner in July. Sandy Lara celebrated her one-year anniversary as an associate in August. She will be leading The Thompson Group in our new partnership with the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce on the Discover Austin! program, which acclimates newly relocated executives and their spouses to Austin business and civic leaders and issues. Paige Manley, a recent graduate of Baylor University, joined our team in the fall. Jeff Thompson is now serving as a part-time COO for The Thompson Group, helping to guide our firm's strategic growth.

The Thompson Group has continued to work with the leadership of civic and professional organizations across the state. This year Carol Thompson completed a six-year term as a director for the San Antonio Branch of the Federal Reserve Board, and joined the advisory board of UT's College of Communication. She also accepted a role as a member of the Marketing/ Promotions Advisory Committee for the Texas Department of Agriculture, and joined the Founding Board of Governors for the UT Club. Carol continues to serve as a national speaker for a variety of organizations, including Women in Technology International in San Jose; the Business Marketing Association of Dallas; the Clarksville, Tennessee Chamber of Commerce; the Annual Conference of Leadership Texas; and the Kaufmann Foundation's nationally broadcast" Entrepre-neurs Across America" program. Carol is also a mentor for Seedstage.com, serving as an expert resource for start-up companies through Seedstage University. Carol has been used as a source by several national publications this year, including Upside Magazine, Forbes, Fortune and Digital South.

Marny Lochhead's activities in 1999 included serving as president elect of the board of directors for Zachary Scott Theater; chairing high-tech programs for the Austin Chapter of the American Marketing Association; and serving on the founding board of the Texas Electronic Commerce Assoc-iation. Marny moderated two panels on "marketing and PR in the high tech industry" at the national conference of Women in Technology International in Silicon Valley.

As we continue to expand our staff, clientele and services, the Dallas-Fort Worth region has emerged as an important marketplace for The Thompson Group. Many of our clients have offices in that area, including R.R. Donnelley Financial, KPMG, BakerBotts, XeTel Corp. and Tatum CFO Partners. In addition, strategic partnerships are fast emerging between Austin and Dallas-Fort Worth entities, especially amongst technology organizations and companies. With this in mind, our firm has developed a strategic partnership with Debbie Mrazek, of the Sales Company, a Dallas-based sales and marketing consultant, in order to further build resources in this region. Her current projects include working with the StarTech Incubator in Richardson, focusing on developing their next generation of start-up companies.