Trey Bowles

Trey Bowles is the Co-Founder and Managing Partner of 1845 Ventures, a venture firm with several products, the first being a Venture Studio built to co-found, launch, and scale high conviction companies alongside exceptional entrepreneurs.  Through 1845 Ventures, Trey works hands-on with founders from day zero, helping turn promising ideas into venture-backed businesses by combining capital, strategic guidance, operating support, product development, go to-market execution, and fundraising leadership.

Trey is also the Founder and Managing Director of Bowles Investment Group (BIG), an investment firm overseeing a portfolio of more than 50 companies.  As a multi-exited entrepreneur, investor, and ecosystem builder, Trey has launched, scaled, and supported more than 35 ventures across both for-profit and nonprofit sectors.

In addition to his work with 1845 Ventures and BIG, Trey plays an active role in expanding access to early-stage capital across Texas.  He is the Founder of the Park Cities Angel Network, Co-Chair of the North Texas Angel Network, and Fund Manager of the SMU Impact Lab, an impact-focused investment fund deploying capital into SMU-affiliated founders and companies.

Trey has spent much of his career building platforms that support entrepreneurs and strengthen innovation ecosystems.  He played a foundational role in creating the Dallas Entrepreneur Center — now The DEC Network, co-founded the Dallas Innovation Alliance, and helped establish the North Texas Innovation Alliance.  He also co-founded the Mayor’s Star Council, now Engage Dallas, alongside former Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings to engage civically minded, culturally diverse young professionals in shaping the future of the city.

At the national level, Trey serves on the board of the Center for American Entrepreneurship and was appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Commerce to the National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship (NACIE).  He also founded the Startup Champions Network, a national coalition of entrepreneurial ecosystem builders working to strengthen startup communities across the country.

In higher education, Trey serves as the Fund Manager for the SMU Impact Lab, a student-led fund to invest in SMU affiliated companies with an impact driven mission.  Bowles also launched the Arts Entrepreneurship and Arts Management Department at SMU’s Meadows School of the Arts and currently serves as an adjunct professor at SMU’s Cox School of Business, where he bridges academic theory with real-world entrepreneurship, investing, and company-building experience.

Trey lives in University Park, Texas, with his wife and three children.