Dallas brought the energy — and the entrepreneurs! Road to Open Call is helping more small businesses get one step closer to being on our shelves.
Dallas is ranked the 3rd best city in America for starting a new business. About 11% of all businesses in the DFW area are startups active for less than a year and they have a survival rate of nearly 65%. Texas saw a 14% increase in new business formations year over year, outpacing the national average. So it all makes perfect sense why Walmart chose the amazing city of Dallas as its latest Road to Open Call stop. Road to Open Call is not a pitch competition. It is a direct pipeline to Walmart and Sam's Club buyers for founders with American-made products that are ready for national retail. Walmart has committed $350 billion to products made, grown, or assembled in the U.S. by 2031. Their Grow with Us program also offers free training, mentorship, and access to financial support for small businesses trying to navigate retail and scale nationally. Open Call is the centerpiece of that commitment. If you are building something made in America and you are ready for the next level, here are the remaining Road to Open Call stops: Orlando: May 21 Baltimore: May 25-29 Indianapolis: June 11 Salt Lake City: June 18 Atlanta: June 24 Bentonville: October 6-7 (MAIN EVENT) Special Shoutout to Jim Yauger and the Institute for Veterans and Military Families - IVMF team for helping make the Dallas stop happen. IVMF connects veteran and military family-owned businesses to the exact kind of opportunities Open Call represents. If you are a veteran founder building something, Jim and his team are the people you want in your corner. The founders I met in Dallas showed up with conviction and products that belong on shelves. I tagged as many as I could. Go find them: Flings - Dino Vassiliou, Texas Olive Ranch, Deko Cocktails - Michael Handman, Just Made Foods, Happy Jack Float - Rachel Davis, LYX - Dylan M. Jones, Texas Babe Tanning Oil Always inspired by the awesome work Team Walmart does, giving valuable feedback and support the Open Call initiative and the entrepreneurs pitching: Nilka Garcia Susan Thomas Mark Espinoza Jennifer Powell Roz Silva & IW Group Inc. #RoadToOpenCall #WalmartOpenCall #SmallBusiness #Dallas