Top 5 Voices Columns of 2016 Struck a Chord with Readers

It’s been a great first year at Dallas Innovates, and as you know we invited guest writers, or Voices columnists, if you will, to share their views and visions for the Dallas-Fort Worth region. These columnists are experts, thought leaders, who have their pulse on the city and innovation throughout North Texas.

We rely on them to help us tell the stories about the people and businesses that are making DFW a great place to live and work. So, we decided to countdown and share with you the five most-read columns of our first year. We hope you’ll take some time to look back and read them again or maybe read them for the first time.

Either way, enjoy.

No. 5:
Why These Buff Vegans Chose Dallas, by Courtney Garza

Want to know how to make vegans roll their eyes? Just ask them where they get their protein.

One of the biggest misconceptions about a vegan or a vegetarian lifestyle is that we’re lacking in the protein department, and seen as frail hippies who just eat grass (if you’re still thinking that, you can read my first column for a better perspective).

What these folks don’t know is that many vegetables, legumes (beans), and seaweed have more protein than animal products.

A vegan diet, like other diets done right, can be one of the most nutrient-rich paths to becoming healthy — and even ridiculously buff. Continue reading here.

No. 4:
An Evolving Love Letter to Dallas, by Sharon Lyle

I grew up at the heels of oilmen and real estate moguls. It certainly wasn’t a scene out of the TV series, “Dallas,” but true to the stereotypes the show capitalized on, there were moments that could have been.

I bought into the idea of Dallas as a mash-up of cosmopolitan and cowboy. It seemed to me a place full of swagger. A boomtown promising wealth and prosperity.

The reality that I now understand was that picture was as much fairytale and make-believe as it was a reality. It was the ’80s, and between rock-bottom oil prices and the savings and loan crisis, the economic reality for the city was bleak. Continue reading here.

No. 3:
Innovation is Happening in Unlikely Places in Dallas-Fort Worth, by Kevin Walker

As we explore and examine what it means to be innovative, we should take a look at the creative people here who are rethinking how we do things.

The people who are powering Dallas by bringing the energy, production, new thinking, and intellect that powers new things being built, new ways of solving old problems, and finding new opportunities for economic growth. These are people not only driven by personal wealth building but people who have a vision for the collective good of the city and its inhabitants.

When you frame innovation through the lens of people doing unique and different things that make our city better, a story emerges. Continue reading here.

No. 2:
Mark Cuban’s Cyber Dust Brings Us Face to Face With Each Other, by Cheri Garcia

There’s no question that Dallas is becoming a popular spot for entrepreneurship and innovation — and it’s not slowing down anytime soon. We will continue to see a growth in our startup community because our culture is changing, not just in Dallas, but everywhere.

Millennials care more about purpose over stability. Eighty-three percent of students don’t have a job lined up before graduating, and 66 percent of Americans make less than $44,121 a year.

The most logical alternative for the risk-taking millennial? Entrepreneurship. Continue reading here.

No. 1:
Dallas: The Impact City, by Salah Boukadoum

In the 1990s, when an entrepreneur came up with a new technology, it was common to head to Silicon Valley to raise capital, hire a team, build a connected board, and develop industry relationships — all the resources were concentrated in one place.

But today, when a dedicated, passionate social entrepreneur comes up with an amazing new process to solve a pressing social problem — hunger, homelessness, war, incarceration, education — where should that person go for a deeply connected and efficient hub of resources? My answer: Dallas.

Dallas has a unique opportunity to become the center of the world for developing and deploying solutions to our world’s most pressing problems. We can become the Impact City. Continue reading here.

In 2017, our Voices columnists will continue sharing their industry expertise with you. If you’d like to become a guest writer, send me an email at [email protected]. Your thoughts and ideas are always welcome. We want to keep bringing you the stories that make this region a hub for innovation.

Need Inspiration? Find Your Mantra in Our Top 2016 Quotes

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