Interview with Ed Curtis - CEO of YTexas

Ed Curtis, CEO of YTexas runs a company that welcomes companies and people to Texas.  He said Texas welcomes people, no matter where you're from…So, from an outsider looking in, I said, I would love to form an organization that helps people understand the values in Texas

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Guest - Ed Curtis
Host - Carl Grant
Producer - Seth Grant

Episode Transcript

Carl Grant (00:10):
Welcome to Rainmakerks. I'm here with Ed
Curtis, CEO of why Texas welcomeiEd.

Ed Curtis (00:17):
Thank you Carl apperciate it.

Carl Grant (00:19):
So, Ed, you got an interesting story here. You, you
didn't start out in Texas, youstarted out somewhere else. And
you can tell us where you camefrom. But then you move to
Dallas. And you had to kind ofrecreate your whole personal
network and get to know people.
And, and eventually, you turnthat into a business after being

(00:41):
a banker for many years. So talkto us about where you came from
and what your experience wasmoving to Texas.

Ed Curtis (00:51):
Sure, well, as I say, what I wasn't born here, but I
got here as fast as I could.
andthat happened in the early90s. I yeah, I'm I was born and
raised in New York, and workedin New York City in the early
90s, after graduating college.
And I was kind of at the pointin my life where I wanted to
explore a little bit more,really never been outside of New

(01:14):
York as a young child andstudents and stumbled upon
Dallas, Texas came down with afriend of mine to poke around
for about a week or so and wentback to New York, quit my job,
told my family, I was moving toDallas, they thought I was
crazy. And I've been here eversince 28 years, and it's been a

(01:35):
joy.

Carl Grant (01:36):
And what was it that drew you to Texas?

Ed Curtis (01:41):
You know, it's funny at that time, there were two
cities that were kind of on themap of the places to be it was
Atlanta, Georgia, and Dallas,Texas. And I believe that was
around the time where Atlantahad won the Olympics. And Dallas
has always been, I think, alwaysbeen that shining star from a
national and even internationalperspective where people were

(02:04):
interested and intrigued in it,but they really don't know much
about it. And I was I was inthat camp, and I kind of looked
at the two. And I said, youknow, well, funny story. I was
working for an ad agency. Andone of the TV stations that I
was representing was Katie vt inDallas. And it's very cutthroat

(02:26):
business, whenever you get onthe phone, whether it's a TV
station in Portland or New Yorkor California, you know, it was,
you know, on and off the phone,what do you got, here's the
cost, I move on to the nextdeal. But whenever I talked to
the people in Dallas, they werenice. They asked me how my day
was, and I couldn't believe it.
And I actually made the visit toDallas. I've also been to

(02:46):
Atlanta, and then I choseDallas, and packed my bags and
moved

Carl Grant (02:52):
But you didn't stay in Dallas, you you moved to
Austin. And what precipitatedthat?

Ed Curtis (02:59):
Well, I think when and this is really, one of the
big things that I talked aboutin our business is that Texas is
a huge state. And wherever youland, you're still within
earshot from other major citiesthat are driving the US economy

(03:20):
in Texas. So at the time I hadmoved to Dallas. I was I heard
about Austin. Again, it was backthen it was a sleepy college
town, made a road trip with afriend of mine and couldn't
believe the beauty and thelandscape. And also that you
know, the people were Yeah,they're definitely weird at the
time, and maybe still are alittle bit but it was just
different. It was a collegetown. beautiful landscape. I had

(03:43):
grown up in upstate New York. SoI appreciated the hills and the
mountains and the greenery. AndI said, Wow, this is a place I
want to get to eventually wantedto learn a little bit more about
it. And just in my in thebusiness where I have to travel
around the state, I thoughtAustin was a good location. It's
located in the capital city. Itis the capital city where I do a

(04:06):
significant amount of business,essentially located somewhat,
and just a great place to live.
So I moved my family and my kidsdown here about four years ago.

Carl Grant (04:17):
So let's talk about how you establish yourself in
the state, built your ownpersonal network, and then how
you've translated that into thisbusiness you have today.

Ed Curtis (04:28):
You know, I tell a funny story. When I had when I
moved to Texas, I went back toschool to get a degree in
finance. My plan was to moveback to New York and go to Wall
Street, which obviously neverhappened. I got picked up by
someone that worked for ComericaBank, and got me entered into

(04:49):
their banking training program.
And when I first entered thejob, I inherited appoints
portfolio of companies. And Ihad to walk into these
offices.To say, My name is EdCurtis, and I'm your your new
banker. And I had to walk inwith a very strong New York
accent. And didn't have no anyhistory in Texas didn't really
know any people in Texas. So Ihad to prove myself. And I have

(05:11):
to tell you, I reflect back tothat to this day. And every
single one of my clients gave mea shot. And you know, they it
was it was funny, they wouldjoke around about my accent,
where are you from? How'd youget here? Maybe a Yankee comment
here and there. Again, this is,you know, 28 years ago, but they
all gave me the business. Andthey all, you know, allowed me

(05:32):
to prove myself and throughoutmy career, I never forgot that.
And people and in Texas arereally true to their word, they
will give anyone a shot andmatter where you come from. And
I think that's really that wasreally the foundation of, you
know, as I reflected back on my20 plus years in banking, I
said, you know, I've built apretty good, trusted network,

(05:54):
that I think others moving intoTexas could benefit from.

