# Trey Bowles

> Trey Bowles is a Dallas-based entrepreneur, investor and educator who co-founded The DEC Network and served as its founding CEO. His career spans music and internet businesses, startup mentoring, civic innovation and venture building. He co-founded 1845 Ventures, leads Bowles Investment Group, and serves as fund manager for the SMU Impact Lab and an adjunct professor at SMU Cox.

- **Role:** Co-founder at 1845 Ventures; Founder and Managing Partner at Bowles Investment Group; Fund Manager at SMU Impact Lab; Adjunct Professor at SMU Cox
- **Organizations:** The DEC Network, 1845 Ventures, Bowles Investment Group, Southern Methodist University, Park Cities Angel Network, North Texas Angel Network, Dallas Innovation Alliance, InnoCity Partners, Mayor’s Star Council, Startup Champions Network, Center for American Entrepreneurship, Techstars (former managing director), Startup Texas (former chair)
- **From:** Dallas, United States
- **Education:** B.B.A., Baylor University
- **Known for:** Co-founded The DEC Network and led its first five years of daily operations., Co-founded the Dallas Innovation Alliance and helped bring together public and private partners for smart-city work., Helped establish entrepreneurship programming at SMU Meadows in 2011.

## Career timeline

- **1998** — Joined Musicforce.com as an early employee; the business was sold to Gaylord Entertainment in 1999.
- **2001-2003** — Worked in strategic development at Morpheus / StreamCast Networks; his SMU-hosted CV lists Executive Vice President, Strategic Development.
- **2006** — Co-founded Dallas-based Trivate Entertainment with Brad Alesi and Paul Steele.
- **2009-2010** — Led Big Jump Media, parent of GodTube and tangle, through a turnaround and sale.
- **2011** — Helped build and launch entrepreneurship programming in SMU Meadows.
- **2012** — Chaired Startup Texas and helped organize the Mayor’s Star Council with Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings.
- **2013** — Co-founded the Dallas Entrepreneur Center, now The DEC Network, and became its founding CEO.
- **2015** — Co-founded the Dallas Innovation Alliance with Jennifer Sanders.
- **2018** — Announced a transition out of daily DEC leadership, retaining an executive chairman role.
- **2019** — Co-founded InnoCity Partners, a smart-city consulting and project management firm.
- **2022-2025** — Served as a Techstars managing director, including leadership of Techstars Anywhere.
- **2025** — Established Bowles Investment Group and co-founded 1845 Ventures.
- **2025-10** — SMU announced his appointment as fund manager and strategic advisor to its Impact Lab.

## Achievements

- Co-founded The DEC Network and led its first five years of daily operations.
- Co-founded the Dallas Innovation Alliance and helped bring together public and private partners for smart-city work.
- Helped establish entrepreneurship programming at SMU Meadows in 2011.
- Served on the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship.
- Serves on the board of the Center for American Entrepreneurship, according to SMU.
- Founded the Park Cities Angel Network and serves as co-chair of the North Texas Angel Network, according to SMU.

## Latest updates

- **2026-10** — As checked in October 2026, 1845 Ventures’ website identifies Ryan Brown and Trey Bowles as co-founders and lists projects including Our Block, Noodleflow and NotaFi. This is an observation of the current website, not a dated launch announcement.
- **2026-09** — His publicly indexed LinkedIn profile lists a September 9, 2026 article, “Edition 1: What Founders Actually Need to Focus On (and What Investors Should Watch For).”
- **2025-10** — SMU announced him as Fund Manager and Strategic Advisor to the SMU Impact Lab on October 22.
- **2025-08** — An August 4 interview described 1845 Ventures’ recently launched venture studio and its initial 50-50 co-founding model.

## Links

- Website: https://www.bowlesinvestmentgroup.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/treybowles
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/treybowles
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/treybowles/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/trey-bowles
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-21