More than 500 entrepreneurs, small business owners and aspiring founders have registered for VentureFest Pflugerville, a weeklong series of workshops, summits and a pitch competition hosted by the Pflugerville Community Development Corporation. The festival opens Saturday, Sept. 26, and closes Thursday, Oct. 1, at the Marriott Pflugerville. Pflugerville is one of roughly 25 Texas communities staging a VentureFest this fall, and one of a handful stretching the celebration across an entire week rather than a single day.
The expanded schedule was built from a survey PCDC sent to more than 3,000 people. Respondents said they wanted to network beyond the same familiar faces, and they wanted to leave with skills rather than business cards. "People want to come to events, but they actually want to learn something before just coming to check the box and say I was in attendance," said Jerry W. Jones Jr., executive director of PCDC. "We asked what it is that you need help with as a business, and then we went out and found the most skilled individuals to bring that information back to them."
The week opens with mastermind classes on Saturday, Sept. 26, and Sunday, Sept. 27. Those sessions moved to the weekend this year after participants said weekday sessions conflicted with their jobs and their own businesses. Both days sold out their 80 seats within a couple of days and each carries a 30-person waiting list, limited only by venue capacity. PCDC is in conversation with Pflugerville ISD about a larger space. Sessions cover AI marketing, websites, moving from a side hustle to brick and mortar, and pitch competition preparation, with business coaches on hand. Last year's version was scheduled for three hours and ran closer to eight as attendees called friends to join them.
The Women's Summit follows on Tuesday at the Cinemark theater at Stone Hill, running 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. with keynote speaker Kathy Terry, a dozen additional speakers and fireside chats. About 130 people have registered. Wednesday's session at Spare Time brings back the rotating round tables that drew the strongest requests for a return. Seven to eight specialists each anchor a table, and participants rotate every seven to 10 minutes to ask questions and trade ideas. Roughly 100 people are signed up.
The finale on Thursday, Oct. 1, runs 9 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. at the Marriott Pflugerville and opens with 13 vendor booths, including the City of Pflugerville, the tourism office and the public library. Keynotes and a book signing fill the middle of the day, and a pitch competition naming three winners closes the festival.
The growth has been steep. Two years ago VentureFest Pflugerville was a meetup that drew about 50 people to a coffee shop. Last year's expanded format drew more than 400 participants. "Economic development is about attracting businesses to your city, but a lot of the time entrepreneurs and small businesses get overlooked," said Adam Maxon, who leads VentureFest programming for PCDC. "When they start in a city, they usually end up building in that city." Jones also credited C.S. Freeland for quietly building the statewide VentureFest momentum that Pflugerville and other Texas communities are now part of.
The implications of this announcement extend beyond a single event. As the Pflugerville Community Development Corporation celebrates its 25th anniversary, recruiting in advanced manufacturing, semiconductors, life science, defense and aerospace, the organization is also signaling that small business and entrepreneur support is a core part of its strategy. By scaling VentureFest from a coffee shop meetup to a weeklong festival that sells out sessions and draws hundreds, Pflugerville is positioning itself as a place where founders can start and grow. The demand for skills-based, networking-focused programming suggests that other communities may follow suit, especially as the state's VentureFest network continues to expand.