Carl Grant (06:00):
Now, talk, talk to us about how you do that. So I'm
a vie, admit you a year ago,when I had moved here, what
would what would that look likeif I engaged you?

Ed Curtis (06:13):
Well, I mean, even when I was in banking, I tried
to expand my sphere ofinfluence, I think, one, when
people get into a profession,it's very common for them to run
in very similar circles. So inbanking, you'd hang out with
accountants, lawyers,consultants, real estate

(06:34):
brokers. But you wouldn'tnecessarily maybe run around
with people in a differentindustry that have nothing to do
nor benefit you in any way thatare doing different things. And
I always was curious about otherthings that were happening
outside of my sphere ofinfluence. And I think that

(06:54):
really benefited me in the end,because I, I got to know, I got
to know people who didn't knoweach other. And you can probably
appreciate this and in what youdo, Carl, I mean, you know, if
you'refrom, let's say, lakeway,you know, chances are, you'll
make an introduction, and theyknow each other, but when you
meet people that are doingcompletely different things, and

(07:15):
you introduce them, and they endup doing something that's kind
of magical.

Carl Grant (07:19):
Oh, yeah. I do it all the time, Absolutely.

Ed Curtis (07:21):
Yeah. Right.

Carl Grant (07:22):
So so but you do this as a business, I kind of do
it as a business. I mean, Irepresent a law firm doing
business development, andthere's a legal component to
just about everything thathappens out there. So you
strategically make theseconnections, and then things
happen, and then they need youneed your services. Right. But
you're you're making theseconnections happen. You know,

(07:42):
kind of it's, it's a business,right? You enjoy it. It's fun.
But you know, so how did what?
What does that look like you ifI came to Texas didn't know a
soul. All right? You're going tointroduce me to organizations,
to individuals to groups, inviteme to events, parties, lunches,
what does that? What does thatlook like? And this is for the

(08:05):
person who's listening to thispodcast? Who's planning their
move to Texas?

Ed Curtis (08:12):
Yeah, and, you know, it's a great question, because
when I first started, why Texas,it was an idea and a concept.
And again, networking is notanything new. But I was very
passionate aboutthe future ofTexas, I was very interested in

(08:35):
making sure that Texas continuedto be that place that welcomes
people, no matter where you'refrom, and like anything, when,
when a good thing, you know,when too many people find out
about a good thing, typicallywhat happens is they forget
about, you know, why they movedto a certain place or joined a
certain organization, you gettoo many people with too many

(08:57):
different opinions and, and youlose kind of the soul of the of
the organization and, and theconcept. So, from an outsider
looking in, I said, You know, Iwould love to form an
organization that helps peopleunderstand the values in Texas
and the different culturesbetween San Antonio Houston,
Dallas, Austin, of course,progress their career forward

(09:21):
and introduce them to peoplethat can make them better, more
profitable. But really, theunderlying mission was to make
Texas better and to keep Texasgood. So I think the difference
between what we do and whatlet's say YPO does, or other
networking groups that are thatdo great things for people and
help them grow their business.
Ours really at the core of oursis, is making Texas better and

(09:43):
if you care about the future ofour state, I mean, Carl, you and
I have to, you know, we haveyoung kids just being a part of
the fabric of the state and alsonetworking and meeting new
people. I really felt thatcombination of those few things
would make for a goodorganization.

Carl Grant (10:03):
Now, in order for these groups and individuals and
people in taxes to take yourreferrals and respond to you,
when you reach out to them, youhave to do something to maintain
those relationships. These arenot transactional relationships.
So talk to us about what you doto main]tain this network
throughout the state.

Ed Curtis (10:25):
I think just being engaged with them in things that
do not involve business tobusiness. And I'll give you an
example. Last night, we had theexecutive director of the bush
combat Development Center, speakto 15 students about how he

(10:46):
moved his career, he was aFilipino immigrant. And he moved
his way all the way up to theposition he's in now. And he
shared his story with 15students, and the students
benefited. And I think he feltgood about what he did. That has
nothing to do with business forhim, there was no money

(11:08):
exchanged, it was just Hey,could you share your experience
with a bunch of students? So Ithink, I think it just comes
down to just, again, businesswill come but if you're if if
the if the network, and the youknow, the the benefit that you
gain is in a number of differentareas outside of just business
exchange, that makes you abetter person, it, people

(11:31):
understand you more, and I thinkyou, you know, it makes you feel
good.

