July 6, 2021

Entrepreneurship is a Texas state of mind

I inherited the famous Texas state of mind. The son of a lawyer by trade, I was born and raised in Dallas. So I grew up looking at the Lone Star State in a distinct way, a view celebrated in slogans so often repeated that Californians and New Yorkers are about as familiar with them as we are.

The Texas Economic Development Corporation even drew on one such Texas saying for our tagline — Go Big in Texas — because, as you’ve heard, everything really is bigger in Texas.

Entrepreneurship flourishes in Texas because Texans are competitive. Texans are never satisfied with being No. 1 in something; we’re driven to be No. 1 in everything. Everyone with a Texas state of mind knows it ain’t bragging if it’s true.

This passion for winning leads naturally to a culture of hard work, team spirit — and creative, sometimes out-of-the-box, thinking. America’s innovators and entrepreneurs are cut from the same cloth. That is why so many of them are making Texas their new home. This migration has contributed to Texas being the No. 1 state in population growth, according to the 2020 U.S. Census.

This means our representation at the federal level is also growing. Texas picked up two Congressional seats, while states like California and New York each lost a Congressional seat. Many of the 69,532 residents California lost in the period between mid-2019 and mid-2020 came to Texas.

So why are so many California businesses and workers relocating to Texas? We think it’s more than just our favorable business climate, low taxes, reasonable regulations, large skilled workforce and affordable land.

Why Texas?

Texas has a long and stable track record of economic success. At present, younger workers are powering this growth. The state’s largest metro areas are attracting a younger workforce because of our strong job growth and the influx of high tech industry, according to Bankrate. Young entrepreneurs find support and lower business costs by joining an established and fast-growing community of innovators, especially in technology sectors.

High-profile global brands such as Apple, Facebook, Google, Oracle, Dell and Hewlett Packard Enterprises have either moved their headquarters to Texas or have sizable and growing employee bases in Texas.  There are countless other examples of major businesses that have recently chosen Texas.

Digital Realty, a leading global provider of data center, colocation and interconnection solutions, announced in January its intention to relocate its corporate headquarters from San Francisco, Calif. to Austin, Texas.  According to Digital Realty, Texas is home to more than 30 of their data centers, and nearly 20% of the company’s North American employee base is in Texas.  What is driving this relocation? I can’t say it any better than Digital Realty Chief Executive Officer A. William Stein did: “The central location, affordable cost of living, highly educated workforce and supportive business climate have helped make Texas an epicenter for business activity and technology growth.”

Another great example is Amazing Magnets, which announced a move from Anaheim, Calif., to a state-of-the art global headquarters in Round Rock, Texas.  In a Jan. 7 announcement of its move, the company said it made its relocation choice because Amazing Magnets was “drawn to Round Rock for its entrepreneurial spirit, access to world-class talent and beneficial cost of living.”

Adopting the Texas state of mind

These transplanted Texans, from California and other states and nations, have added to the anthology of Lone Star State slogans with a version showing their newfound Texas pride: “I wasn’t born in Texas, but I got here as fast as I could.”

I love hearing that and knowing that our new Texans have fully embraced the Texas state of mind. I’m glad Texas provides them the supportive environment they need to do their best work and to fully embrace the spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship that makes Texas the nation’s economic engine.