Carl Grant (11:36):
So let's use a use case here. I, I've been here a
year, I've been coming to Texasfor eight years. So I know
people here my network hasdoubled since I've been here. I
know people in obviously inAustin, but also in San Antonio
and Dallas. I don't I don't knowif I know a soul in Houston. I

(11:56):
was thinking about it. And Ihear that, I hear that in
Houston. They're not as aswelcoming to outsiders. So I
don't know if that's true ornot. But But assuming it is, and
so I'm going to Houston and Ireach out to Ed Curtis and say,
Ed, I need your help. I'm goingto Houston, how do I penetrate

(12:17):
this market? and get to knowpeople? What would you do?
Well, the first thing I would dois probably introduce you to
people at the Greater Houstonpartnership. It's, you know it
every region has their owneconomic development,
organization and platform. Andfor what I do for a living, the

(12:39):
economic developmentorganizations are really kind of
the Engine for Businessrecruitment, expansion. And, and
they're a wealth of knowledge,the people that sit on their
boards are the most powerful andinfluential people in the
region. And they happen to bevery open and welcoming. And I
would probably introduce you tothem, because they're the center

(13:02):
of gravity for everything that'shappening in business. In
Houston, I will tell you, what'sinteresting about the regions
within the state is that theyall have, they all have their
own culture and identity. But ifyou spend a lot of time in each
region, they really arewelcoming and very prideful

(13:25):
about their region to the pointwhere they almost, if you spent
time in Houston, and you know,put the weather aside, I know
most people don't like us,because of the weather. You
probably want to move there. Imean, there's a lot of passion
around people that live and dobusiness in Houston. And they
feel like the same way they'relike, I don't know if Dallas is

(13:47):
as friendly and welcoming asHouston, but we're pretty
friendly and welcoming. Sothat's really what drives me is,
you know, when when I whenpeople do have a particular
impression about a region, likeyou did for Houston, which I
did, and, and, and, and stilldo, to some extent about certain
things about a region. But ifyou really spend a lot of time

(14:08):
in these cities, which is whatwe do, you'll really understand
how they do business and they dobusiness differently. But it
really expands your yournetworking and understanding of
the business landscape in thestate.
I understand your economicdevelopment approach. Totally. I
come from an economicdevelopment background. That's
kind of where I got started inmy career. I've had three

(14:30):
different economic developmentjobs. So I get it, that's your
job. And and so when I entered aSan Antonio, that's, that's the
reception I got. I got to knowall of their economic
development organizations.
They're absolutely wonderful inSan Antonio, I've become
personal friends with some ofthem and yeah, so so they got us
around to see every everybodythat mattered in the city, and

(14:52):
it was great and and as aresult, I'm referring business
down there. I Send virtually allof the life sciences prospects I
see that are headed anywherenear this area, I send them down
to San Antonio as a result. So I

Ed Curtis (15:09):
Absolutely I think they're unsung heroes. Honestly,
I don't I don't think peoplelook to them like, like you and
I do. They just look at them. Asyou know, that's an organization
that I don't know if it wouldhelp me or benefit me. But they
really are the heartbeat of theregion.

Carl Grant (15:27):
Yeah. So so how can if somebody is gonna listen to
this? And they're, they'replanning to move their business
to Texas? How do they reach outto you and engage you give some
advice?

Ed Curtis (15:40):
Well, I mean, I think if you want to penetrate the,
the Texas market, when I sayTexas market, that's 29 million
million people live here. It's along game, it's not a short
game. And I, I learned thisfortunately, as a young man, I
moved here in my mid 20s. And ittook me several years to realize

(16:02):
that, you know, there's a lot ofpower in Texas, because, you
know, we have the can doattitude, the welcoming spirit,
all the you know, that the kindof the canned words that you
hear. But it really is true. AndI think you will be if you move
here, you will stay, he will notleave, you will probably open up

(16:22):
more offices than you hadplanned, you'll probably have,
at the end The end moreemployees move here than you had
planned. And you need to beready for that. And like I said,
it's a long game. So build longlasting relationships, reach out
to organizations that can helpyou do that, why Texas happens
to be one of them. But I mean,we're big fans of chambers of

(16:44):
commerce and tradeorganizations. I think what
we've done is we've consolidatedall of these networks that you
will need to build over time inone spot. So we really try to
it's a one stop shop, we try tohelp save you time, because
mostly when companies movinghere, you know, the first six
months, they're just, I mean,they don't have a second to

(17:04):
breathe, but they're veryimportant six months because
you're you need to get yourbrand out and people need to
know why you're here and whatyou care about. And, you know,
network as quickly as quickly asyou can. And of course, we're a
resource for that.

Carl Grant (17:19):
Oh, thank you.
That's great advice. Ed Curtis,if you want to find him online,
it's Y the letter Y, Ytexas.comand I'm sure he'd be happy to
hear from you. Thanks forjoining us today, ed. And if you
like what you heard thismorning, please subscribe.
Please rate the podcast andshare it on social media with
your friends. Thanks